Sorry, ladies, but I've trumped you all with the apple cake featured in my cookbook :-)
Now, interestingly enough, I've never been a huge apple cake fan. Apple pie, yes, but not so much apple cake. But it was the introduction of ingredients such as brandy, walnuts and a healthy portion of cinnamon in this particular recipe that made me rethink my whole take on this dessert.
I made Janna Gur's Apple, Cinnamon and Walnut Cake this past Sunday night as part of a post-Rosh Hashanah dinner for A and a couple of friends. Due to a hectic workweek, I was unable to cook or bake anything for Rosh Hashanah proper, so I was happy to at least have the opportunity to try out this recipe a couple of days later.
Once again, I was quite pleased with the end results -- and for me, that was a surprise because I'm not a fan of parve cakes. Personally, I don't think a cake is really a cake without butter ;-) But, Ms. Gur has indeed proven me wrong, because this cake was sweet, moist and fluffy!
Apple, Cinnamon and Walnut Cake
Recipe courtesy of The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey, by Janna Gur
Ingredients (for a 10-inch diameter springform pan)
5 large baking apples, peeled and cored (Note: I like to use Granny Smith apples. Also, four apples will do. Three go into the cake, whereas you use one to two apples for the top)
Juice of half a lemon
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup oil (Note: I used vegetable oil)
5 tablespoons brandy or calvados (Note: I used brandy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
For dusting
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut three apples into 1/2 inch dice. Slice the remaining two apples into eight wedges each, sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.
3. Sift the flour with cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
4. Using an electric mixer beat the eggs, sugar, brandy and vanilla extract until pale and thick, about eight minutes.
5. Lower the speed and gradually add the oil and then the flour mixture.
6. Fold in the diced apples and chopped walnuts and pour the batter into a well-greased baking pan. Arrange the apple wedges in the center of the cake in a flower pattern. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top.
7. Bake for 60-70 minutes until the cake is golden and a toothpick comes out dry with a few crumbs adhering.
8. Cool for 10 minutes, release from pan and cool completely on a rack.
