Apple Streusel cake

I am not the hugest fan of desserts and cakes that contain cooked apples, or cooked fruit in general – there’s just something about the texture that makes my face shake and not in a good way. But then I tried out this Apple Streusel Cake recipe and my opinion on cooked apple pie changed overnight.

It’s not too sweet, the filling is not too mushy (which is probably why I like it) and the cake bottom is nice and spongy which adds a nice overall texture. Plus this is not the hardest recipe to follow and in the end, you land up with a very flavoursome cake that goes awesomely with some whipped vanilla cream.

This recipe comes out Cake Days, one of the best baking books I own. I have modified it slightly…Sometimes when I have a bit of extra time I cook the apples off a bit in a pan with a knob of butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar, you don’t have to do this, but it does add a nice flavour to the cake 🙂

INGREDIENTS: 

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:

65g plain flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

40g unsalted butter chilled and diced

65g soft brown sugar

FOR THE SPONGE:

60g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

140g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

80ml whole milk

3-4 granny smith apples, I used red ones and they worked just fine

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Preheat the oven to 170°(fan-assisted), then grease the tin with butter and dust with flour.

2. Make the streusel topping. Sift the flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Add the butter and using your fingertips rub the ingredients together until they resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and set aside.

3. Using a mixer cream together there butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add HALF of this mixture to the creamed butter and sugar, followed by HALF the milk. Mix well on a medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then repeat with the rest of the dry ingredients and the milk. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

5. Peel, core and slice the apples into quarters and each quarter into 3 or 4 slices, depending on the size of the apples – At this stage, if you want to you can quickly cook up the slices of apple in some butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar, but it’s not necessary.

6. Arrange the slices in concentric circles on the top of the cake batter, then sprinkle with streusel topping, making sure it forms an even layer.

7. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

8 Set aside to cool before removing it from your tin. Serve with cream or custard, warm or cold.