19. Apple Cake Recipe

and asking, what did you do for someone else today?

Hello,

Welcome back to another edition of the newsletter, it’s great to have you here!

Every evening I’m asked by my journal ‘what did you do for someone else today?’. (It’s The Three Question Journal if any of you are interested). Every time I read this, I stare blankly at the page. For a while I wonder if I’m a bad person and then I remember that doing something for someone else isn’t always a huge, wildly memorable gesture. Most of the time it’s something seemingly insignificant like holding the door open, smiling at somebody on the tube, making someone dinner, checking in on a friend or washing the congealed kebab off your colleague’s tote bag (which I did this week). 

Being kind is seriously underrated and something that has been at the forefront of my mind recently as I acclimatise back to London life. Luckily enough, I bear witness to kindness almost every day in Quince Bakery (where I’ve just started working). As I quietly work away in the back, I get to overhear all the lovely, friendly interactions between the front of house team and the bakery’s customers. Regulars and their dogs are known by name and customers whose first visit it is are made to feel as if they’ve been there a hundred times before. Hearing the joy in these people’s voices is so warming and says something about the importance of human interactions as well as ‘Unreasonable Hospitality’. (This is a side note to read this book). 

This is to say that this week is all about being intentional. Intentional in the way you interact with others and with yourself but also with the ingredients you use in your kitchen. Following on from my last article about authenticity, it feels only right to continue the idea of doing things that align with your values. For me this means putting the quality of my recipe ingredients at the forefront of my mind and treating them with kindness. Asking myself, what can I do to make what I have in front of me taste as good as it can in that moment. I have to admit that in the past I haven’t always been this conscientious. I’ve often made things on a budget and/or with creating content in mind, rather than putting taste at the forefront (sacrilege I know but sometimes it’s not always possible to pull every string). I am very spoiled to have worked in bakeries where these values and commitments to being intentional have been at the core of each business, and boy can you taste it! Through osmosis it seems to be rubbing off on me and I’m very thankful for that.

This recipe is a version of a Dorset Apple Cake. Traditionally this cake is ladened with fruit from the county (surprise, surprise) but that by no means means you can only use varieties of apples from Dorset. For this cake I used a variety of British grown apples including Russets, Spartans and Worcester Pearmains. The fruit is baked into quite a thick wholemeal batter and baked with a crunchy demerara crust. A slice is best served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or creme fraiche and a cup of tea, preferably around 11am.

I hope you enjoy.

Much love,

Cissy…xo

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Apple Cake Recipe

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 250g unsalted butter, for browning

• 100g egg (2 medium eggs)

• 100g plain flour

• 150g wholewheat flour

• 15g baking powder (3 ½ tsp)

• 2g fine sea salt

• 225g light muscovado sugar 

• 1/4 of whole nutmeg, finely grated

• 280-300g apples, roughly chopped into 2cm chunks

• 100g apples, grated (on large side of box grater)

• plus demerara sugar and flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Method

• Grease and line a 23cm/9” springform cake tin. 

• Preheat the oven to 160c fan.

• To brown the butter, cube the butter and place in a saucepan over a medium heat. Allow the butter to melt, whisking every so often to break up the milk solids. After 5 minutes the butter will start to foam, smell nutty and turn a dark caramel colour. Immediately take off the heat and allow to cool.

• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and grated nutmeg.

• Once the browned butter has cooled slightly, pour into your dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

• In a separate bowl whisk your eggs.

• Add the whisked eggs to the mixture, followed by the grated and roughly chopped apples.

• Pour the thick batter into the prepared cake tin and spread evenly.

• Liberally coat the top of the cake with demerara sugar and a sprinkle of sea salt. 

• Bake for 45-60 mins.

• Allow to cool before slicing.

Before Baking / After Baking