Apples are a must-use ingredient in fall cooking, whether you’re going to make a fresh apple pie or some warming apple crisp. Here, I baked some diced apples into a Maple Apple Ginger Cake that is spiced with fresh ginger and lots of delicious maple syrup.
Maple syrup is a lovely flavoring to use in cakes, especially during the fall. It adds sweetness and also attracts moisture, meaning that you’ll end up with a cake that stays fresher, longer. In this case, it works very well with the flavor of the apples and gives the cake a really warm feeling. The fresh ginger adds a lot of spice, but unlike dried and powdered ginger, it has a much brighter taste to it that serves to contrast with the warmer maple and brown sugar flavorings already in the cake.
As a result, this is a cake with lots of fall flavor that isn’t just another gingerbread-type cake loaded up with the same four or five dried spices. It is very moist and very tender, not too sweet and with a great balance of flavors. I baked it in a 10-inch tube pan – the type that you might use to bake an angel food cake – so that the finished cake would have a very attractive shape to it. It could be baked in a bundt pan, but keep in mind that some of the apple pieces might end up sticking to the sides of the bundt, so don’t try to use a pan that is too detailed.
Like a quickbread, this cake keeps very well and can easily be served as is, with no accompaniments. If you want to dress it up a little bit, it goes well with a small scoop of ice cream or a little dollop of whipped cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce or maple syrup will finish off any presentation nicely.
Maple Apple Ginger Cake
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup (pref. grade B)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger root
3/4 cup sour cream
2 cups diced, peeled apples (2 medium)
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking power and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by maple syrup, vanilla extract and fresh ginger. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream, followed by the remaining half of the flour mixture. Mix only until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in diced apples, then pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake will spring back when lightly pressed.
Cool cake in pan, then use a knife to loosen it from the sides. Invert cake onto a large plate, then reinvert onto a serving plate or cake keeper before serving.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Caley
September 20, 2010Looks delicious! Are you peeling your apples?
Lauren
September 20, 2010Oh wow… this cake looks absolutely delicious! Great flavor combination. I’m going apple picking sometime soon, and this recipe is going on my list of what to make with my bounty :).
Nicole
September 20, 2010Caley – I peeled the apples, but I think you could get away with not peeling in a recipe like this one.
Liz @ Blog is the New Black
September 20, 2010This looks so good! I just made apple caramel cupcakes!
myrecessionkitchen
September 20, 2010Sounds yummy, three of my favorite flavors in one cake!
Brenda
September 20, 2010This cake looks super moist! We are going to pick apples this weekend. I am giving this recipe a try. I will be able to get some maple syrup up north, too!
EvilScienceChick
September 20, 2010I am making this as soon as possible. Yum!!!!
Jackie
September 20, 2010Hi Nicole
What kind of apples did you use.
Judy
September 21, 2010Very moist-looking! Guess this a definite keeper!
Sues
September 21, 2010This looks like the perfect breakfast cake with a nice big mug of pumpkin spice coffee 🙂
lady gabrielle
September 21, 2010Can’t wait to try this at home!!!
Amy
September 22, 2010I made this recipe a couple nights ago with some apples I got from a local orchard . It was delicious!
Lucie
September 22, 2010This cake actually makes me long for cold days spent drinking hot tea and eating cake! The ginger and apple combination is great–I could see this paired with a nice chai tea.
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit
September 22, 2010I have an abundance of apples right now- I love your combo of apples and maple syrup. Yum!
Julia
September 23, 2010This looks super moist and delicious. Apple is a must use fall ingredient and maple is just a must use all the time ingredient for me!!! I
Amanda
September 23, 2010Looks delicious! A perfect flavor combination for fall.
Sarah p
September 25, 2010This looks really yum, may have to try soon.
Jill
September 30, 2010Just made this yesterday and it is delicious! I added a teaspoon of cinnamon and some maple extract because I only had Grade A maple syrup. BTW – I used Granny Smith apples and they worked well.
Sarah
October 7, 2010This was great! I confess I used pancake syrup instead of maple, because that’s all I had in the house, but it was wonderful. I don’t recall what kind of apples I used, but I usually only keep eating apples in the house and had no texture problems. My husband and I snacked on the cake for the next three days, and it stayed moist and delicious the whole time. Great recipe!
Sarah
October 7, 2010This was a great recipe! I confess that I used pancake syrup instead of real maple syrup, because that’s all I had in the house. Either way, it was wonderful. My husband and I snacked on the cake for three days after I made it, and it remained moist and flavorful until the end!
Ashley
October 9, 2010I love the combination of maple and apple! Saving this recipe. 🙂
Rosie
November 12, 2010I baked this cake yesterday, and everyone who ate it really liked it! The only downside (for me — I doubt anyone else noticed) that it was a little overbaked, and I should have checked it before the 45 minute mark!
Didem
November 27, 2010I’ve baked this caked last week and it was DELICIOUS!!! It smells amazing and you can’t stop eating.. Another good thing about this cake is it’s not overly sweet, just the perfect amount of sugar:))