apple cake w rhubarb & cream cheese glaze

This is the most wonderful apple cake recipe I have ever eaten.

The outside is crunchy, like a fine crust, while the inside is crumbly and moist with chunks of apples and the heady fragrance of cinnamon.

I defy anyone not to like this cake.

The inspiration for this cake came after a visit to the local markets at Eveleigh, where an eccentrically dressed farmer (think Mongolian fur hat and worn leather vest) forced us to taste his Pink Lady apples. He was pushing them on us like a dealer to a junkie, so we begrudgingly accepted a slice and quickly skulked away.

When the sweet-tart fruit hit our lips, we truly became addicted.

Our eyes widened and we looked at each other in shock, as if we’d never truly eaten an apple before. That farmer knew what he was doing, and in a flash Jonas and I had bought ourselves a heavy bag full of luscious Pink Lady apples.

Now we just had to figure out what to do with them all.

There was Roasted Apple Sauce and Chorizo w Apples and we ate the rest just as nature made them.

But the crowning glory was this cake.

Initially I bought rhubarb to make an apple and rhubarb pie but, when I remembered Steph’s Earl Grey Cake with Rhubarb Cream Cheese Glaze, I decided I wanted to nick her frosting idea and smother it all over an apple cake.

A quick search on Google Images to find a cake with the right fluffy interior, and I stumbled across this recipe. Done.

Baking this cake was dead easy and the results were superb. I took the leftovers to work and it was certainly a crowd pleaser at morning tea.

Better still, it was exactly the kind of cake that Jonas loves, and it’s always nice to make him happy.

Apple & Cinnamon Cake

Recipe by Selma Horan via Taryn Cox, The Wife. Serves 12.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of canola oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
3 cups chopped apples

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180’c.

2. Beat eggs in mixing bowl.

3. Add sugar, oil and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl combine cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until dough has formed.

6. Add chopped apples to dough (if you dont have a kitchen-aid mixture with a dough hook, then it is best to mix in apples by hand as dough becomes very thick.)

7. Pour into a lightly greased bundt cake pan and cook for 45 – 60 minutes.

Rhubarb & Cream Cheese Glaze

Recipe by Steph from Raspberri Cupcakes. Makes plenty.

Ingredients:
150g rhubarb, diced
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 tablespoon water
125g cream cheese, softened
1 cup (150g) icing sugar, sifted

Method:

1. Place rhubarb in a small saucepan on low heat with lemon zest, sugar and water.

2. Stirring occasionally, simmer rhubarb until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

4. Puree mixture in a food processor or blender.

5. Place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.


6. Add sifted icing sugar and rhubarb puree and beat until smooth.

7. Pour over the top of cooled cake and serve immediately.