Cinnamon Apple Cake

Apple-licious 🍎

A deliciously easy Cinnamon Apple Cake made from scratch. This soft and tender Apple Cake is packed with fresh apples and features a cinnamon topping and a drizzle of sweet icing.

Can we take a moment to talk about the match made in heaven that is apple and cinnamon ? This terrifically tender Cinnamon Apple Cake is my new fav!!

It's soft, it's sweet and it's filled with fresh, juicy apples. The final touch is a sprinkling of cinnamon and a sweet icing glaze.

Can I say that I never thought a Cinnamon Apple Cake could taste so good. I baked quite a few apple cakes and this is JUST right. When I finally landed on the winning recipe, I was beyond excited.

One bote of this soft and fluffy masterpiece and I was fist-pumping the air. After many attempts of Cinnamon Apple Cakes, I instantly knew this one was the winner. Of course, I had to have a few more slices just to be oh-so sure.

Ingredients:
For the Cake

• 1 medium dessert apple
• 180 g butter, softened
• 180 g soft dark brown sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 200 g self raising flour
• 1 level tsp of ground Cinnamon
• 3 tbsp golden syrup

For the topping

• ground Cinnamon for dusting, about ½ tsp or more if you prefer
• 3 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 tablespoons icing sugar sieved
• 1-2 tsp pre-boiled water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°c/ 160°C fan assisted. Grease and line a 20cm/8inch deep sided cake tin with baking parchment.

Peel and core the apple. Chop into small chunks. No bigger than 1/2 inch. Place in a bowl of cold water to help prevent oxidation. Or the apples will turn an unsightly brown colour. Leave to one side until required. (You will need to drain and pat dry the apple chunks before using).

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Using an electric mixer will speed things up.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the flour between each one. This will help prevent curdling.

Drain and pat dry the chopped apple.

Fold in the remaining flour and ground cinnamon, to the sugar-butter mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add the golden syrup and the chopped apple. Mix until well combined.

Pour the mixture into the tin, spreading it evenly across the top.

Bake for 30 - 35 mins or until baked. Testing the centre of the cake with a skewer until it comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool for about 10 mins. 

While the cake is cooling in the tin. Gently warm the golden syrup in a medium pan. Make a few holes in the top of the cake with a cake skewer. Then spread the syrup over the slightly still warm cake with a pastry brush. 

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely

Dust with ground cinnamon.

Make the water icing by mixing the icing sugar and pre-boiled water together until you have a thick runny consistency. Drizzle over the cake.

Notes: 

1. Drain and pat dry the apples before using. If you don't do this, you will be adding additional liquid to the cake batter, which may affect the overall baking outcome.
2. Dessert apples are best for this cake as they already have a natural sweetness to them. 
3. Using dark soft brown sugar gives a slight toffee taste and darker colour to the cake. Apples and toffee go really well together. They are the flavours of Autumn and bonfire night.
4. Adding a little golden syrup to the cake batter and as a glaze on top, helps to make this cake nice and moist.
5. Cinnamon helps to bring out the flavours of the apples, without being overpowering. You can adjust the amount of ground cinnamon to suit your state.
6. This recipe is so versatile, you can serve it as a pudding with lashing of custard. Or a dash of single cream.