Maple Apple and Walnut Cake Recipe

Maple Apple and Walnut Cake Recipe

This cake has a truly autumnal feel. Maple, apples, cinnamon and walnuts are a perfect combination. It is simple to make and looks impressive once finished.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 4 Royal Gala apples, peeled and diced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 310g self raising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 250ml Pure Maple Syrup, Dark Robust
• 3 eggs
• 200ml vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 125ml semi skimmed milk
• 80g plain yoghurt
• 200g walnuts, chopped
• Butter, for greasing the tin

Salted Maple Caramel

• 125ml Pure Maple Syrup, Dark Robust
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• Rock salt, to taste

Topping

• 2 Royal Gala apples, thinly sliced
• Juice of 2 oranges
• Caster sugar, for sprinkling
• Handful of chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Grease a fluted cake tin with butter and preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Prepare the apples by peeling and dicing them into roughly 5mm pieces. Toss them in the lemon juice until well coated, then pat dry with kitchen paper and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add all the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a spatula. Fold in the apples and chopped walnuts.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out of the tin.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 140C.
8. To prepare the topping, thinly slice the apples and place them in the orange juice until coated. Lay them on kitchen paper and pat dry.
9. Arrange the apple slices on two baking trays lined with greaseproof paper and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Turn the slices to coat evenly.
10. Bake for about 50 minutes until dried, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
11. Place the chopped walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
12. To make the salted maple caramel, place the maple syrup and butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Stir gently until the butter melts, then increase the heat and bring to a boil.
13. Cook until the caramel coats the back of a spoon. Pour into a bowl and allow to cool and thicken, then stir in a pinch of rock salt to taste.
14. To decorate, drizzle the cake with the salted maple caramel, sprinkle with toasted walnuts and finish with the dried apple slices.