How to make a delicious Dutch apple cake recipe
Apples, I can’t get enough of them. And especially in apple season, which is always autumn for me anyway, I love to bake with them. A Dutch apple pie recipe is of course a classic but this Dutch apple cake is also a really tasty and an easy alternative.
Apple cake
An apple cake is of course super simple. Which apples you want to use in it is entirely up to you. I am not a fan of green apples. I just don’t like them and I find the yellow apples less tasty. So I actually always choose apples with a nice blush. I find Goudreinet (Golden Rennet) – traditionally the apple for Dutch apple pie – less suitable for Dutch apple cake. It is possible, of course, but you can choose the apples you like best. Granny Smith, Pink Lady or whatever other apples you find in your neighbourhood. I incorporate most of the apples into the cake itself and top the cake – before baking – with a few slices of apple.
Now comes the million dollar question ‘what makes an apple cake a Dutch apple cake’? To be entirely honest, I don’t really know. It might be the way it is baked or the way it is put together, but whatever the case; I’ve decided this is a Dutch apple cake. Mostly because I am Dutch and I made this apple cake. So that’s as good as it gets right?
In the pictures you may see that the apple cake is quite firm in texture. I made the cake again afterwards and adjusted the recipe to what you see below. So the final structure is a lot fluffier, but I didn’t take new photos. That just seemed a bit silly and I kind of liked these pictures.
I often do that; then a recipe is not quite to my liking and I make it again at home with changes. But then I’m often too lazy to redo the picture again, if it is to my liking. Sorry about that.
Making the Dutch apple cake
Making the Dutch apple cake is easy. You take a large bowl for making the cake batter and you combine the ingredients together. I’ve used equal amounts of sugar, flour, eggs and butter for the cake. The cake can be changed slightly by using brown sugar instead of white sugar. I also find the cake gets slightly more moist if you do.
To start the process you combine the eggs with the sugar and whip until it starts to double or triple in volume. You can do that with a hand mixer but it’s easiest to use a food processor or stand mixer. Once the eggs are fluffy you combine with the flour and fold it through. To prevent any lumps of flour forming you can pass it through a sieve if you want to. I tend to be too lazy for that and have never had an issue but if you want to be absolutely sure? Use a sieve. Once the flour is in, ad the melted butter and incorporate into the mixture.
I like to add some vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and some extra cinnamon to the batter as well. Depending on the season this is also really delicious with some extra spices such as ginger or a little bit of nutmeg. Or use a ready made blend of ginger bread spices.
I’ve used fresh apples for the cake and cut that into smaller cubes. Not too small but also not too big. If you want to add extra flavor to the apples you can roll them through some cinnamon. Or you can use some cinnamon sugar. That’s essentially a mix of icing sugar combined with cinnamon. Make sure to drizzle the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent it from coloring.
Fold the apple slices through the cake batter and pour into the prepared pan. Make sure the oven temperature is at 350˚F (180˚C) before adding the cake. On top of the cake batter I like to place two very thin slices of apple. That mostly for looks so you can leave it out if you want. If you’re using them push apple slices slightly into the batter.
To bring some variation to the cake you can also add some almond slivers over it or use any other nuts on or in the batter.
Which tin to use?
As you can probably guess from the photos I’ve used a regular cake tin for this Dutch apple cake, but you can also use a springform pan if you prefer and bake a round version. You make sure you line the baking tin with parchment paper and once it is golden brown leave it to cool down on a wire rack.
Due to the apple content it does stay moist for a couple of days but it is still best to use plastic wrap to make sure the cake keeps as long as possible.
Before slicing the cake make sure the cake is cool or at least at room temperature.
Serving
To serve the Dutch apple cake I like to keep it simple and use double cream whipped to soft peaks with a little bit of icing sugar. But alternatively it is also really good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But to be honest I love everything with whipped cream.
Dutch apple crumble cake
If you want it is also really easy to transfer this cake into an apple crumb cake by taken a small bowl and make a crumb mixture. That can then be sprinkled on top which give an even more delicious end result.
Apple cake
Equipment
- cake tin 25 cm
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 200 g self rising flour
- 200 g melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 3 apples e.g. Elstar or Jonagold, peeled, core removed and 2.5 diced, half sliced
- Pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. (350˚F) Grease a cake pan and line it with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, break the four eggs with the sugar and beat until they have tripled in volume and become fluffy.
- Sift the self-rising baking flour and add it to your egg mixture. Fold this over, preserving as much air as possible. Add the melted (and slightly cooled) butter and mix until combined.
- Add cinnamon, pinch of salt and vanilla extract.
- Add the diced apple to the batter and gently fold them into the batter so that the apple pieces are evenly distributed. You can roll the apple pieces through some more cinnamon.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Place the apple slices on top of the batter and press lightly. Sprinkle optionally with some almond shavings.
- Bake the apple cake in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the mold for a few minutes. Then carefully remove the cake from the mold and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Sprinkle the cooled apple cake with powdered sugar
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
