What’s not to love in a moist spiced apple cake with rum soaked raisins?! Apples, warm spices, raisins and ….rum! Just perfect for a lazy autumn afternoon ?.
And it’s so easy to make! Just a few simple steps and your senses are about to be tickled. Apples are quite common in a cake recipe, but rum raisins are the star ingredients here!
Cake ingredients
Besides the fact that this spiced apple cake is easy to make, the ingredients are quite simple too:
- apples – although you don’t need a large quantity of apples for this recipe, make sure you select the right ones; not all apples hold their shape when baked, some turn into applesauce in the oven and this will affect your cake’s consistency; Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honey Crisp, they’re all good for baking;
- flour – I used all purpose flour for this cake;
- sugar – I used brown sugar for this cake and, in general, I’m not so generous when it comes to sugar; and since I chose a caramel topping for this cake, there was no need for more sugar; but you feel free to add more if you want; just bear in mind that you’ll be using apples and bananas which are also sweet;
- melted butter – will give a rich texture and make your cake nice and moist;
- smashed banana – as you know, banana is a good egg replacement in vegan recipes; I prefer bananas to eggs because they add a nice flavor to cakes, and it’s impossible to get that from eggs;
- applesauce – to add more apple flavor and to make the cake moist and tender; I used homemade applesauce, but store bought works fine too; here’s my homemade applesauce recipe;
- dark rum & raisins – a rich and …. boozy flavor ? which I enjoy very much in ice cream; since the cold season is coming and ice cream will soon be off limits for me, I thought why not having a boozy cake; just joking, there’s not so much alcohol in this cake; but if you really want to feel the rum flavor in the cake, don’t get cheap on it; low quality rum is like no rum at all when it comes to baking;
- milk – I used almond milk; I haven’t bought dairy milk in years so, plant based milk is my only option; when it comes to baking, consider that nut milks are the best choice due their sweetness and creamy consistency which mix perfectly into any cake batter;
- cinnamon – this warm spice pairs perfectly with apples;
- baking powder, baking soda & apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) – the leaveners that will make your cake nice and fluffy;
- salt – the enhance the flavors in the cake and to balance sweetness.
How to make rum raisins apple cake
First you need to soak the raisins into rum so that they get soft by the time you add them to the cake batter. They need minimum 1 hour soaking. But if you let them soak overnight, that’s even better.
Then you need to prepare the apples. I prefer peeling them, but if the peel doesn’t bother you, feel free to skip this step. Core and cut the apples into small cubes (1 cm). If you cut into larger pieces, it will be more difficult to arrange the batter in an even layer in the baking trey.
The batter is so fast to make with just a wooden spoon or a spatula; no electric mixer is required.
Start by melting the butter. I did it over low heat in a bain-marie. In the meantime, put flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix them well. Add baking powder and baking soda (don’t spread it) and pour over apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
Allow the acid to do its job while, in another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the apples).
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently combine them.
When dry ingredients are integrated, add the apple cubes and gently mix them into the batter.
The final step is to put the batter into a baking trey lined with parchment paper and bake the apple cake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 40 minutes. I used a 22 x 10 cm trey.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool then remove it from the trey and coat it with a topping of choice: caramel sauce (this was my choice), applesauce, vanilla or cinnamon glaze. Or just sift some powdered sugar on top and you’re done!
Tips for making spiced rum raisins apple cake
Mix baking powder and baking soda with apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice). These two powders are responsible with leavering your cake. But this will only happen with support from acidic components that create carbon dioxide gas. And since we’re not using any buttermilk or yogurt in this recipe, either apple cider vinegar or lemon juice will do the trick. I remember my mother putting the baking powder in a spoon and pouring the vinegar on it; the mixture would form bubbles and foam which spilled over the spoon into the cake batter. This chemical reaction fascinated me.
Use room temperature milk, otherwise the cake might end up flat and too dense.
If you don’t want to make this and “adult cake” and bake it with alcohol, you can use apple juice instead of rum.
How to store the apple cake
The cake can last for several days and doesn’t need to be refrigerated. It’s best to keep it at room temperature and cover it on a cake stand or something similar.
If you like this recipe, let me know in a comment below. And if you make this rum raisins spiced apple cake, please share some photos on Instagram and don’t forget to tag #choose_tasty ?.
Spiced Apple Cake with Rum Raisins
Equipment
- 22 x 19 cm baking trey / mold
Ingredients
- ½ cup raisins 80 g
- 5 tbsp brown rum
- 2 medium apples cut into small pieces
- 2 cups all purpose flour 240 g
- 3/8 cups brown sugar 80 g
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup melted butter 150 g
- 1 medium smashed banana
- ¾ cup applesauce 100 g
- ¼ cup nut milk 60 ml
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in rum for minimum 1 hour;
- Preheat the oven at 180°C;
- Put flour, sugar, salt an cinnamon in a large bowl; mix them well;
- Add baking soda and baking powder and pour over the apple cider vinegar;
- In another bowl, combine smashed banana, applesauce, melted butter, nut milk and rum raisins;
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently whisk them together using a spatula;
- Fold in the apple pieces;
- Put the batter into a baking trey lined with parchment paper;
- Bake the cake for about 40 minutes at 180°C;
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before removing it from the baking trey;
- When the cake is completely cooled, drizzle over a topping of choice (caramel sauce, applesauce, vanilla / cinnamon glaze) or just sift some powdered sugar.
Notes
- Chop the apples into small pieces to get an even layer of batter in the baking trey.
- Sprinkle some water into the baking trey so that the parchment paper sticks to the trey, which makes it easier to handle when pouring in the batter.
- Use room temperature milk.
- If you’re using banana instead of applesauce, add more butter.
- The baking time may vary a little, depending on the oven you’re using. You’ll know your cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the toothpick doesn’t come out clean, bake the cake for another 5 minutes then repeat the test.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting it.
