Michelle Darmody: How to bake a comforting cinnamon and apple cake

This recipe is the perfect cake for this time of year as the evenings darken and a cup of tea is appreciated to warm your hands.

Michelle Darmody: Cinnamon and apple cake.

Every now and then you cross paths with someone who helps shape your life. In my 30s, with naive abandonment, I set up a bakery and café.

I was very lucky to meet Monika a few months before I began, and she came on board as the full-time baker. I do not think the café would have lasted as long, or be known quite as widely without Monika’s wonderful advice and input.

I grew up in a house where baking was a standard, so I had all of the basics down, but Monika brought finesse to my more simple baking, as well as a decorating skill that is still unequaled. She kept the ovens warm as I ran about organising rosters, calling plumbers and taking customers’ orders.

This cake is an adaptation of one of the recipes Monika brought with her. It uses spelt flour, apple, nuts and lovely autumnal spices.

I still make it quite regularly; the grated apple creates a moist layer in the centre. It is the perfect cake for this time of year as the evenings darken and a cup of tea is appreciated to warm your hands.

Sitting with a slice of the cake always reminds me of busy, but happy days working behind the counter with Monika and the rest of the team.

Cinnamon & Apple Cake

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

The cake will last for three or four days in an airtight container in a cool place. It does not freeze that well, between the layer of apple and the nut topping it does not defrost nicely.

Servings

10

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 35 mins

Course

 Baking

Ingredients

• 100g spelt flour

• 125g self raising flour

• 1 tsp baking powder, sieved

• ½ tsp mixed cake spice

• 225g butter, soft

• 200g soft brown sugar

• 3 eggs, lightly whisked

• 100g chopped mixed nuts

• 100g sultanas

• 400g cooking apples, peeled, and roughly grated

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• To decorate:

• 30g muscovado sugar

• 60g mixed nuts, roughly chopped

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Line a round 9-inch spring-form or loose-base cake tin.

2. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

3. Sieve the two flours, baking powder and mixed spice together.

4. Combine the soft butter, sugar and eggs with the flour mixture

5. Stir in the sultanas and chopped nuts.

6. Scoop half of the cake batter into the tin and smooth it out with a knife or spoon, which. Has been dipped into warm water.

7. Spread the grated apple on top of the batter and then sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the apple.

8. Scoop the rest of the batter on top and spread it out. Do not press it down.

9. Toss the roughly chopped nuts with the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle this on top of the cake.

10. Bake for an hour and 10 minutes until a skewer comes out clean from the batter

11. Allow to cool in the tin for twenty minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Baker's Tips

Spelt is an ancient grain which has been cultivated for about 8,000 years. It has a rich nutty flavour and has a higher nutrient density than many other grain flours. It is also easier for most people to digest than wheat.

Spelt gluten is fragile. Mix your batter only until the ingredients are combined, over mixing will lead to a dense and heavy cake.

The weight of the apple is after the core and peel is removed, so 400g of the grated bits of apple.

You can ground your own cinnamon sticks, or buy already powdered cinnamon. There are two different types of cinnamon generally available in Ireland, Ceylon which has a delicate, sweet note or Cassia which is stronger and has a spicier punch.

You will need to dip a fork or spoon into warm water to help spread the batter as it is quite sticky. You can use the back of a metal spoon to spread and level it evenly to the edges of the tin before baking.

Heat takes longer to penetrate a thicker batter like this, meaning in some ovens the edges can overbake while the middle stays undercooked. Use tinfoil if you need to protect the top or sides of the cake from burning. Loosely cover the cake, do not tuck the tin foil in when doing this as it will trap steam and make the cake too moist.

Three delicious variations:

Apple and raspberry cake

Sprinkling 150g of fresh raspberries on top of the grated apple adds a wonderful pink hue to the cake.

In this version I omit the cinnamon and add two teaspoons of vanilla to the batter instead.

Pear, vanilla and dark chocolate

Grating 400g of pears in place of the apple makes a nice variation of the cake.

I use quite hard pears, because using very juicy ones will lead to too much liquid seeping into the batter. In place of the sultanas I use 100g of dark chocolate chips and I replace the cinnamon with two teaspoons of vanilla in the batter. You can leave off the nut crust.

Blackberry and spiced apple

There are still blackberries on bushes in certain parts of the country. I got a big haul in Clare, near the Flaggy Shore, last weekend; they were perfectly round and ripe and have been a great addition to cakes and crumbles this week.

You can sprinkle about 150g of blackberries with the apple and add a mixed cake spice in place of the ground cinnamon.

asted as long, or be known quite as widely without Monika’s wonderful advice and input.

I grew up in a house where baking was a standard, so I had all of the basics down, but Monika brought finesse to my more simple baking, as well as a decorating skill that is still unequaled. She kept the ovens warm as I ran about organising rosters, calling plumbers and taking customers’ orders.

This cake is an adaptation of one of the recipes Monika brought with her. It uses spelt flour, apple, nuts and lovely autumnal spices.

I still make it quite regularly; the grated apple creates a moist layer in the centre. It is the perfect cake for this time of year as the evenings darken and a cup of tea is appreciated to warm your hands.

Sitting with a slice of the cake always reminds me of busy, but happy days working behind the counter with Monika and the rest of the team.