Super-Moist Pink Pearl Apple Cake – The Bojon Gourmet

By foodiva

Ingredients

• The cake:
• Makes one 9″ cake, about 10 servings
• 4ounces4 ounces (1 stick/8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4cup3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces) maple sugar
• 2large2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1cup1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2cup1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour
• 1 1/2teaspoons1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4teaspoon1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2cup1/2 cup whole milk
• 3/4teaspoon3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• The topping:
• 3-4medium3-4 medium pink pearl apples, peeled, cut off the core, and sliced 1/4″ thick
• 1/2cup1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4cup1/4 cup granulated (organic turbinado) sugar
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350º. Butter a 9″ round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and maple sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Stir the milk and vanilla together in a small measuring cup.
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles over the batter, pressing them into the batter slightly. Pour the cream all over the top, then sprinkle evenly with the sugar.
• Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, and the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
• The cake is best the day it has been made, but will keep for a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container. (The high moisture content makes it prone to molding, so store it in the fridge after that.)

Details

Servings 9
Adapted from bojongourmet.com

Preparation

Step 1

seasonal recipes from a recovering pastry chef

Of course, once I got the book home all I could think about in my carb-deprived state was the Super-Moist Apple Cake, rustic and craggy beneath a blanket of cinnamon sugar. The cake earned its title due to the scant cup of heavy cream which got poured over the pre-baked, apple-topped batter.

), my thoughts returned to the super-moist apple cake, and I gave it another go. I couldn’t resist cutting down the sugar a bit (it called for an awful lot, even for a non-dieting pastry chef immune to the butteriest of recipes), subbing in maple sugar, and swapping in whole spelt flour for some of the white stuff.

So for trial 2, I cut the recipe down by a third, and baked it in a 9″ pan. Since the soft apples and custardy pockets were the best part of the cake, I left those measurements the same, the extra moisture compensating for the reduced sugar in the cake. I also omitted the cinnamon sugar topping to leave the pretty-in-pink apples exposed and their bright flavor intact.

This turned out a much more civilized quantity of cake with ample apples, plenty of moisture from the cream, and bits of custardy goo throughout. Whole spelt flour adds a nubby wheaty-ness that makes this coffee-cake-esque, fitting for a brunch or tea-time snack. The maple sugar adds warmth and earthy sweetness which contrasts beautifully with the lemony-tart apples.

If you lack pink pearls, substitute any apple you like in its place; gravensteins or pink ladies would be my first choices. I find a T-shaped vegetable peeler the easiest way to peel apples: peel off the upper-and bottom-most ring of skin, then move around the apple removing the peel in downward strips. If you like a bit of spice, add 1/2-1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar in the topping. Maple sugar is a luxury; feel free to use brown or unrefined cane sugar in its place. All ounce measurements are by weight.

Makes one 9″ cake, about 10 servings

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) whole spelt (or whole wheat pastry) flour

3-4 medium pink pearl apples, peeled, cut off the core, and sliced 1/4″ thick

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350º. Butter a 9″ round cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and maple sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Stir the milk and vanilla together in a small measuring cup.

With the mixer on low, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and with the mixer on low, add 1/2 of the milk mixture, stirring until just combined. Continue like this until all the ingredients are added, then remove the bowl from the mixer, and give the batter a final turn with a rubber spatula to make sure the batter is homogeneous.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Arrange the apple slices in concentric circles over the batter, pressing them into the batter slightly. Pour the cream all over the top, then sprinkle evenly with the sugar.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs, and the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The cake is best the day it has been made, but will keep for a day or two at room temperature in an airtight container. (The high moisture content makes it prone to molding, so store it in the fridge after that.)

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