22 April 2012

Brown Buttered Apple and Rosemary Cake

I was lucky to get some apples straight off  friend's orchard.  Their fragrance so unbelievably apple.  What all apples should smell like, that is if we could all get them straight off the tree!




What do with my bounty?  Well I was in the mood for cake and I seem to have an on going craving for anything with brown butter at the moment.  There's something about just the mention of brown butter, with savoury or sweet that I just can't resist.  And to cut through the sweetness with a little fresh herbal note a little rosemary.


Brown Buttered Apple and Rosemary Cake


Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp demerara sugar plus extra to scatter over the top of the cake
1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
2-3 apples cut in to thin slices
1 1/2 cups (225g / 8 oz) self raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup (165g / 6 oz) caster sugar
125g / 4 1/2 oz butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125ml) milk



Directions



Pre heat the oven to 160C/325F


Melt the butter in a sauté pan until it starts to brown.  It will start to give off a wonderfully sweet nutty aroma. Add the sugar and rosemary and cook just until the sugar is melted.  Add the apples and toss gently to coat.  Cook for just a couple of minutes to allow the apples to soak up all the flavours.  Remove from the heat and set aside.




Place the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs and milk in the bowl of a mixer and beat until just combined as you don't want to over mix it. We want a light cake.  Spoon the mixture in to a 22cm (9 inch) cake tin greased and lined with baking paper.  Top with the slices of apple and make sure to get all that rosemary infused brown butter too. Sprinkle over a tablespoon or 2 of demerara sugar over the top.




Pop in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is cooked through.  Test with a skewer and when the cake is cooked a skewer will come out clean.  Allow the cake to cool, slice and eat.






The cake bakes up and envelopes the buttery apples. The rosemary adds an almost piney freshness that contrasts with the sweetness of the cake and the apples.  And I do love the sweet crunch the demerara sugar topping delivers. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon and a little couch therapy along with a good book and a pot of coffee.  Oh I do wish there were more days in the week like this.  Then again maybe we appreciate them more because there are never enough of them.




If you like this you might like this Walnut, Honey and Orange Blossom Cake
One Year Ago Smoked Mackerel Pate, Grilled Mackerel & a Fennel & 
Apple Salad







Enjoy!

12 comments:

  1. Wow, Mairi this looks beautiful. So autumnal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jemma....and such an easy cake too! Not being a baker this has become my go to cake mix.

      Delete
  2. Ah, here is the cake you tweeted, it sounds great and I love the addition of rosemary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alli, I think I might even up the rosemary next time round....but brown butter....it just makes everything so good :)

      Delete
  3. Delicious. I love the addition of herbs in sweet things. This has given me ideas...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mags, look forward to seeing those ideas :)

      Delete
  4. I have never tried an apple cake with rosemary! Very curious now! You could enter this for Sweet NZ!

    Mairi, I have a give away on my blog for Fresh As products, if you like to enter :-)

    info here http://alessandrazecchini.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/give-away-to-new-zealand-readers-fresh.html

    ciao
    Alessandra

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Alessandra, you're right I'll send this in to Sweet NZ & heading over to yours now :)

      Delete
  5. I remember too your tweet about this cake. Glad you share the recipe as I'm very tempted to try it !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Vivenne, if you like rosemary I would even recommend adding a little more :) Happy Baking!

      Delete
  6. Mairi, what I would give to tuck into a slice of your beautiful cake right now! And with browned butter? Oh yeah. Perfect to go with my cup of coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks Hannah, anything with brown butter is just sooo good :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...