Apple Cake with caramel
Apples are my favorite type of fruit. Every Fall in Rhode Island, I go to my local farm where they grow many trees of multiple varieties and I pick the apples to bake something at home.
These are the apples you want to pick that are perfect for baking: Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.
Recipe
Apple topping:
3-4 apples, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon Butter:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp granulated sugar
Cake Batter:
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk *
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
For the Caramel, I used an easy homemade caramel recipe I found online. You can use store bought as well.
*you can use milk, if buttermilk isn’t an option but buttermilk is preferable. You can make buttermilk by adding 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and set it aside for 10 min.
Directions:
Peel and cut the apples into cubes. Place in a bowl, then add the cinnamon and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, add the eggs to a bowl, then start whipping the eggs on medium high for 4-6 min. Slowly add the sugar while whipping. The goal is to achieve a fluffy mixture and dissolve the sugar with the eggs. Stop whipping when you pull the whip attachment and the mixture can form a “figure 8” or a line for 3 seconds.
Add the salt, buttermilk, vanilla and vegetable oil to the whipped egg mixture and fold gently with a rubber spatula without over mixing and deflating the eggs. Just 2-3 folds.
In a sieve add the flour and baking powder, then sieve the flour and baking powder on top of the wet mixture. This is an important step to avoid flour clumps.
Start folding the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients gently until all the ingredients are incorporated. It’s important to fold gently in order to avoid deflating the batter.
Add a couple of the apples into the batter and mix it.
Place the batter in a 9 in cake pan or springform pan.
(Optional) In a small bowl make the cinnamon butter, melt the butter in a small bowl and add the cinnamon and sugar.
With a spoon add the cinnamon butter on top of the batter, the add the diced apples on top of the batter.
Bake the cake in the oven at 350 F for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer is inserted and it comes out clean.
Let it cool for 1 hour before serving.
Optional, add caramel on top of the cake when serving.
