Hard Cider Apple Almond Cake

Opened up a bottle of hard cider a couple of days ago to use in a pork chop recipe and decided I would use the rest in a baking experiment.  I’ve tried to bake a hard cider cake before and, while the results were tasty, they weren’t anything to get super excited about.  There are enough mediocre recipes floating around out there, I don’t need to add to them! 

Anyway, I put on my thinking cap and came up with this. I grew hopeful as the aroma filled my kitchen.  It certainly looked pretty.  But pretty just wasn’t enough for me - how did it taste?  It was excellent!  Not too sweet, moist and fluffy, full of cider flavour, and the apples not only made it pretty, they gave it a delicious tang. We have a winner! The next time you want to bake an apple cake, give this variation a try.

Hard Cider Apple Almond Cake

ingredients:

• 100 g butter, room temperature
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 150 g flour
• 100 g almond flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 150 ml hard cider
• 3 granny smith apples
• Topping:
• 2 TBS sugar plus 1 tsp cinnamon

to make the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 180℃.
2. Line the bottom of a 23 cm round springform pan with baking paper and grease the sides with butter or baking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder and cinnamon.
4. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well.
5. Beat in a third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the cider, and repeat, ending with the flour mixture. Mix until evenly combined.
6. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
7. Peel and core the apples, then slice into thin wedges.
8. Arrange the apples decoratively (or not) over the top.
9. Dust with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
10. Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
11. Leave plain, dust with powdered sugar, or drizzle with hard cider glaze.
12. Keeps covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Hard Cider Glaze

ingredients:

• 5 g butter
• 2 TBS hard cider
• 100 g powdered sugar
• 2 drops vanilla extract

to make the glaze:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the butter and cider to a boil. 
2. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. 
3. Add the vanilla extract and whisk again. 
4. Use immediately before it hardens!