A wind like wolves prowling across the fields. Growling at windows and doors. Snarling down the fireplace chimney. The kind of rainy, dark, dismal day that cried out for a kitchen perfumed with the fragrance of exotic spices. A cake! A cake to be consumed still warm from the oven. A cake with a bold presence. A cake to keep the wolf from the door.
When I lived in Amsterdam I shopped daily at the Albert Cupt Street Market. And every day I would stop at a near by cafe to watch boats traveling the canals, and enjoy a coffee with a slice of Apple Cinnamon and Cardamon Cake. I’ve adapted this recipe from Luthra Vedika’s cookbook “52 Weeks, 52 Sweets”. It’s a delightfully easy cake to make. The streusel topping is crunchy, rich and flavoured with cinnamon and cardamon. You hand -mix the cake batter in one bowl. Fold in a generous amount of chopped apples and top it with the streusel .
| APPLE CINNAMON AND CARDAMON CAKE . . . A CAKE TO KEEP THE WOLF FROM THE DOOR | Print |
: one bowl cake
Cuisine: Dutch
: Mrs Butterfingers
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: 8
Easy to hand mix one bowl cake with streusel topping.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (225 g) all--purpose flour
- ¾ cups (176 g) sugar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup (75 mL) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg at room temperature whisked but not foamy
- ½ cup (118mL) buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large apples (450 g) peeled, cored and chopped into 1-cm or ½ inch cubes. Use a firm apple such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady or Honey Crisp.
- STREUSEL TOPPING
- ¾ cups(102 g) all purpose flour
- 3 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cardamon
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 5½ tbs (78 g) cold unsalted cutter, cut into small cubes
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F(1880C). and allow the oven to come to temperature for at least 30 minutes before you use it. This avoids the temperature dropping as you put your cake in the oven.
- Butter and flour an 8 to 9 inch (20-to-24-cm) springform pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
- Make the streusel topping.
- Whisk the flour, both sugars, the cinnamon, salt and cardamon in a medium bowl. Drop in the cubes of cold butter and toss the ingredients together with your fingers until the butter is coated. Squeeze and rub and press everything together until you have a bowl of moist clumps. It is ready if you can pinch the streusel and it holds together.
- Sprinkle over the vanilla and toss to blend. Set aside.
- (You can mix the streusel with a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment mix all the ingredients (except vanilla) on medium low speed until the ingredients form moist, clumpy crumbs. Sprinkle with vanilla and mix until blended.)
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamon in a large bowl
- Make a well in the center and add in the oil, egg, buttermilk and vanilla. The batter will be quick thick.
- Fold in the chopped apples until just incorporated. Don't overwork the cake batter as it will result in a denser cake.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan.
- Distribute the streusel over the top of the cake as evenly as possible.
- Place the cake pan on a baking sheet and bake the cake for 45 to 60 minutes (depending on how big your cake pan). I used a 9 inch pan and it took a full 60 minutes to bake.
- Check ever now and then after the 45-minute mark.until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few damp crumbs, and the apples are cooked. The toothpick should not be sticky.
- Cool on a rack then run a knife around the edges to loose it and unmold it from the springform
- pan.
- This cake is delicious warm, but unmolding it while still hot may prove a challenge. Be brave - it's your call.
- To place it on a cake plate run a long spatula under the cake then carefully slide the cake unto the plate. The softened parchment paper will come away and stay on the bottom of the cake pan.
- Lavish the cake top with confectioners' sugar. Shake it over the cake through a small sieve .
- STORING
- The cake lasts fro several days if stored in the fridge, but because it has fruit it's best eaten fresh.
- CHEFS' NOTE;
- You can add nuts to the streusel or replace the apples with pears
Serve it warm or at room temperature embellished with a generous dusting of confectioners’ sugar. I believe that a cake that tames a wild beast could also benefit from a generous drift of whipped cream of a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.
