Easy Apple Cake
In his debut cookbook, What Can I Bring? Recipes to Help You Live Your Guest Life, author Casey Elsass features this apple cake that seems like the poster child for fall. A simple batter made entirely by hand is packed with chopped apples and turned into a cake pan.
Ingredients · Servings 10-12
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray or unsalted butter, room temperature (for pan)
- ½ cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
- 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 large Honeycrisp or Fuji apples (about 1½ lb.), peeled, cored, cut into ½" pieces
- ½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar
- Special Equipment: a 9"-diameter springform pan
Method · 1 h 30 min
- Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Line bottom of pan with a parchment paper round and lightly coat bottom and sides of pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray or room-temperature unsalted butter. Toast ½ cup raw walnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Set aside.
- Whisk 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar and ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 2 large eggs and whisk vigorously until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add ½ cup sour cream and 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar and whisk to combine. Add 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and whisk again until incorporated. Add 2¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour and, using a large rubber spatula, fold in until no large dry streaks remain. Add 3 Honeycrisp or Fuji apples (about 1½ lb.), peeled, cored, cut into ½" pieces, and gently mix until each piece is coated in batter. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface with an offset spatula or a spoon.
- Mix ½ cup (100 g) dark brown sugar, remaining 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, remaining ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and reserved walnuts in a small bowl to combine. Sprinkle mixture evenly over cake.
- Bake cake until top springs back when lightly pressed in the center or a tester inserted into the center comes out with only few moist crumbs attached, 45–55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan before slicing.
