This apple cake recipe is actually a blueberry cake recipe that’s been reworked. It’s a family favorite and nobody knows the exact origins, but there’s rumor of a very stained/browned newspaper clipping tucked into a homemade recipe book in my grandmother’s kitchen. It’s the perfect coffee cake. The trick is to make sure you flour the fruit so it stays suspended in the batter. You may notice I forgot to do that when I made the batch photographed here. Classic do as I say not as I do! I recommend this for Sunday mornings, Tuesday nights and any time you need a little pick me up.

Makes one 8 x 8 cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 Stick Salted Butter (soft)
  • 1 Cup White Sugar
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • 2 Cups Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 Cups Apples (peeled, cored and cut into ¼ - ½ inch chunks
  • ½ Cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
  • ½ Cup Chopped Walnuts
  • ½ tsp Indonesian Cinnamon or Masala Chai Spice Blend

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl or standing mixer cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the granulated white sugar and add the eggs one at a time, being sure to fully incorporate each before adding the next. Stir in the sour cream, flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth and well blended.

Fold in the peeled, cored, cut and floured apples to the batter mixture.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, walnuts and Indonesian Cinnamon or Masala Chai.

Spread ½ the batter into a greased 8 x 8 pan. Top with ½ of the sugar, walnut and spice mixture. Top with the second ½ of the batter and finish with the second ½ of the sugar, walnut and spice mixture.

Bake for 50 – 65 minutes being sure to check the center with a toothpick. Once the pick comes out clean the cake is ready to come out of the oven! Let cool before cutting. Enjoy!

First image: Cooling outside.

Second image: The well loved recipe in my mom's handwriting. 

Comments

This was a hit for Rosh Hashanah. I substituted plain coconut-milk yogurt for sour cream (the “So Delicious” brand) to make it dairy-free, and it was fabulous! I floured the apples but they still sank to the bottom, however the batter sat for about 30 min before I put it in because I had to wait for dinner to come out, so that could’ve been my own fault. Delicious nonetheless!

— Mallory Cash

Fantastic! I actually doubled the apples because we had just gone apple picking and I had so many extra. I also increased cinnamon as I like a strong cinnamon flavor. Came out moist and delicious. I had an apple cake recipe I’ve made for 40 years and this Skordo recipe has replaced it.

— Michele Marcus