Spelt Apple and Ginger Cake Caramel Cake

 

This gloriously soft, more-ish and surprisingly light apple and ginger cake is studded with apples, flavored with fragrant spices, and drizzled with coconut sugar caramel. It’s the perfect autumnal cake, and is best enjoyed with a cuppa.

 

 

 

My apple and ginger cake

What kind of apples should I use?

How the cake is sweetened

What is coconut sugar?

Can I use different sugars?

The coconut sugar caramel sauce

More spelt cake recipes

 

 

 

 

 

My apple and ginger cake

There’s something about the combo of apples and caramel that are so synonymous with autumn, and the cooling weather. Add a strong hit of ginger to the mix though, and we’re suddenly in real winter territory.  In fact, this apple and ginger cake got me in the feels for Christmas. I am not sure if that’s because I baked it on a very dark Saturday afternoon, and took the pictures when it was pitch black outside.

Ginger always reminds me of Christmas, and I use it a lot in my baking around the festivities. Talking of which, yesterday I bought the year’s first tin of pepparkakor, and I thoroughly enjoyed them with my coffee this morning.

Adapted from the recipe from the amazing Domestic Goddess, I tweaked the sweeteners and spices and of course, used spelt flour. I also created a simple coconut sugar caramel sauce to finish it off. 

It’s the chunkiest cake I’ve made in a long time. It’s a pretty substantial and can easily be cut into 10 slabs. If you’re not quite as greedy as me (or you have more mouths to feed), you will get more slices. 

 

 

What kind of apples should I use?

The cake has one apple. Half is cut into slices and placed along the top of the cake before being baked. The other half is sliced up and stirred into the batter.

Any eating apple works beautifully in this cake. I like to use apples that are naturally sweet and a little tart, such as Pink Lady, Jazz, or Cox. They hold their shape well and add a gentle freshness that balances the warm spices and rich sweetness.

If you prefer a softer texture, you can use a milder variety like Golden Delicious. They will melt more into the batter, giving a slightly more pudding-like feel.

There’s no need to peel them unless you want to; the skin softens as it bakes and adds a bit of rustic charm. If you love apples in your cakes, feel free to use two, rather than just one.

 

 

How the cake is sweetened

My ginger cake is made with three different kinds of sugar: Demerara, coconut, and light syrup. Each one adds something unique. The Demerara sugar brings a gentle crunch and a lovely caramel note that deepens as the cake bakes. Coconut sugar, with its warm, earthy sweetness, gives a soft toffee-like flavour that complements the spices beautifully. Finally, the light syrup adds moisture and helps create that irresistibly sticky texture ginger cakes are known for.

Together, they make the cake sweet but balanced, definitely rich and complex rather than sugary. The long bake time means the outside darkens almost to the edge of burning, caramelising the sugars to perfection. It forms a crusty, slightly chewy edge with a soft, tender inside that’s full of flavour. I had at least three slices, but who’s counting?

 

 

What is coconut sugar?

Coconut sugar is the sweetener of choice in South East Asia, but its popularity is picking up speed other places. It is slightly paler than brown sugar, but it darkens as it cooks. Coconut sugar doesn’t come from the fruit of the palm tree (coconuts), but the sap from the actual tree itself. They remove the sap in a process similar to collecting maple syrup, add some water, and boil it up to make a syrup. They then allow the syrup to cool and crystallise. The last stage is to break it up into granules similar to other sugars.

Coconut sugar is often touted as a healthier alternative to regular sugar. Although coconut sugar is the least processed of all sugars (retaining its lovely amber hue), and is low on the glycemic index, it is still sugar. In fact, there is very little difference nutritionally, and the calorific content of both coconut and white sugar are similar. 

In baking, brown sugar can be substituted for coconut sugar in most cases. Coconut sugar has a lower burning temperature than regular brown sugar, making it perfect for this apple and ginger cake, as it enhanced the caramel/toffee undertones. However, it is not recommended to use in place of brown sugar when making candy. 

 

 

Can I use different sugars?

Yes! You can use almost any kind of brown sugar you like in place of the coconut sugar and Demerara. You could even use white sugar. Although different sugars weigh slightly differently (especially when measured in cups), those small variations won’t affect the cake. You could even use white sugar if that’s what you have.

Just keep in mind that brown sugar brings gentle caramel notes, while coconut sugar adds a deep, molasses-like warmth. If you swap either one for white sugar, the cake will still bake beautifully, but it will taste lighter and a little less rich.

The original recipe used dark brown soft sugar, golden syrup, and treacle. If you’d like to recreate that darker, more traditional flavour, simply follow the original cake’s recipe instead (link above).

 

 

The coconut sugar caramel sauce

To top off the cake, I made a simple caramel sauce using coconut sugar. I chose coconut sugar rather than Demerara because it’s the same one I use for my baked apples, and it’s delicious. It gives the sauce a lovely depth. Coconut sugar also gives the sauce a beautiful deep amber colour and a gentle warmth that ties in perfectly with the ginger and spices in the cake.

To make the sauce, just heat the coconut sugar along with 30g butter and a tablespoon of milk. Once a rolling boil is achieved, remove from the heat and allow for it to thicken a little.

Drizzled over the top of a still-warm cake, the sauce seeps just slightly into the crust, adding a glossy finish and that extra touch of indulgence. It’s one of those little details that make the cake feel special. And truthfully, it’s good enough to eat straight from the spoon.