What is it about apples and cinnamon? Seriously, they have to be one of my favourite combinations. But sometimes you want a little more…how shall I say it…depth. A bit of a nutmeg tinged hit, and maybe some almond just to liven things up a bit. That’s what happened with this cake. It was inspired by Nigella’s Italian Apple Pie from Nigellissima. I’ve made her recipe several times and it is delicious, but I wanted more flavour and spice. Several delicious experiments later, I’m not sure the result is even remotely Italian, but my Spiced Apple and Almond Cake really is delicious.
One thing I love about this cake is how easy it is to make it look good. I’m not terribly talented when it comes to decorating and frosting cakes. However simply slicing some apples with beautiful rosy skins into thin slices and placing them on top of the batter in a roughly circular formation is easy enough, even for me.
Go for the firmest, reddest, rosiest apples you can find, and be generous when sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar. It even looks tasty before it’s cooked!
The very best thing about this Spiced Apple and Almond Cake is how versatile it is. Slice and serve it absolutely plain alongside a cup of good strong tea, or go a la mode with a good vanilla ice cream. Serve it warm with custard for a traditional British ‘pudding’ or spike some whipped cream with a tablespoon or two of Amaretto liqueur and serve it alongside the cake… with a glass of the liqueur too if you like. I think I like it best warm from the oven…just be sure to give it a good half hour to cool down a bit so you can slice it easily.
Leftovers are delicious at room temperature and will keep in a sealed container for a couple of days.
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1¾ cups all purpose (plain) flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground if possible
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 sweet apple
- Topping:
- 1 - 2 sweet, red skinned apples
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C or 180°C for a fan oven).
- Grease a 9 inch springform or loose-bottomed cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
- Cream the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer.
- Beat in the eggs.
- Add the almond extract.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Peel, quarter and core the apple. Chop the apple into small pieces and add it to the flour mixture, stirring lightly to mix.
- Fold the flour and apple mixture into the batter.
- Beat in the milk.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top a little.
- Quarter and core the remaining apples (don't peel them) and slice them into thin slices.
- Arrange the apple slices in a circular pattern on the top of the cake.
- Mix together the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle over top of the apples.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for fifteen minutes and then remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool for at least another 20 to 30 minutes before slicing.
Swathi says
April 22, 2013 at 9:24 pmThat is delicious and beautiful apple almond cake. I love to make it.
April Harris says
April 22, 2013 at 9:34 pmThank you, Swathi. I hope you will enjoy it 🙂
Andrea@ Andreas Kitchen says
April 23, 2013 at 5:02 pmThis is a beautiful cake April! I think it would convert easily to gluten free.
April Harris says
April 26, 2013 at 9:00 amThank you, Andrea. I’m sure it would convert well to gluten free – I can’t help but think maybe some almond flour might be a nice way to go 🙂
Lisa @ HappyinDoleValley says
April 24, 2013 at 4:21 amOh. my. goodness. April, this recipe and your description are about enough to get me to fall of my current low-carb wagon. I pinned this post and plan to bake it for myself for Mother’s Day in May. 🙂 Thanks for sharing! ~Lisa
April Harris says
April 26, 2013 at 9:01 amI’m so pleased you like it, Lisa! I’m so flattered that you plan to make it for Mother’s Day 🙂
Linda@With A Blast says
April 24, 2013 at 9:55 amWow ! This looks great, April and so delicious 🙂 {Pinned!} Thank you for sharing at our ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS party !
April Harris says
April 26, 2013 at 9:01 amThank you for pinning it, Linda, and for hosting 🙂
mjskit says
April 26, 2013 at 4:36 amI can definitely smell this cake cooking! I too am a huge fan of apples and cinnamon and this cake really celebrates that combination! Looks SO VERY delicious!
April Harris says
April 26, 2013 at 9:01 amThank you, MJ. What a lovely compliment!
Emily @ Simple Life Of A Fire Wife says
September 17, 2013 at 2:43 pmThis looks sooo good! I’m with ya-can’t go wrong with apples and cinnamon! Definitely going to give this one a try!
April Harris says
September 18, 2013 at 3:49 pmThank you, Emily! I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
September 18, 2015 at 2:05 pmSomething else to make with all my fall apples. Thanks for sharing with us @ Throwback Thursday. Hope to see you next week.
April Harris says
September 21, 2015 at 9:49 amI’m glad you like it, Quinn! Thank you for hosting!
Alli @ Tornadough Alli says
September 18, 2015 at 3:36 pmYum April this looks so delicious! I love baking with apples and I absolutely love love love almond extract so this would be perfect for me! This needs to be made this fall for sure!! Thanks for sharing with us at #ThrowbackThursday!
April Harris says
September 21, 2015 at 9:50 amI’m so glad you like the recipe, Alli! It really is a family favourite 🙂 Thank you for hosting!
Rae says
September 19, 2015 at 3:23 amGoing to have to try this! Sounds quite lovely.
April Harris says
September 21, 2015 at 9:50 amI hope you and yours enjoy it, Rae. It really is delicious!
Linda says
September 19, 2015 at 4:18 pmfacebook shared today. Love this. thanks, Linda
April Harris says
September 21, 2015 at 9:50 amThank you so much, Linda!
Madonna says
September 20, 2015 at 2:11 pmYour apple cake looks so delicious.
April Harris says
September 21, 2015 at 9:53 amThank you, Madonna!
Hadia says
September 22, 2015 at 9:51 amWhat a gorgeous apple cake, April! Apples and cinnamon are a match made in heaven! Pinning to try later!
April Harris says
September 22, 2015 at 9:59 amThank you so much, Hadia. It’s one of my favourite combinations too! Thank you for pinning 🙂