Loading

Spiced apple walnut cake serves as a warm, inviting treat By Julia Herlyn '23

During the fall and winter seasons—when apple-related desserts dominate—I find myself looking forward to making spiced apple walnut cake with my mom. Ever since I was young, I’ve had a unique passion for baking, whether it be cookies, brownies, tarts or cakes. However, in the colder seasons, I gravitate toward making this spiced apple walnut cake in particular, as it encapsulates that distinct wintry, holiday feeling that I love.

Ingredients are as follows:

  1. 2 cups of all purpose flour
  2. ¾ teaspoons of baking soda
  3. ¾ teaspoons of salt
  4. ¾ teaspoons of cinnamon
  5. ¾ teaspoons of ground cloves
  6. ½ teaspoons of ground nutmeg
  7. 1 and ¼ cups of white sugar
  8. 1 cup of vegetable oil
  9. 2 eggs
  10. 1 and ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract
  11. 2 cups of peeled, cored and cubed apples
  12. ½ cup of crushed walnuts
  13. Optional: ¾ teaspoons of almond extract and/or 1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar
All ingredients are displayed above.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and grease a 9” cake pan. Peel, core and cube approximately two large or three small apples so that there are 2 cups of cubed apples.

You can use any kind of apple, depending on how sweet or tart you want the cake to be. In my house, we use Gala apples because of their mild sweetness.

Combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, ¾ teaspoons of baking soda, ¾ teaspoons of salt, ¾ teaspoons of cinnamon, ¾ teaspoons of ground cloves and ¾ teaspoons of ground nutmeg in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.

Use a whisk as opposed to a spoon or spatula to mix the dry ingredients together. This aerates the mixture so that the cake will bake more evenly.

Next, whisk 1 cup of vegetable oil and 1 and ¼ cups of white sugar in a large bowl. Then, whisk in 2 eggs and 1 and ½ teaspoons of vanilla extract.

We add ¾ teaspoons of almond extract to the wet ingredients, but this step is optional.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined.

Make sure not to overmix the batter—this will cause the cake to be hard and stiff after baking.

Add the 2 cups of cubed apples and optional ½ cup of crushed walnuts to the batter, and stir until combined.

Unlike most other cake batters, which are typically quite runny, this cake is very viscous before it is baked. However, it is not dense after it comes out of the oven.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes. It is cooked once a skewer or toothpick that is inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake for at least 15 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Before serving, you can also dust confectioners sugar on top of the cake.

All photos taken by Julia Herlyn ’23

Credits:

All photos taken by Julia Herlyn '23