Spicy Apple Cake

I came across the recipe when a quart of milk went sour in my refrigerator. I hate to waste food, so I searched online for recipes that required sour milk in their ingredients--you would be surprised how many recipes there are that use sour milk! I found this Apple Cake recipe, and after some adjustments that I made in the spice content to make it even more flavorful, it became a family favorite!

It's full of warm spices like cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice, and has a sugary, crusty, nut topping.  It's made in a 9 by 13-inch pan, and just a small square slice of the cake is very satisfying.  

Spicy Apple Cake

Ingredients

Topping:

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2  cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Cake:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon* 

2 teaspoons cardamom*

1/2  teaspoon ginger*

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg*

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*

1/2 teaspoon allspice*

*  This recipe can be customized to suit your preferences; start by making substitutions of 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon if you want to increase the amount of one spice or swap out a different one. If you like it heavy on the cinnamon, use a little more.

1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup sour milk* (see below how to make sour milk)
2 cups apples - peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces.** 

* To make sour milk, measure one cup of milk into a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of vinegar or lemon juice, and enough milk to equal 1 cup (250 mL). Stir and let stand for 5 minutes before using. This will give the right amount of acidity for the recipe

** I like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith green apples for this cake as I find their flavor works well with the spices, and they won’t go totally mushy.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.

Make the topping: Mix together walnuts, both sugars, and all spices together in a bowl.

Make the cake: Mix together flour, both sugars, spices, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the sour milk, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, then fold in chopped apples.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle topping mixture evenly over top.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

 

Spicy Apple Cake fresh out of the oven!

The cake is delicious when served warm or cold. 

I hope you will also enjoy it!

As you can see in the photo collage above, I made a Spicy Apple Cake as part of our dessert for our St. Patrick's Day celebration. They were served along with Italian pastries which are specially made for St. Joseph's Feast Day, celebrated on March 19th every year.  Two delicious food traditions!

Happy Spring!

The snow has all melted in our Colorado Front Range area for now, but with all the storms coming across from the Pacific this year that may not last long.  It was a winter full of good snowpack for the Rocky Mountains and soon we will see if it will also be a cold and wet spring.  I am looking forward to seeing new deer fawns, daffodils growing, and the trees beginning to bud soon.   

How is the weather where you are?

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