October is in full swing and I am still using up my apples that won’t keep, the ones that have a little worm hole or have fallen on the ground and gotten a bit bruised and this week I perfected my Apple Brown Sugar Cake. This is a quick apple cake that is bursting with the freshness of 2 cups of chopped fresh apples, rich with brown sugar and eggs and scented with cardamom. This cake is firm enough to wrap squares for the kids lunches yet sweet and luscious enough to serve with coffee or as dessert with some whipping cream or ice cream.
Apples are so good for you, full of antioxidants, phytonutrients, fiber, have been shown to lower your risk of stroke and promote healthy gut bacteria-it’s no joke that an apple a day keeps the doctor away! So although this cake is not quite as healthy as a whole fresh apple by itself, it is loaded with 2 cups of them (that was 4 of my small-medium sized apples) and if you’re like me you’ll be snacking on some fresh pieces while you’re chopping them up for the cake.
A quick side note, sometimes kids are picky about their apples turning brown when you were kind enough to cut them up ahead of time for their school lunch, (insert eye roll), and a quick “trick” I picked up from our local strong start program is to sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar over them. Not a lot, just a quarter teaspoon of each should be enough for a whole apple. Not only does it hide the brown, the kids think it’s a great treat.
If you’re looking for a savory apple recipe, try my Apple Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing!
For the spice, I chose cardamom. Cardamom is a delicious, fragrant spice that I think is underused in Canada but is very common in India, (where it originated) Asia, Scandinavian countries and the Middle East. It is delicious in sweet breads and baking as well as savory dishes like curries. If you don’t have cardamom, you could make your cake using a half teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg but I think it is a delicious and versatile spice worth trying if you haven’t already.
Cheers to the deliciousness of fall, friends!
ox Sabrina
PS. Wondering about the title? Anyone else have tweens or teens that use all sorts of “new” words to indicate things that are cool or awesome? Well, my teen recently went through the MOIST phase. He and his friends took a neutral seeming word and made it irritating FAST. As I was writing this post and describing my cake, I got stuck on the word moist. I felt it was a very apt word for my cake but…I couldn’t bring myself to use it.
So I polled a few friends and the ensuing text banter got hilarious but I was told more than once that I simply couldn’t use the word moist yet no one could think of a better word!!! (Spongy was the best, wet and damp were clearly the worst options) I googled and compared other cake descriptions with no suitable equal and then decided I would not try to replace the word but simply describe it in other ways. (Feel free to scroll back up and see the creative descriptions I decided on)
I’m pretty sure this dilemma will present again…any ideas??? Help a girl out!
Send me your ideas below or on Instagram @wckitchengarden or Facebook at WC Kitchen Garden
Apple Brown Sugar Snack Cake
Only 8 ingredients to make this comforting apple cake, gently spiced with cardamom. Perfect for a school lunch treat, coffee time, or add some whipped cream for dessert. Makes one 9" x 13" cake.
Ingredients
- 1/2 c Salted Butter
- 1 1/2 c Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vanilla
- 3 Eggs
- 1 1/2 c Flour
- 1 tbsp Cardamom
- 1 tbsp Baking Powder
- 2 c Apples, Peeled And Chopped To 1/4" Pieces
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350"F and lightly grease a 9"x13" pan.
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Melt butter and then stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Once stirred well, beat in eggs.
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In a 2 cup (or larger) measuring cup, add flour, cardamom and baking powder and mix well, then add to butter mixture and stir gently until combined.
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Mix in apples and then pour into baking pan.
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Bake in oven 20-25 minutes. (My oven is on the cool side and took 25 min but I suggest setting your timer for 20 and checking then) Test with a toothpick and when it comes out clean, cake is done. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then carefully move to cooling rack and serve warm or let cool before putting back in pan to store.