Apple Gingerbread Cake
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Intermediate10
servings40
minutes45
minutesI am a huge fan of all the flavors of the holidays: Apple, Pumpkin and Gingerbread. Plus, I love all the spice: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, allspice, and pumpkin spice. There is a warming comfort to all and puts me in the festive mood. This recipe was sitting in my, “to make” pile. It’s been there for 5 years. First I should have read the recipe correctly and cut the apples properly, do not cut the apples the way they are cut in my picture. I made it and it is very good, BUT I should have read the reviews so I made it agin and followed what other cooks have shared and it turned out much better. I will incorporate what I did differently as well as the recommendations by the reviews. This is really good and almost could be served at breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee. *Invest in a mandolin as you will need it for this recipe. When I made the recipe again my kids ate it before I could take a picture of the apples cut the proper way. Enjoy.
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons butter + 1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar, divided
1 lb Pink Lady apples or Granny Smith, Slice the apple thinly using a mandolin and slicing vertically from the stem down.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 lg eggs, Room Temp
2 Tablespoons FRESH ginger, grated
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line the springform pan all over so caramel doesn’t seep out. Butter well. Place on a foil lined baking sheet, set aside.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a large skillet, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Cook, without stirring, but swirling pan often, until large bubbles that are slow to pop form, about 2 minutes. Pour the caramel into prepared pan, tilting cake pan to cover the bottom with the caramel.
- Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in same pan, add half the apples and toss to separate. Cook, tossing often until apples are tender and translucent, about 4 minutes. Repeat with process, melt 1 Tablespoon butter and remaining apples. Let apples cool until cool enough to touch. Arrange apples over the caramel sauce overlapping layers, set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a large bowl, set aside. Heat molasses, maple syrup, and remains 1/2 cup brown sugar and remaining 1/2 cup butter in a heatproof bowl over simmering water, stirring constantly until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from heat and gently whisk in eggs and fresh ginger. Stir the baking soda with 1/4 cup very hot water until dissolved and mix into the molasses mixture. Whisk the molasses mixture into the dry ingredients. Scrape batter evenly over apples in pan.
- Place the cake in the oven for 10 minutes, then add the 1/2 cup of cream. Continue to bake for 35 minutes. The cake is done when stuck with a toothpick and it comes out clean and the center is firm to touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let sit 15 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan and gently release the sides. gently invert the cake on to a serving platter and gently peel off the parchment. Let the cake cool completely.
- The cake can be made 1 day ahead and once cooled wrapped air tight and can sit on the counter overnight. Serve with whipped cream or reheat gently and serve with a little fresh cream poured over each piece.
