MY MOTHER’S APPLE CAKE

Getting your hands dirty is a proven stress buster so if you feel like doing a bit of “procrastibaking” (just came across this term on social media and it made me crack up! “Verb: when you have a million things to do but ignore everything and bake”) here is a recipe I grew up with, my mother’s Apple Cake. I can’t think of anything better to soothe a frazzled heart. 

Ingredients 

1 kg apples 

1 handful of raisins (optional)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cognac, Grand Marnier or Rum

150 gr flour (“00” in Italy but you can use any other cake flour, gluten-free is good too)

150 gr sugar + 50 gr for the top

1 egg

1 pinch of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder (1 sachet in Italy)

Milk

METHOD

  • Turn on the oven to 180C degrees (160C if using fan).

  • Grease a 23cm round cake tin and dust it thoroughly with some flour.

  • If using, soak the raisins in a bit of cognac (or whatever liquor you like) for 20 minutes.

  • Peal and thinly slice the apples. Put them in a bowl with the cinnamon and add the raisins. I also add the soaking liquid, but it depends on how alcoholic you like your cake!

  • Meanwhile, put the flour, 150gr of sugar, egg, salt and baking powder in a food processor and mix. Add a dash of milk. Mix again. Keep adding milk till you obtain a batter that is soft but not too runny.

  • Add this batter to the apples and mix well. Pour everything into the prepared tin and sprinkle the remaining 50gr of sugar on top.

  • Bake in the hot oven for about 40 minutes. Check that the cake is cooked through by inserting a toothpick in the middle. The cake should be soft and moist, with a nice golden crust on top.

  • Let it rest and enjoy warm or at room temperature.

NOTE

My mum often used pears instead of apples and added a bit of lemon zest and juice instead of the liquor. 

You can also easily use gluten-free flour. I have tried this recently as my youngest son is momentarily on a gluten-free diet. The cake didn’t rise as much but it was equally delicious.

Also, I would suggest to use demerara sugar to sprinkle on top as it gives the cake a deeper colour and flavour.