Brown Butter Apple Cake with a Gin Liqueur Glaze

Ever since I came across the idea of brown butter, I have been smitten. It is beautiful, delicate and can take the most simple and mundane and make it taste like heaven on a plate. I also love adding fruit to my cakes, and this week we’ve had an abundance of apples. So putting two good things together brought the idea for an apple cake made with brown butter. But how do we take this even higher? A festive glaze with rhubarb and ginger gin liqueur, and this one is really ready to be a tea party centre piece. The cake itself is mildly sweet, making it the perfect base to allow the fruit combined with the glaze the shine.

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Ingredients

  • 150g unsalted butter

  • 75g white spelt flour

  • 50g buckwheat flour

  • 50g ground almonds

  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

  • 1/4 tsp ginger powder

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

  • 3 large eggs, separated

  • 75g honey

  • 50g soft light brown sugar

  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest

  • 2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

For the glaze

  • 3 tbsp Edinburgh Rhubarb and Ginger Gin Liqueur

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Method of Preparation

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Prepare a 20cm round cake tin and set aside.

  2. To make the brown butter, cut the butter into even sized cubes and place in a medium saucepan over low heat. Make sure the saucepan is of a contrasting colour so as to be able to see the colour change. Once the butter melts completely, the milk solids will begin to separate. Keep a close watch, and gently stir at even intervals. The butter will begin to foam again, and change colour to a nutty brown. Immediately turn off the heat and transfer to another bowl, to stop the cooking process, and cool.

  3. Sift together the white spelt flour + buckwheat flour + ground almonds + cinnamon powder + ginger powder + salt + baking soda + baking powder, and set aside.

  4. Whisk the egg whites till they form stiff peaks, and set aside.

  5. To a large mixing bowl, add the honey + soft light brown sugar + egg yolks + vanilla extract, and whisk together till creamy. Add the flour mix, one-third at a time and fold to incorporate. Then add the brown butter, one third at a time, and fold to incorporate. Then gently fold in the egg whites. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake tin. Top with the sliced sections of apple in any pattern you like. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover with kitchen foil and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean.

  6. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

  7. As the cake cools, make the glaze. Place all the ingredients for the glaze in a small saucepan and gently heat till it begins to slightly thicken, then turn off the heat. Pour over the cooled cake, and serve on the side of some hot tea or coffee!