Recently I made this cake for a work morning tea. I was asked about the origins of this recipe and I realized that the recipe appeared in Cuisine magazine about 20 years ago. I don’t want to mess with a classic but over the years tweaked a bit and reduced the amount of sugar. It is a generous cake and the flavours are so perfect for winter.
INGREDIENTS
230g raisins
250mls water
485g apples, peeled and chopped
125mls dark rum
1 and a half teaspoons baking soda
350g plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon each of ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground cloves
190g butter
200g castor sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate (72% cocoa), chopped into irregular chunks
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Butter a kugelhopf or Bundt cake tin generously (8 cup capacity)
Place the raisins and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over a low heat. Simmer 3-4 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in the apples, rum and baking soda. Let this mixture cool.
Sift flour, baking powder and spices together.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add beaten eggs and vanilla, mixing well.
Fold in the sifted dry ingredients slowly alternating with the apple mixture and the chocolate.
Spoon into the prepared kugelhopf mold and bake for 40-50 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let cake stand 10-15 minutes before turning out and dusting with icing sugar.
Serve warm with whipped cream. Serves 10-12.
Chef’s notes – with reduced sugar, the cake is best eaten within 24 hours