My online recipe research is always so much fun and informative that I just never know what I’m going to come across. It’s always a little exciting when I sit down to my computer and lose myself in all of those wonderful creations that cooks and chefs from around the world so generously share online. I happened to come across this apple dessert a while ago, and like many others, I simply filed it away until I found the time to try it. This recipe was something I found on a blog called Oh Nuts, and really loved the idea and overall concept of the cake which combined both pie and cake flavors/textures together in one dessert!
When I create or share recipes with my audience, I do my best to share things that are easily reproduced, because after all, who the heck has time to worry about complicated recipes…I sure don’t.
As I read thru the recipe, I found several things that were suggested that over complicated the process and really were not necessary at all. Take a look at the original recipe here and you will see what I mean. She did a beautiful job on the cake, but there were many things that were suggested (that I did not do) and it did not change the final result of the cake one bit.
I went ahead and simplified the steps for you because I really want you to try this recipe…yes, it is that delicious. The one thing I deleted completely was the addition of vanilla in the streusel filling…this is something that is never done because it is unnecessary. You can add vanilla sugar to the streusel, but keep the extract for the cake batter only. The least amount of moisture added to a streusel topping the better.
One thing I will say when using butter in your recipes, is to always make sure that the butter and the rest of the ingredients are at room temperature so that everything combines easily together. Some recipes like this one may look curdled when all of the wet ingredients are added together even if you have mixed everything correctly, but don’t worry, simply add the flour a little at a time and the final result will be a lovely, smooth batter.
Go ahead and make this…it’s quick, easy and delicious. By following my steps, the final result will only look as though you’ve spent hours in the kitchen…
Crumb Topping
1 ½ cups walnuts
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup flour
2 oz (half a stick), cold butter cut in pieces
Add everything into the bowl of your food processor and combine everything together until it is all finely ground.
Cake Batter
1 large apple, peeled, cored and sliced very thinly (I actually used 1 ¼ apples)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 ½ sticks butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla (I added maple extract)
1¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (add 2 teaspoons for a darker cake)
First, peel, core and finely slice your apple, toss in the lemon juice and set aside. Add the softened butter to the bowl of your stand mixer along with the granulated sugar and begin to cream these two ingredients together. In a small bowl, add the eggs, vanilla (or maple extract) and sour cream. In another bowl sift together all of your dry ingredients and set them aside. Slowly add the wet ingredients until everything is well incorporated into the butter mixture. If it appears slightly curdled, don’t worry. Next, slowly add the flour a few teaspoons at a time, until the dough comes together in a firm batter. You can also add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, and what I mean by that is once you have creamed your butter and sugar, add 1/3 of the amount of the flour then add half of the wet ingredients. Repeat with another 1/3 of the flour and the other half of the wet ingredients. Then lastly add the final 1/3 of the flour. Essentially you are adding the wet ingredients in 2 additions and the dry ingredients in 3 additions. When you do this, you always begin and end with the dry ingredients because this prevents any lumps from forming.
Next it’s time to assemble the cake. I have many stainless steel rims which I use to mold ice cream and mousse cake, but if you don’t have anything like this, you can use a 2 piece cheesecake mold which snaps off easily to reveal this lovely cake. Spray the inside of the cake pan very well and add half of the batter to the cake pan, spreading it out evenly with a spatula.
Next add 1/3 of the reserved streusel mixture to the top of the batter in the cake pan.
Next, lay the pieces of apple on top of this and then top this with the rest of the cake batter.
Cover the entire surface of the cake batter with the rest of the streusel and bake in a 350°F oven for about 30-40 minutes until the cake tests clean in the center.
Remove and cool completely before slicing. The cake will be at its best if prepared one day ahead of time and covered well with plastic until ready to serve.
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