Spiced Apple and Hazelnut Cake

This cake is a thing of autumnal beauty. It perfectly captures the change of seasons here in Melbourne, as the leaves transform from vibrant green to mellow orange and the crispness in the air signals the time to rug-up draws near. 

I could think of nothing better than sitting down on an autumn afternoon with a slice of this cake, a cup of tea and good company, as the leaves slowly tumble around us.

There’s nothing overly technical about this cake, with it’s simple spiced apples and unassuming cake batter. And as so often in life, it’s the simple things that shine through. I’ve dialled up the spice in the apple mix, so they really sing once they’re baked in the cake. The apples bake just enough to easily cut through when you’re slicing the cake, while still maintaining some texture to not completely blend into the cake.

Recipe tips

• Leave a 2-3cm border around the apple layer so you can seal them in with the cake batter.

• You’ll use about two-thirds of the prepared apples in the actual cake. The remaining apples can be made into a sweet, sprightly apple sauce you can serve on the side. Scroll down to find the bonus recipe!

• When you’re spreading the second layer of cake batter, the cake will be very domed, almost like a pie. This is how it should be! When it bakes the batter will puff up and level out.

Watch my how-to video on Instagram

INGREDIENTS

Apple filling

• 750g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, halved and sliced into 2-3mm slices

• 120g caster sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Juice from half a lemon

Cake

• 200g caster sugar

• 150g unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 225g plain flour

• 75g hazelnut meal

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• A pinch of salt

• 200ml full fat milk, room temperature

• Juice of half a lemon

• 75g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

• Icing sugar, to decorate

METHOD

Apple filling

• Peel and core your apples. Slice in half, from top to bottom, and then slice into 2-3mm half-moon slices.

• Place the apple in a bowl, along with the other filling ingredients and mix so the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.

Cake

• Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees C and grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm spring-form tin. Set aside.

• With a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using hand beaters, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

• While the butter and sugar are creaming, pour the lemon juice and milk into a jug and mix to combine. This will thicken up, turning into buttermilk so don’t be alarmed when it looks curdled.

• In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, hazelnut meal, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

• Once the butter and sugar are creamed, add the vanilla and one egg and beat until combined. Add the remaining egg and beat until fully combined, remembering to scrape the bowl.

• Add a third of the flour mix and beat on low until almost combined. Add a third of the thickened milk and beat on low until almost combined. Repeat this two more times until all the flour and milk are added and you have a smooth, thick cake batter.

Assemble and bake

• Spread half of the cake batter over the base of your prepared cake tin. Leaving a 2cm edge, layer the apple slices over the cake batter. I used about two-thirds of the apple slices and had a pile of apple slices three layers high.

  • You’ll notice there’s a lot of liquid left in the apple bowl. Reserve this, along with the left-over apple slices to make a beautiful, spiced apple sauce*.

• Spoon the remaining cake batter over the apple slices and gently spread the batter to the edges of the tin, sealing the apples in like a pie, ensuring all the apples are covered with cake batter. The uncooked cake will be domed, which is what you want. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top of the cake.

• Place in the oven and bake for 60-70 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. The cake is baked when it’s starting to brown on the top, a skewer comes out clean and the apples show no resistance when you test the cake.

• Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes, and then release and remove the side of the tin. Leave to cool on the base. You can serve this cake slightly warm, or leave to cool fully.

• Dust with excessive icing sugar and serve with a dollop of double cream and some spiced apple sauce*, if desired. Enjoy!

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

BONUS RECIPE - Spiced Apple Sauce

• Place all the remaining apple slices and spiced liquid into a small saucepan and bring to the boil.

• Turn the temperature down and simmer for 5 minutes, until the apples are soft.

• Pour the mixture into the beaker of a hand mixer, and blitz into a purée.

• Pour into a container or bowl and cool in the fridge.

• Use this to dollop on the side when serving this cake, or as a filling for another cake.