Eat Some Wear Some
What I love most about this cake is that it is not overly sweet because there is not a ton of added sugar which allows the apples and maple to really shine. It is not the prettiest of finished cakes but it is so delicious - you could even just serve the icing as you would a dollop of whipped cream on the side to preserve the beauty of the actual cake.
I like to sift onto a piece of parchment because I never seem to have a wide enough bowl to catch all of the flour and I end up with more flour on the counter than in the bowl.
This is where you might feel like you have done something wrong (I know I did the first time around) but maintain your course. The batter will be extremely dry, and slightly gummy, but remember that you have all those apples that will release their moisture while baking.
Again, this will seem a bit strange, but mix one scoop of egg whites into batter first as a kind of sacrifice to lighten it up. Then gently fold the next addition into the batter maintaining as much air as possible.
Apple Cake w/ Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves:
1 9" cake
Ingredients
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp baking powder
1¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup olive oil
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼inch chunks
2 egg whites
FOR THE FROSTING
4 oz (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbl maple syrup
½ cup sugar in the raw (aka demerara sugar)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350˚F, grease a 9” cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Bring the ½ cup of water to a boil, pour over raisins, and let sit.
Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon together. In a separate bowl, whisk olive oil and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until emulsified (only about 30seconds).
Drain any excess water from raisins and add to the egg/sugar mixture along with the apples (switch to a spatula here).
Mix in the dry ingredients in two batches, mix just until everything is moistened – the batter will be every thick.
Beat two egg whites to soft peak consistency (so when you remove the whisk and hold it upside down, the whites droop slightly). Fold into the batter in two additions (this will seem strange but fold gently to maintain as much air as possible).
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown and the center springs back to the touch. Let cool completely.
Make the icing: in a mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat butter, cream cheese, sugar in the raw, and maple syrup on med-hi speed until fluffy (2-3 minutes).
Slice cake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Place bottom half onto serving platter and spread half of the icing evenly over cake. Place other half on top and spread the rest of the icing over the cake and down the sides.