This is a recipe I saved from a magazine I had collected so long back that I don’t remember its origins. Over time I have made some adjustments to suit our taste, and sometimes to suit the ingredients I have on hand. I have made this apple cake more times than I can remember and it has never failed to elicit appreciation from the family and friends who have had it.
I usually make this cake with apples, but it tastes just as good if made with pears.
Last week, I bought some apples which turned out not particularly sweet and so there were no takers for them. I’m also hosting Think Spice, Think Nutmeg this month and hadn’t yet got around to making something “nutmeggy” for it. It doesn’t seem right not to have a submission for my event, somehow. So I tweaked the recipe once more and it now includes nutmeg!
Spiced Apple Cake With Streusel Topping
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter , softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg grated
- 1 1/2 tsps baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups apples peeled , cored and diced (loosely packed) (mixed with1 tsp lemon juice)
Streusel Topping:
- 2 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg grated
- 2 tbsps butter , softened (oil also works)
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar well. Gradually add the egg, and mix till well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as well.
- Sieve all the dry ingredients together and alternately add a little of this and the milk, mixing till all the ingredients and milk are finished. Now fold the apple pieces into the batter and scrape the batter into a greased and floured 9u201d cake tin.
- The batter would be a little bit thicker than for some cakes, so do not be tempted to add a bit more milk to adjust the consistency. If you do, you will end up with a cake where the streusel sinks into the cake! This is experience talking. Of course, the cake would still taste as good.
- Run the oats a couple of times in a mixer/grinder (do not powder) if you do not like to see the oats in the streusel. Mix this well, using your fingers, with all the ingredients for the streusel topping. Sprinkle this evenly over the cake batter.
- Bake the cake at 180C (350F) for about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, remove and cool on a rack. This recipe serves 4 to 6.
- Slice and serve plain with coffee or tea. This cake makes for a light dessert if served with a dollop of sour cream, or lightly sweetened whipped cream, or even with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Aha! Even I’ve found it difficult to come up with recipes for the couple of events I’ve hosted – glad to know there’s a kindred spirit around!
that looks really good aparna 🙂
Like the nutmeggy crumbly cake!!!
I should try this cake..looks good
Looks nice.
love the combo of flavours in this one..looks hearty & yummy!
the cake looks yummy with the streusel topping….nutmeg must hve given a distinct flavour
Very nice recipe Aparna and the picture looks beautiful!
that looks really nice
Hi, tou have a nice blog with interesting recipes. Hope you don’t mind, I added you on my blogroll.Good luck with your blog…
My mother is of german descent, so we ate streusel toppings a lot – on yeast cake, beer cake, apple crumble, you name it it got this topping.I no longer cook with eggs so most of these dishes I can’t make any more. But I did love seeing your cake!
looks nice & delicious…first time here.. u have a nice blog & innovative…
Looks fantastic! I love crumble-topped cakes, so I’ll have to give this one a try sometime.
Sra,I was beginning to woder what I had got myself into.:)Yes, we enjoyed our old cake in its new “avatar”. Do try it, Divya and Angela. I can imagine, Vegeyum. I’m also trying to avoid eggs as much as possible, not that it was a favourite.These days, I use eggs only for baking and am trying substitutes even there.I appreciate it, Sanhita. Thank you.Thank you, Sripriya, and welcome to my blog.
Love the use of garam masala and nutmeg in this apple cake. Nice twist on apple streusel cake
I know what to do the next time I have “not so sweet” apples. The cake really sounds very interesting. But garam masala? I think I will be using bananas instead of the egg.
Jude and Madhuram,I know we think of garam masala only in savoury dishes, but its great in this cake.You can’t taste it, but just get the flavours of the spices in the cake.