Apple, pecan, and crème fraîche cake
This delicious cake celebrates one of the stars of Autumn – apples! Apple season is here, and it's time to fill our recipe books with cosy recipes like this apple cake. This cake is a take on traditional American coffee cake, with added chunks of apples and crème fraîche to create a light fluffy texture. op tip: melt some salted butter on top to make this cake even more delicious!
Ingredients
For the cake
- 350 grams apples, peeled and diced
- 115 grams butter
- 200 grams sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 375 grams plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 200 ml full fat crème fraîche
For the pecan and sugar topping
- 100 grams pecans, chopped
- 145 grams dark brown sugar (you can use light, if needed)
- 40 grams unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170c/150 fan. Line or oil a 9×9 square pan and set aside.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Add all wet ingredients except the crème fraîche to a stand mixer and cream together. If you don't have a mixer, you can do this with a hand mixer or by hand.
- Slowly begin to alternate adding the dry ingredients and crème fraîche to the mixture until all ingredients are combined. You can scrape the sides of your mixture as needed.
- Gently fold the apples into the mixture and set aside while you combine the ingredients for your pecan and sugar topping in a small bowl.
- Pour half of the apple cake mixture into your prepared pan and smooth it out evenly. Layer half of the pecan and sugar topping in the pan before spreading out the remaining cake mixture. Top the cake evenly with the rest of the pecan and sugar mixture.
- Bake the cake for 45 – 50 minutes until centre is set and a toothpick comes out relatively clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes before serving warm with some salted butter.