Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post!
The calendar on my wall tells me that fall has arrived, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way. With temperatures still in the high 90s and low 100s, I’m just trying to survive the extended Sacramento summer heat. Nevertheless, I tried to get into an autumnal frame of mind by taking my mom and sister apple picking in Placerville. There’s an area called Apple Hill, which is known for its apple farms. Mama Lin loves going to fruit orchards and was looking forward to this apple picking excursion. Unfortunately, after driving to several apple farms, we couldn’t find any you-pick apple farms that still had apples!
Although we didn’t get to pick our own apples that day, I baked this apple spice cake to get my mom and sister into the fall spirit. Whenever I make desserts for my mom, I try not to use too much sugar, or else she’d complain about the sweetness. This miso apple spice cake has just the right amount of sweetness and it’s rich with layers of flavor, from warm fall spices, miso, and rum. I’m glad to report that Mama Lin approves this apple spice cake!
COOKING NOTES FOR APPLE SPICE CAKE
USING BOB’S RED MILL FLOUR
Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour is my go-to flour for recipe development and general cooking. It is a versatile flour that’s good for a variety of my recipes, such as dumpling wrappers, noodles, milk bread, mooncakes, and ginger and sesame cookies. It is a quality flour that produces consistent results and it’s very convenient to find. In this recipe, the Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour gives the cake a nice crumb.
SPICE BLEND FOR CAKE
This apple cake is seasoned with a blend of cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and cardamom. Apple desserts are often flavored with a heavy dose of cinnamon. While I enjoy that flavor combination, I wanted to come up with a different blend of spices that evoked fall flavors without being cinnamon dominant.
We often use ground coriander in savory recipes, but this Stone Fruit Upside-Down Cake from Asha Loupy opened my mind to using coriander in desserts. In that recipe, Asha adds freshly ground coriander seeds to the batter to give the cake a subtle earthy and citrusy note. When I added ground coriander to the spice blend in this apple spice cake, I thought the coriander complemented the cinnamon and other spices very well.
For those of you who find cilantro soapy, you may feel the same way about coriander. If that is the case, feel free to substitute the coriander with another teaspoon of cinnamon or a blend of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
LAYERING CAKE WITH MISO AND RUM
I wanted to add layers of flavor to enhance the warm fall spices in the cake. First, I added white miso to the batter and caramel glaze at the top. The miso gives the cake rich umami flavor and balances out the sugars in the cake very nicely.
To give the cake more depth, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of dark rum. The hint of rum is so nice against the spices of the cake. You’ll be able to taste the rum flavor more when you eat the cake the day it’s made. The next day, the rum flavor will mellow out. If you don’t have dark rum around the house, you can substitute it with 2 teaspoons of rum extract or just add another teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake.
WHAT KIND OF APPLES TO USE
You’ll need 2 medium apples for the cake’s topping. To make the cake more visually interesting, I made a cross hatch pattern using apple slices from 1 green apple and 1 red apple. You can use any apples you like, but here are my suggestions. Granny Smiths and Mutsu apples are great green apple options. In terms of red apples, Gala and Honeycrisp apples retained their vibrant red color the best during my recipe testing.
Note that not all honeycrisp apples are red throughout the apple. It depends on how much sunshine the apples were exposed to–more sun means redder honeycrisp apples. When buying Honeycrisp apples for this recipe, I selected ones that were red all around, like you see in the photo above.
APPLES & OXIDATION
The sliced apples will oxidize and brown between the time you slice the apples and when you place them over the batter. You can reduce some of that browning by squeezing lemon juice over the sliced apples. However, I don’t think this is entirely necessary, as the apples will brown during the baking process anyway. For one of my test batches, I omitted lemon juice and didn’t notice too much of a difference to the finished cake.
CARAMEL GLAZE
Before baking the cake, I brush the apples with a butter, sugar, and miso glaze. This caramel-like glaze serves the dual purpose of giving the cake more flavor and helps to keep the apples from drying out and shriveling during the baking process. This caramel glaze hardens pretty quickly, so I recommend making it after you have laid the apple slices over the batter. As soon as you finish making the glaze in a saucepan, brush the glaze over the apples.
HOW TO REHEAT THE APPLE SPICE CAKE
If you can’t finish the cake in one day, refrigerate the leftovers for 4 to 5 days. Reheat the cake in the oven preheated at 350ºF (175ºC) for 8 to 10 minutes. The edges of the cake develop a harder crust during this reheating process, which I love. You can also freeze any leftovers for several months. Reheat the cake in the oven at 350ºF for 12 to 14 minutes (assuming that you cut the cake into sections before freezing). There’s no need to defrost the cake first.
MORE RECIPES USING BOB’S RED MILL ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
- Thin Ginger & Sesame Cookies
- Chinese Chive Boxes
- Japanese Milk Bread (Shokupan)
- Pumpkin Scallion Pancakes
- Homemade Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Miso Apple Spice Cake
I recommend measuring out all the ingredients for the cake ahead of time. There are a few steps in this recipe that are time sensitive (like making the caramel glaze), so it is better to have the ingredients ready to go. To give the cake more visual interest, I used 1 green apple, and 1 red apple for the topping. Refer to Note 1 below for suggestions on which apples to use. Recipe makes an 8×8-inch cake.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180g) Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose flour volume measured by spoon-and-sweep method
- 1 3/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander preferably freshly ground from seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom preferably freshly ground from seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Apple Topping & Glaze
- 2 medium apples (see note 1 about apple varieties)
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon white miso (see note 2)
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white miso
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup (63g) safflower or vegetable oil (any neutral oil works)
- 3/4 cup (185g) full-fat Greek yogurt (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum optional (see note 4)
- 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (66g) packed light brown sugar
Optional Toppings
- powdered sugar
- whipped cream (see note 5 for recipe)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and position an oven rack to the center position.
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Grease an 8×8-inch square pan with oil (see note 6). Line the pan with parchment paper so that it has an overhang of about 2 inches on two opposite sides. If you have clips, clip down the overhang so that it doesn’t get in the way when you pour batter into the pan. You’ll remove the clips before baking the cake. Lightly grease the portion of parchment paper over the bottom of the pan and set it aside.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, cardamom, baking powder, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside.
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Slice the 2 apples into half-moon slices that are 1/4-inch thick (see photo below to see how I sliced the apple around the core). Apples tend to oxidize and turn brown pretty quickly. If you want to slow down the browning process, feel free to squeeze lemon juice over the sliced apples. The apple slices brown during the baking process anyway, so it’s not critical to add lemon juice.
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In a small bowl, use a spoon or a small silicone spatula to mix the butter together with the miso. Once the miso is fully incorporated into the butter, melt the mixture in a microwave for 15 to 20 seconds or inside a saucepan. (See note 7)
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In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and butter and miso mixture. Next, add the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and rum (if using) and whisk until smooth. Add the granulated and brown sugars, and mix again.
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Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients at once. Use a wooden spoon to mix the wet and dry ingredients together, until just combined. It’s okay if you see small lumps of flour in the batter.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula, silicone spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the batter out to an even layer.
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Arrange the apple slices in any pattern you like. To recreate the cross hatch pattern you see in the photo below, fan out 4 green apple slices. Carefully lay them over the batter at the top left corner of the pan, with the arc of the apple facing left. Next, fan out 4 slices of red apple and place right underneath the green apple slices with the arc facing up, like a rainbow. Continue alternating between green and red apple slices, until you reach the bottom edge of the pan. For the second column, fan out 4 red apple slices and place them to the right of the top row of green apple slices, arc facing upwards. Continue adding the green and apple slices, until the entire surface is covered with apples. When you reach the final column, you likely won’t be able to fit as many apple slices. I only had space to fit 2 green apple slices in a row, and I sliced the apples in half.
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Make the caramel glaze to brush over the apples. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in a saucepan, whisking frequently. Once the butter and sugar has melted completely and the mixture is bubbling slightly, turn the heat to low and whisk in 1/2 teaspoon of miso, until incorporated. Immediately brush this glaze over the apple slices. I used a silicone brush and tried to brush in the same direction as the curvature of the apples. If the glaze feels stiff, reheat it over the stove.
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Remove any clips you used to clip down the parchment paper. Bake the cake for 25 minutes. Then, rotate the cake to ensure even baking. Continue baking the cake for another 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges of the cake are a nice golden brown color and a butter knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out cleanly.
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Remove the cake from the oven. Run a butter knife along the edges of the cake that is not lined with parchment paper. This helps to ensure that the cake doesn’t stick to the pan once it cools.
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Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Then grab onto the parchment paper to lift the cake from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack.
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Let the cake cool for another 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the cake to garnish. Serve the cake with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. You’ll taste the rum a bit more the day the cake is baked. Refrigerate any leftover cake. See note 8 below for reheating directions.
Notes
- Apple Varieties: Granny Smiths and Mutsu apples are great green apple options. For the red apples, Gala and Honeycrisp apples retained their vibrant red color the best during my recipe testing. Note that not all honeycrisp apples are red throughout the apple–it depends on how much sunshine the apples were exposed to. When buying Honeycrisp apples, I made sure to select ones that were red all around.
- White Miso: I used white miso, which has a sweeter and more mellow flavor compared to red miso. The type of white miso I used comes refrigerated in a plastic tub. I did not test this recipe with other varieties of miso, so I can’t provide exact substitution suggestions.
- Full-Fat Greek Yogurt: The fat from the Greek yogurt will make the cake more moist. If you don’t have it on hand, you can use low-fat Greek yogurt.
- Rum Substitutions: The rum adds a nice layer of flavor that complements the spices very well. You can substitute it with 2 teaspoons of rum extract, which is alcohol free. If you don’t want to bother with the rum, just add another teaspoon of vanilla.
- Whipped Cream: To make the whipped cream, use a stand mixer or handheld mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. On medium-high speed, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, until you see fairly stiff peaks.
- Pan Substitution: You can bake the cake in a 9×9-inch square pan. The baking time is roughly the same–check 2 to 3 minutes before the listed time above for doneness.
- Making Miso Glaze: Some of you might wonder why I have you working the miso into the room temperature butter first before melting the ingredients in the microwave or saucepan. I found this is the best way to incorporate the miso in the butter most evenly. I tried melting the butter and miso in a saucepan, but it took a while to break down the tablespoon of miso with a whisk.
- Reheating the Cake: If you refrigerated the cake, bake the cake at 350ºF (175ºC) for 8 to 10 mins. If you froze the cake, reheat at 350ºF for 12 to 14 minutes (start checking at 12 minutes). There is no need to defrost the cake first. This baking time for reheating frozen cake is based on the assumption that you cut the cake into smaller pieces before freezing. I have not tried freezing the entire cake (or large sections) and reheating them.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill! To learn more about their products and to get more recipe inspiration, follow them on Instagram or Facebook.
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