Spiced Apple, Dark Chocolate and hazelnut cake with Baklava Crumble
Packed with aromatic spices, nuts, honey and fruit, there’s a lot to like about this cake. I then decided to go for total indulgence and dark chocolate, topped off with dulce de leche!
INGREDIENTS
5 large eggs, size 7, separated
250 grams butter, at room temperature
200 grams runny honey (I used a floral honey)
⅓ cup plain yoghurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⅓ cups plain flour
120 grams hazelnuts, roasted and finely ground, 100g of Dark Chocolate (roughly chopped)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon each ground cardamom, cinnamon and ginger
1 red apple, peeled and diced
1 small red apple, skin left on, cored and thinly sliced,
purchased dulche de leche, to serve (optional)
CRUMBLE
¼ cup plain flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ginger
½ teaspoon ground mixed spice
50 grams butter, diced
¼ cup finely chopped hazelnuts
YOU’LL NEED...
a 20cm springform cake tin. Grease and line the base and sides with baking paper, bringing the paper 4cm above the rim of the tin
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan bake.
CRUMBLE: Combine all the ingredients, except the hazelnuts, in a bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips to form damp, coarse crumbs. Add the hazelnuts and mix well then chill until ready to cook.
CAKE: Place the egg whites and yolks in two separate large bowls.
Beat the egg yolks, butter, honey, yoghurt or sour cream and vanilla extract together until smooth. The mixture may look curdled, but that’s fine.
Combine the flour, hazelnuts, dark chocolate, baking powder and all the spices then fold into the egg yolk mixture along with the diced red apple.
Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. In 3 batches, use a large metal spoon to gently but thoroughly fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the tin and arrange the red apple slices on top with their skin facing up.
Scatter over the crumble. Bake for about 70-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 30 minutes then remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.
If using, drizzle generously with dulce de leche to serve. MAKES 1 CAKE
