Apple cake is one of my childhood memories. How many times I have eaten it, particularly during winter months. Yes, winter comes, and so does apple cake. Or apple tart. Or baked apples. Or cookies stuffed with apples. Apples everywhere. However, I must say it was never one of my favourites. You know, kids. Kids and their love for chocolate. And if it involved gianduja chocolate, even better.
But then one day, many years ago, my girlfriend’s mum presented me with a slice of humble apple cake that she made for her birthday party. Her birthday is in December and so there you go, apples everywhere. Despite the fact that I thought it was a weird choice for a birthday party cake – where is the chocolate? – what I actually remember is that it was so good. Unexpectedly good. I was older, that’s for sure, and had already fallen in love with apples years before, ok, but the thing is that it was so buttery, dense, moist and packed with both sweet and tart apples, with a hint of lemon and vanilla. Sliced straight from the square tin where it had been baked. It was just so comforting. Then I was told that it was one of her family recipes that she would always make at any occasion – that could be a birthday party, Christmas, summer break, it didn’t really matter. It was just so delicious that relatives and neighbours kept asking for it. And rightly so.
To celebrate the apple time of the year, I have taken some inspiration from my girlfriend’s mum apple cake, and created my version of an apple traybake. An easy dessert that is the perfect treat for any occasion.
The cake mix is a light financier batter made with brown butter, which gives it the typical fragrant and nutty aroma – basically bakers’ secret weapon. The apples are soaked for hours to release their moisture and juices, with the addition of dried apples that give the cake another layer of flavour.
Last but not least, the finishing touches, with some sticky apple juice drizzle, crunchy salted peanuts as a topping and a moreish peanut butter Chantilly cream to serve the cake with. Serving cake with gelato, whipped cream or custard is not something that happens often in Italy (and when it does it’s usually just with a swirl of cream on the side for decoration), but I think it works particularly well in this case. I mean, who doesn’t like peanut butter? And peanut butter on cake? And peanut butter on apple cake?
Oh, and just a suggestion, this apple and peanut financier traybake cake makes a lovely breakfast – and goes well with a nice cup of tea or coffee on the side.
In need of tea or coffee time dessert inspiration? Bake a batch of these salted caramel and lemon jam sandwich biscuits (they’ll become everyone’s favourite in a blink), wow your guests with these pick-me-ups tiramisu bites or serve them an elegant and original treat inspired by the classic Italian breakfast, cappuccino e croissant.
Ingredients
FOR THE FILLING
- 100g peeled and cored apples (I used Royal Gala)
- 20g caster sugar
- 5ml lemon juice (about 1 tsp)
- 50g dried apples
- 100ml apple juice
- 10g caster sugar
FOR THE CAKE MIX
- 180g icing sugar
- 120g almond flour
- 90g plain flour
- 180g butter
- 180g egg white (about 6 egg whites)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 10g baking powder
- 1g salt
FOR THE DRIZZLE AND DECORATION
- 100ml reserved juice of from the apple filling (top up with apple juice if it’s less than 100ml)
- 40g caster sugar
- 8g cornstarch
- 30g salted peanuts, whizzed to coarse bits
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CHANTILLY CREAM
- 200g double cream
- 20g icing sugar
- 35g smooth peanut butter
Method
MAKE THE FILLING
- Cut the peeled apples into chunks and put them in a bowl. Combine the sugar and lemon together in a another bowl, then spread the mixture on to the apples and mix to coat well. Leave to macerate for at least 4 hours, giving them a good stir every hour or so. This will cause the apple to release some of their moisture and it will intensify their flavour. After 4 hours, strain and reserve the liquid.
- Chop the dried apples into small pieces and put them into a bowl. Combine the apple juice, lemon and sugar together in a small pan. Bring it to the boil, remove from the heat and then pour it over the dried apples. Leave them to soak in the liquid and rehydrate for 4 hours, alongside the fresh apples. After 4 hours, drain and reserve all the liquid from the apples. Combine the two batches of apples together.
MAKE THE CAKE MIX
Preheat the oven to 170°C conventional / 150°C fan and line a square or rectangular tin with baking parchment (I used a 20cm x 30cm tray).
- Make the brown butter (beurre noisette). Put the butter into a saucepan and gently bring to the boil. Allow it to melt and continue to cook without stirring. It will foam up and crackle, then eventually it will go silent and the foam will vanish. At this point, remove from the heat, strain, add the vanilla extract and set aside to cool completely.
- Mix the icing sugar, flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and sift twice. If your almond flour is too coarse, you can put the mix in a food processor and process until ground. Then sift and set aside. Put the egg whites in a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer) and whisk to soft peaks. Add the whipped egg whites to the flour mix, folding them in very gently using a metal spoon or a spatula. Once you’re done, fold in the brown butter in the same way.
- Transfer the mix to the tin, then scatter the apple mix filling over the top, and press it down gently into the batter (but not completely). Bake in the preheated oven for a total of 45 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 10 mins if the top is browning too much. Check if it’s cooked by inserting a skewer into the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Leave to cool in the tin. Once it’s cooled, cut the cake into 12 big slices and move on to the next step (cutting the cake before adding the sticky drizzle ensures to get neater slices).
MAKE THE APPLE DRIZZLE AND CHANTILLY CREAM
- Put the reserved apple juice mixture (if less than 100ml, top up with store bought apple juice) in a small saucepan alongside the sugar, and gently bring to the boil. Once it’s boiling remove from the heat, take about 3 tbsp of the liquid from the pan and mix it with the cornstarch to make a paste. Add the paste back into the pan and bring to the boil again. Let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat, let it cool down for 1 minute and then drizzle over your cake slices. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts on top.
- When you’re ready to serve your cake, make your Chantilly cream. I think peanut butter and apples are a marriage made in heaven, however you can always omit the peanut butter and go for the classic chantilly with no added flavour if you think the peanuts on top of the cakes are “peanutty” enough. For best results put the bowl you’re going to use to whip your cream in the fridge for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the bowl out of the fridge, add the double cream, icing sugar and the peanut butter to it, and using a hand mixer whisk on low for a minute and then on medium speed until soft peaks.
Serve a slice of apple financier with a dollop of (peanut butter) Chantilly cream on the side, and enjoy.