knits, bakes & more

I was not quite in the mood for sourdough bread, my starter was ready for use and hence, decided on trying out this apple cake recipe I found on the web which used sourdough starter. The result was quite surprising – I had not expected the rich, moist and tang-less flavour from the cake!

Here are some baker’s notes:

• You will need rum. The recipe calls for spiced rum but I just used regular rum.
• Let the cake sit overnight for the rum to develop its characteristic smoky flavour and taste.
• You can add in dried fruit and nuts like pecans and walnuts for that added nutty taste and crunchy texture.

SOURDOUGH APPLE CAKE WITH PECANS AND CRANBERRIES

Adapted from the recipe here

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 3 apples, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sourdough starter, 100% hydration, room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup spiced rum
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C.
2. Prepare a 8” round pan by lining it with parchment paper round in the bottom.
3. Melt the butter and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
4. Peel and dice the apples. You don’t want large chunks (which takes forever to cook) or thin slices (which melts).
5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
6. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, eggs, brown sugar, melted butter, spiced rum, and vanilla extract. I would mix the starter with eggs and sugar first until it’s well-combined and gradually add in the melted butter, rum and vanilla extract.
7. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just barely combined. You will get lumps – you can strain the mix (this is optional).
8. Add in the dried fruit and half of the chopped pecans. Fold in until combined.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and top with the diced apples and remaining pecans.
10. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
11. Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely. Serve warm but it is best eaten after it has rested overnight.