Apple and Ginger Cake (with Coconut Sugar Caramel)
Servings: 10 big slices
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 large apple
- 100g (¼ cup + 3 tbsp) butter (softened)
- 30g (⅐ cup) Demerera sugar (see note 1)
- 70g (½ cup) coconut sugar (see note 1)
- 170g (6 oz) light syrup (see note 2)
- 3 medium eggs (weighing 150g / 5¼ oz in the shells)
- 175g (1½ cups) spelt flour (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Caramel Sauce:
- 50g (¼ cup) coconut sugar (see note 1)
- 30g (⅛ cup) butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Cake:
- Cut your apple in half. One half, cut into slices. The other half, cut into chunks. Set to one side for a moment.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC (325ºF) and line or grease a fairly small loaf tin (mine is 9 x 5 inches).
- Using a stand mixer or wooden spoon, beat the butter together with the sugars and syrup. Work until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, just until they are well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add to the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is combined.
- Add the apple chunks and continue to mix, just until the apples are incorporated.
- Pour into the prepared pan and level off the top. Take the sliced apples and gently place in a line down the middle.
- Bake for around 60 minutes, in the lower part of the oven. The cake is ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean (or with a few crumbs). The cake is a very dark brown when ready, but you don't want it to burn. See how the cake is at around 35-40 minutes and cover with foil if you feel it is browning too much.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a while before turning out of the tin. Leave on a wire rack to cool further.
Caramel Sauce:
- Heat the three ingredients together in a small pan.
- Wait until it reaches a rolling boil, then turn down the heat a little and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. You just want to melt the sugar - if you cook it too long, it will go very hard, very quickly (think stringy hard candy).
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a while (the longer you leave it, the thicker it will become).
- Drizzle or pour over the cake (while the cake is still a little warm), pushing some down over the sides. Cut into slices and serve with a nice cup of coffee or tea! Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use any brown sugar in place of the Demerara. The same applies for the coconut sugar. Just use whatever brown sugar you want as long as it is 1oog / 3½ oz in total.
- If you'd like a real gingerbread taste, use half treacle or molasses.
- You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount).