Apple Cake with Walnuts Cinnamon and Cloves.

Inspired by a recipe from Tatiana Bessa Coutinho.

What a wonderful cake!

When I saw a post by a friend about this cake on my Facebook page I immediately knew I had to make it so I asked for the recipe. This is an adaptation of Tatiana’s recipe to accommodate measurements and techniques used in the USA.

The original recipe calls for Fuji apples but any apple will do. This is actually a good recipe to use up some apples that are getting close to due date. I used honeycrisps in this recipe because I had them on hand. However, cooking apples like Granny Smith will give more of that tart taste.

I added a drizzle of caramel to the recipe because they go so well together and it gives the cake a nice finished look. I also sprinkled a little powdered sugar to top it off with a bang.

Ingredients for the Cake:

  • 4 apples
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 table spoon sugar and 1 table spoon cinnamon ( for topping)

Ingredients for the caramel:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup hot water

Directions:

  1. Pre heat oven to 350F. Oil a Bundt cake pan or any cake pan with a hole in the middle sprinkle some flour and set aside.
  2. Peel and remove seeds from apples . Then shred apples in a food processor, transfer to bowl and set aside.
  3. Change the blade in the food processor to a mixing blade and mix eggs, oil, milk, sugars and vanilla. Mix well until creamy.
  4. In a large bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, cloves and baking powder. Make a dent in the middle and add liquid mixture. Mix well until fully incorporated, forming a thick dough. Add shredded apples, raisins and walnuts and fold them into the dough.
  5. Transfer dough to prepared cake pan and sprinkle cinnamon sugar mix over the top and bake for 35 minutes.
  6. While cake is baking, make caramel sauce. Safety tips before starting the caramel: use a long handle wooden spoon and keep your face away from pot. When hot water is added to high temperature sugar it will cause it to crystallize and splatter.
  7. Heat water and set aside. Melt sugar in a saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly. When sugar is melted and has a caramel color, turn heat to low and add hot water. Caramel will foam and crystallize a little but keep stirring at medium high temperature until melted again. Pour caramel into a glass saucer and set aside to cool and thicken.
  8. When cake is ready, remove from oven and let it cool for 30min. Then flip it over onto a serving platter, sprinkle powered sugar and drizzle with caramel sauce.

Enjoy!

Banana Cake with Caramel Swirl

Bolo de Banana com calda de Caramelo

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Bananas are a very common fruit in the Brazilian house hold and there are several types of bananas everywhere. They are inexpensive and widely available, which means lots of different recipes for banana cake. Banana cake with caramel sauce is one of my favorites because it’s easy to make with only two bananas and it’s very flavorful.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of cake flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 bananas mashed
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup oil
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp baking powder

For Caramel:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup hot water

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F and grease a round cake pan with a hole in the middle.
  2. Add all ingredients for the cake (except for the baking powder) to a bowl and mix well until smooth,preferably an electrical mixer. Add baking powder. Gently mix.
  3. Transfer to the baking pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. The cake is ready when fork comes out clean.
  4. While the cake is baking, melt sugar in a sauce pan, stirring constantly until it is golden brown. Turn heat to low and add 1/2 cup of hot water. Keep stirring to prevent the sugar from hardening. If needed, add the rest of the hot water and keep stirring until a caramel sauce is formed. Transfer the sauce to a glass cup and let it rest until the cake is finished and cooled. Once the cake is cooled, transfer it to a serving platter and drizzle with the caramel sauce.

Enjoy!