Apple and maple syrup cake

 NOM, NOM, NOM.

 So, as promised I am posting the recipe for my thrown together cake I made at the weekend.

I managed to succesfully replicate it the other day, with the help of a minion in the kitchen.  This particular minion took most of the photos that accompany this post, so apologies for the quality.  She also chopped the apples and did some sterling mixing.

Right here goes.  The convention is that I add a list of ingredients and follow up with a method, so for the sake of not confusing anyone trying this recipe out, I will stick to that.

Cake:

6-8 small eating apples.  Approximately.  More apples if you like a more apply cake and less if you want it more cakey (?)
125ml of good quality maple syrup.
110g of golden caster sugar.
225g self raising flour.
4 medium eggs (seperated).
150g butter.
75 ml sunflower or vegetable oil.
 2tsp baking powder.
1tsp bicarbonate of soda.
2tsp vanilla extract

Topping:

100ml maple syrup
25g butter
3tbs icing sugar.


Equipment:
You will need 2 large bowls.
1 good whisk.
1 flexible spatula.
Wooden spoon.
22cm springform tin, lined with baking parchment or grease proof paper.
Oven (dur)  preheated to 170 degrees C (fan).

Method:
So, peel, core and chop the apples into chunks about 1-1.5 cm, or get a minion to do it, as I did.

 I keep my chopped apple in water with lemon juice to stop it from turning brown.  Remember to drain well before using!









Next, in one of the big bowls, mix together the maple syrup, sugar, butter, oil, vanilla extract.  You want to really whisk ths up until it is smooth and creamy and light and looks yummy.

Once this is whisked to perfection, add in two of the egg yolks and half the flour, along with the bicarb and baking soda.  your batter will be really thick and look dry at this point, but worry not.

Add in the next two egg yolks and the last of the flour and mix in well.


Next, use your wooden spoon to mix in the apple chunks.  I used my whisk, but the chunks were a bit of an issue, hence the recommendation.

You will be left with a thick, apply batter.








Now you need to whisk up the 4 egg wites in a clean, dry bowl, with your whisk cleaned and dried as well.

Whisk and whisk and whisk until you reach the stage where the peaks are stiff enough to hold the bowl over your head













It should look like this!

Make sure to test this on your minion, not yourself.  Just in case.

Ok.  So now, add half the whites into your batter and mix in well with your wooden spoon.

Add the second half and fold in with your spatula, making sure not to knock out too much of the air.  As soon as it is mixed in, scrape out into your tin.

Smooth the top of the mix in the tin, but don't push too far to the edges or up the edges.













Stick this concoction into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour before testing the middle with a skewer.  It should come out clean.


Cool for 20 mins in the tin before releasing to cool completely on a rack.  This is a moist cake, so is delicate.  Take care when removing it from the tin!
This is a souflee type cake, so will fall slightly on cooling, but all will be well!


You can either ice this with a generic frosting, or do as I did.

When cool, use your skewer to poke a multitude of random holes in the top of the cake.

Topping: 

In a small saucepan, heat 100ml maple syrup, 25 g butter and 3 tbs of icing sugar until they are bubbling.  Keep this bubbling until a when you insert a spoon, it comes out dripping slowly almost treacle-like.  This will thicken on cooling, so work quickly to brush, spoon or pour it over the top of the cake.  Spend some time willing it to dribble into the holes.

Cool again, cut, and serve up to only really good friends.  It's that good.  Oh, and don't forget to add a bit of love into the mix.      Hope you enjoy.  I would appreciate comments on this original recipe if you get round to making it please!