Apple and honey cake
You could say that the crumble is the icing on the cake, but it’s even better than that.
I’m not Jewish, but I love the food. Unsurprisingly, the baked goods excite me most: Challah for Shabbat. Hamantaschen for Purim. Babka just because. Sometimes I feel like Tim Whatley from Seinfeld, who converted to Judaism for the jokes. For the record, I'm not converting, but since I'm married to someone who is Jewish, I get a kick out of all the new things I can learn to bake. This weekend is Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, and it’s traditional to eat apples dipped in honey. Sometimes the two are combined in a cake, and that was all the invitation I needed.
The food is often what we look forward to most in a celebration, and what most cements our memories. Now that we have our son, these rituals feel even more important. I set about creating an apple and honey cake quite some time ago, and it's gone through various iterations. This is my favorite, and I hope it becomes one of the things Abe looks forward to as he grows up. The sponge is light, the apples hold their shape but collapse into their softness, and the honey flows through the cake like tributaries. You could say that the crumble is the icing on the cake, but it’s even better than that.
Of course, you don't have to be Jewish (or intentionally interacting with Jewish traditions to make memories for your child) to bake an apple and honey cake. This is a great recipe to add to your fall baking roster. And it’s adaptable too. I’ve made it with both peaches and damsons, and I have some greengages in the kitchen that are begging to be baked into a tender almond cake. Switch up the spicing to suit whichever fruit you’re using. You can even leave out the honey. This is also an excellent cake to bake if you’ve got a lot of egg whites leftover from another recipe.
To all those celebrating this weekend, Shana Tova!
Apple and honey cake
Makes a 20-centimeter cake
For the crumble
60 grams plain flour
45 grams unsalted butter, cold, cubed
25 grams granulated sugar
generous pinch of salt
For the cake
150 grams powdered sugar
80 grams plain flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon (Ceylon variety)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
100 grams ground almonds
130 grams egg whites
130 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ teaspoon vanilla paste
2 medium apples (I prefer a sweet and sour apple, like Jonagold or Elstar), peeled, cored, and chopped
50 grams runny honey
Equipment
Whisk
20-centimeter, round cake tin
For the crumble
In a bowl, rub the butter into the flour until it looks sandy. It’s OK, even preferable, if you get some clumps. Stir in the sugar and salt, then set aside.
For the cake
Preheat the oven to 180ºC (with fan). Grease and line the cake tin with baking paper.
Sift the powdered sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the ground almonds and use a whisk to stir everything together.
In a separate bowl, use a fork to whisk the egg whites for 30 seconds. They’ll be slightly bubbly and runny. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg whites, melted butter, and vanilla paste. Use a whisk to combine everything into a smooth batter. Transfer to the prepared cake tin.
Lay the pieces of apple all over the surface. No need to press them into the batter. Drizzle the honey over the top, then sprinkle the crumble mixture over everything.
Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until the surface is nice and golden and a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Abe’s toes 🥲