Helen Goh's simple apple cake

Name: Helen Goh's simple apple cake
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 2 small apples (preferably 1 Pink Lady and 1 Granny Smith; 200g after peeling and coring); zest of 1 lemon (reserve juice for the glaze); 225g plain flour; 1 tsp ginger powder; 1½ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; ¼ tsp salt; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 100g sour cream; 160g caster sugar; 150ml light olive (or canola) oil; 2 tsp rosewater or 1 tsp vanilla essence; edible flowers (such as violets, pansies and rose petals), for garnish

Helen Goh

April 30, 2021

Edible flowers take this cake from simple to special.William Meppem

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:6-8

This recipe is child's play – and that's the point here. A cake easy enough for children to make, with just a little help, for Mother's Day. And if they're not quite up to it, it'll only take about 10 minutes to get it into the oven. The cake keeps well and, in fact, will taste even better the day after it's made when its texture seems to settle nicely into a moist, even crumb.

Ingredients

2 small apples (preferably 1 Pink Lady and 1 Granny Smith; 200g after peeling and coring)
zest of 1 lemon (reserve juice for the glaze)
225g plain flour
1 tsp ginger powder
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
100g sour cream
160g caster sugar
150ml light olive (or canola) oil
2 tsp rosewater or 1 tsp vanilla essence
edible flowers (such as violets, pansies and rose petals), for garnish

For the glaze

1 cup icing sugar
½ tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh orange juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional) and line the base and sides of a loose-bottomed, 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Peel and core the apples, then chop roughly into 1cm pieces. Toss the lemon zest through and set aside.
3. Sift the flour, ginger powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and set aside.
4. Combine the eggs and sour cream in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the sugar, oil and rosewater (or vanilla essence) and whisk until thoroughly combined.
5. Now add the apples to the flour mix, toss gently to combine, then pour the egg mixture over it. Using a flexible spatula, fold it all together until just combined (be careful not to over-mix), then scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a metal rack for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
8. While the cake is cooling, combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and whisk until smooth; it should be thick, but still able to run off a spoon. Drizzle the glaze overthe top of the warm cake: it should spread itself out evenly, then begin to set into a thin, crusty icing after a few minutes.
9. Release the cake from the tin and serve with a sprinkling of edible flowers.
Tip: Regardless of when it's eaten, the icing should be applied while the cake's still warm. It'll spread evenly and set into a thin, crusty glaze.