Apple Gingerbread Cake

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Ever since I made the Carrot Cake I was left with a great impression about spiced, moist, layered cakes and I couldn’t wait for a new opportunity to try a whole new, yet spiced cake recipe. What’s special about this cake, apart from its intense cinnamon and ginger cake, is the fact that it uses apple puree to preserve the moisture and add a delicate aroma to each layer. Molasses and golden syrup alike are used for a caramel-like flavor and vegetable oil is responsible for keeping the cake soft. It sure is an interesting, different recipe and I find it perfect for Christmas. My family in fact just asked me what am I going to bake for Christmas if I keep making these treats days ahead – they know I don’t usually make the same recipe twice so they are curious. I am too as my Christmas baking list includes on these Thumbprint cookies and a Gingerbread House so far. Ah yes, and the traditional Romanian cozonac which me and my mum make each and every year together as it’s quite time consuming and it required a long kneading time.

I’m really curious what are you baking for Christmas, feel free to leave me a comment bellow. The more treats, the better, right?!

Planning your Christmas baking? See all 21 Christmas cookies & holiday treats.

But back to the cake – if you do give it a try you won’t regret it! It manages to combine the traditional gingerbread spices – ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves or even nutmeg, ground star anise or cardamom – with apples and it yields a moist, fragrant cake, perfect for fall or winter when the fruit choices are not as wide as during the summer. The apple puree is responsible for the moisture of this cake and I love how you can taste the delicate aroma of the apples, although the spices are the ones that have the first impact on your palate. The frosting seemed like the perfect choice due to its delicate, tangy aroma. I really wanted a mild tasting buttercream that adds just the right amount of aroma and creaminess to the cake. The frosting is not too sweet and it doesn’t overpower the cake – instead, it balances the flavors into delicious bites that linger on your palate. It’s a simple cake, but it tastes like no other!

This apple gingerbread cake is perfect for the holidays! The gingerbread spices complement so well the apples! And the fragrant fluffy sponge is so good!

Servings :1 cake

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Ingredients

Apple Gingerbread Cake:

280 g all-purpose flour
4 g baking powder
2 g ground ginger
2 g cinnamon powder
1 g ground cloves
2 g teaspoon salt
250 g apple puree (see notes below)
4 g baking soda
3 eggs
30 g dark molasses
50 g golden syrup
150 g white granulated sugar
150 g vegetable oil

Swiss Meringue Cream Cheese Frosting:

3 egg whites
130 g white sugar
1 g salt
10 g vanilla extract
145 g butter (softened)
300 g cream cheese (room temperature)

Instructions

Apple Gingerbread Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350F – 175C and line two round 18cm-diameter cake pans with baking paper. You can use larger pans as well, but you won’t get 4 layers of sponge, but probably 2.
Sift the flour with baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt in a bowl and place aside.
Combine the eggs, dark molasses, golden syrup, sugar and vegetable oil in the bowl of your mixer and mix for 8-10 minutes.
Combine the apple puree with the baking soda in a bowl. (it will foam up)
With the mixer on low speed, stir in the flour mixture, then add the apple puree and mix quickly just until incorporated.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 30 up to 40 minutes depending on the size of your pan and the amount of batter in the pan. To check the cake, insert a skewer in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done but if it comes out with traces of unbaked batter, the cake needs a few more minutes of baking.
When done, remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely.
When chilled, level each sponge if needed then cut it in half lengthwise.

Swiss Meringue Cream Cheese Buttercream:

Combine the egg whites, sugar and salt in a heatproof bowl.
Place the bowl over a hot water bath (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl) and heat the mixture up until the sugar is melted, mixing all the time.
Once the sugar is melted and the mixture is frothy and hot, remove from heat and using an electric mixer, mix the whites for 8-10 minutes or until the bowl cools down completely and the whites turn into a stiff and glossy meringue.
Add the butter, all at once, and mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. Once you add the butter, the mixture will become soupy, but keep mixing. A few minutes later, it will curdle up, but keep mixing. 2 more minutes and it will become creamy and so so delicious!
Spoon the cream cheese in a different bowl and stir in the vanilla. Mix it well with an electric mixer until creamy and smooth.
Add the buttercream you made earlier, spoon by spoon and mix until well incorporated.
It’s done when you’ve incorporated all the buttercream. Don’t overmix the final frosting!

To Assemble the Cake:

Layer the baked sponge with cream cheese buttercream and decorate as you wish.
I used frozen berries, but it’s up to you.
Serve the cake chilled.

Notes

To make the apple puree, peel 3-4 fresh apples and remove the core. Blend the apples until a smooth paste is obtained. I recommend using some fragrant apples and keep in mind that their flavor impacts the final taste of the cake. I used 2 red apples and 1 yellow, sweeter one.

Apple Gingerbread Cake