Apple Cake with Ginger and Honey

Sometimes I see a recipe whose concept I like but then I look at the proportions of ingredients and/or the instructions and I realize that the recipe hasn’t been tested or edited properly and the finished product won’t be to my satisfaction. The following recipe is an example.

I love the flavor combination but nothing else in the perused recipe looked like the proportions and directions would result in a good, finished product, so I created my own apple cake flavored with ginger and honey. The additional ingredients helped balance the flavors and the directions considered the preparation time so that the interaction of ingredients would work correctly. This cake is not too sweet, and its flavor is enhanced if made a day or two before eating…perfect for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in many ways.

Apple Cake with Ginger and Honey

1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup wildflower or orange blossom honey, preferred
2 tablespoons apple cider or apple juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 ½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
1-ounce candied ginger, finely cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 ½ cups flour, regular or GF 1:1
½ teaspoon regular table salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 apples peeled, cored and cut into eighths, I prefer Honeycrisp or other sweet apples
Confectioner’s sugar to garnish, optional

1. Pre-heat oven to 325F. Spray a 9” springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in stand mixer or using a hand-held electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the honey, apple juice, and vanilla. Mix on high to thoroughly combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the eggs and beat the mixture at medium high speed until well combined, lighter in color and texture.
4. Grate the fresh ginger on a microplane or finely chop the ginger to create very small pieces. Add the gingers to the bowl and mix just until fully incorporated.
5. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a 1-quart bowl. Set aside.
6. Peel the apples and then core and cut into 8 pieces. Set aside.
7. Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed just until all the dry ingredients are blended.
8. Scoop batter into the prepared pan and gently smooth the top.
9. Place the apple sections, rounded side up in a circle perpendicular to the edge of the pan and place the remaining 3-4 sections in the center.
10. Place the pan on a low-rimmed cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.
11. Cool and remove the sides of the pan. Dust with optional confectioner’s sugar just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tina’s Tidbits:

• The fresh ginger can be grated on a large, holed grater but the pieces will be present in the finished cake. If using a microplane you will get about 2 teaspoons of ginger. If grating larger pieces, you will get about 1 tablespoon.
• The apple juice may make the butter/egg mixture look curdled. Don’t worry, it has no effect on the finished product.
• I wait until the apples are cut before adding the dry ingredients to the batter because I do not want the apples to brown waiting for the cake batter to be completely made, and I do not want the baking powder to have time to start working while the batter sits waiting for the apples to be peeled and cut.
• If you have a hand-cranked rotary apple peeler and an apple corer/slicer, your job of preparing the apples will be a snap! If you don’t own these gadgets, it would be worth your time to get them.