Description
Ina Garten’s apple spice cake provides a delightful autumn dessert with rich, warm spices and tender apple chunks. Moist layers combine classic fall flavors, creating a comforting treat you’ll savor with each delectable bite.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 extra-large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (120 ml) dark rum
- 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ lbs (680 g) Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and diced (3 to 4 apples)
- 2 tsp (10 ml) grated orange zest (from 2 oranges)
- 2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (220 g) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 cup (150 g) golden raisins
- 1 cup (113 g) chopped pecans
- 2 tsp (4 g) baking powder
- 2 tsp (4 g) ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp (1.5 g) kosher salt
- ½ tsp (1 g) ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp (1 g) ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp (0.25 g) ground cloves
- vanilla ice cream and warm caramel sauce for serving
Instructions
- Prep Workspace: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan to ensure easy cake release.
- Enhance Flavors: Toast pecans until fragrant, then soak golden raisins in dark rum for enhanced taste complexity. Let raisins cool and absorb liquid.
- Create Wet Base: Whisk together sugars, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and orange zest until mixture becomes silky and well-blended.
- Combine Dry Components: Sift flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves) into wet mixture. Blend smoothly to eliminate potential lumps.
- Incorporate Mix-ins: Drain rum-infused raisins and gently fold in toasted pecans and chopped apples, distributing ingredients evenly throughout batter.
- Bake to Perfection: Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing surface. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted centrally emerges clean, indicating complete cooking.
- Serve Elegantly: Cool cake briefly, slice into squares, and present with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce drizzle for a luxurious dessert experience.
Notes
- Boost Nut Flavor: Toast pecans before adding to enhance their nutty, rich taste and create a deeper, more complex flavor profile.
- Rum-Raisin Technique: Microwave raisins with rum to infuse them with deep, boozy warmth, ensuring more intense and concentrated flavor throughout the cake.
- Prevent Lumpy Batter: Sift dry ingredients separately and add gradually to wet mixture, stirring carefully to create a smooth, lump-free cake texture.
- Even Baking Trick: Smooth batter surface with a spatula and use toothpick test to ensure perfect doneness, avoiding undercooked or dry cake edges.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 38 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 62 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg