Ingredients
- 1/2 stick butter, plus extra for loaf pan
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored, cut into 1/2-inch dice and tossed with a little lemon juice
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for loaf pan
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 or 4 grates fresh nutmeg (about 1/2 teaspoon)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- Cream Cheese Icing, recipe follows
- Special equipment: Standard loaf pan
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Toss in the apples and stir to coat them with the butter. Add the lemon juice and the apple cider. Cook until the apples have softened and the cider has reduced by half. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and pulse into a coarse paste. Reserve.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, both of the sugars and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the pureed apples, the egg and vanilla. Stir to combine. Toss in the walnuts and raisins.
Butter and flour a loaf pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and put it in the preheated oven. Bake until a toothpick, inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
Cut the cake in half equatorially and spread half of the icing on the bottom layer. Replace the top half and ice the top of the cake, leave the sides bare. Slice and serve.
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 stick butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Beat together all of the ingredients in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
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By KoaliAnderson
Honolulu, HI
on May 26, 2012
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The cake is marvelous as is. A slight variation on the Icing to consider: Add a little lemon zest. Since that makes it plenty lemony, replace the lemon juice with some of the apple cider. Store-bought cream cheese icing is a little faster and no dishes to wash -- but I am amazed at how much better this icing tastes than store-bought. Also, since this icing is so flavorful yet sinfully calorie-laden -- I baked the cake in a flat baking dish (rather than a bread pan, skipped the middle layer, and just iced the top. That required only half the amount of icing, yet seemed plenty generous and in proportion to the cake.
By carloudachef
New York
on May 21, 2012
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This was yummy! I cooked for the alloted time but my cake came out on the dry side..and a little bit burned. Don't know what's that about..but when I cut out the burned edges and put on the whip cream. Yum. A tad bit dense but it did remind me of carrot cake. Very good. I have to figure out how to make it a smudge more moist.
By BlossomThyme
Millersville, MD
on May 01, 2012
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I enjoyed what I made. In fact, it was rather delicious. First, let me tell you I accidentally used cider vinegar instead of cider. I was so scared I was going to have a sour mess, when in fact, it did not have a noticeable affect, other than it tasted good. I'm going to try it again using the cider next time to see if it makes a difference. Also, I used my favorite gluten free flour and it was wonderful. It is a very dense cake and it tastes better the next day. I also added extra nuts. This is a keeper.
Read all 34 reviews