Sunday, September 16, 2012

Salted Caramel & Apple Cake

I have just returned from France where I stockpile my precious jars of local Fleur du Sel Caramel, or Salted Caramel as it's known here (6 jars, this time...).  It's become a cult ingredient of late, beloved of celeb chefs like Nigella who was photographed dripping in the stuff - I'd hate to try to wash that out of my hair... or turned into decadent martinis in one of my favourite restaurants, The Tannery. Me, I just love the stuff.  It has a grown up edge compared to standard sugary caramel and I've made it into all sorts of dishes from homemade icecream to very grown up desserts.  Listen, just give me a spoon and I'm in my happy place.  As the weather is changing, it's time to make an autumnal cake.  This traybake is warmed up with a healthy hit of cinnamon which melds beautifully with the sweet apple and salted caramel to make a sticky decadent cake.  You can fancy it up by turning it into a sponge (use 2 x 8 inch cake tins and sandwich together with a cloud of Calvados whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel) or bake it in a loaf tin for afternoon tea.  I made my cake in a 9-inch square tin, lined with baking parchment for easy removal.




Salted Caramel & Apple Traybake

250g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
225g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
150g Butter, melted
2 tbsp Salted Caramel
4 Cooking Apples, peeled, cored & roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to Gas 3 / 150c and line a 9-inch square tin with baking parchment


In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, butter & caramel togetherfor about a minute until very well combined.


Add the chopped apples and gently mix through.


Pour the mixture into the tin and level out with a spatula.

Bake for 60-75 minutes (check after an hour - it's ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean).  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.


This is delicious served warm with cream, icecream or creme anglaise (posh custard) as a fabulous dessert.  It keeps for 3-4 days in an airtight container, but I doubt it will last that long...


12 comments:

  1. I love my apples and caramel. This is definitely a must try for me and my sister. Thanks!

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  2. Oh my goodness this looks and sounds amazing. Definitely something I'm going to try.

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  3. Hale Mon the welsh Sea Salt company have just produced Salted Caramel with brilliant Anglesey Sea Salt

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  4. Oh good man Bill.....I was just thinking where on Earth can I get some *claps* So going to make this now. :o))

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  5. Hi, can I just say without even reading your blog (have now) I immediately like it, it's very inviting and well laid out with fabulous photos too! Anyway back to the cake, I love apple in cakes and this salted caramel sounds an excellent bed fellow though I've not come across this particular ingredient yet! Calvados cream sounds divine as an accompaniment - thank you for a delicious recipe:-)

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    1. Bill - that's an interesting new development.

      Camilla - If you're looking for Salted Caramel (or Fleur du Sel Caramel as I buy it in France), Marks & Spencer sell jars of it. You might want to buy two - one for cooking and one for just sticking a spoon into!

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  6. Thanks for this recipe, I changed the castor to soft brown sugar and also dotted dollops of salted caramel on top of 1/2 the mixture in the tin then added the rest. You didn't stipulate the weight or size of the apples so I guessed at 350g. This has worked beautifully, it's really scrummy.But #2 son wants the apple grated so will have to tweek your recipe lol

    Oh and thanks to Bill (above) I now am the proud owner of 3 jars of salted caramel via Hale Mon, an excellent company do deal with btw. :o)

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  7. It's a really flexible recipe and very forgiving of alterations as you've discovered...

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  8. Just made this with pear...Ill let you know how it goes

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  9. Maybe you should get those long island advertising agencies to market this for you; it has a lot of potential for a global hit!

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  10. Hello Aoife, I was just looking through your recipes and I came across this fantastic creation with one of France's best exports - caramel au beurre salé. I was wondering if you'd like to enter it into this month's Gourmandize Giveaway, the theme of which is apples?

    Have a look and let me know what you think:

    http://www.gourmandize.co.uk/article-1-recipe-competition-for-the-best-apple-recipe.htm

    Best,

    Laurence

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  11. Love apple and caramel together. I'll have to give this a try.

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