Apple-(Walnut) Coffee Cake

Wow, time is flying!! I can't believe we're in the middle of September again. I started a second apprenticeship on my way to becoming a lawyer at the beginning of July and have been keeping myself busy all around. But fall is definitely making me want to bake and indulge in all sorts of lovely comfort food. The weather has been changing so much and sometimes it can get pretty cold. Usually this will send me to the sofa with a big cup of tea and some kind of piece of cake. I don't know why but I love love love apples at the moment. There is such a variety available, sweet, crisp, tart, whichever way you like them and they'll help you make sure you're getting vitamins and staying healthy in the season of runny noses and colds. Ok, maybe not the apples you've used in baked goods.... 

This recipe comes from a calendar my boyfriend's lovely parents brought me as a gift from a trip to the US two years ago. I've been making a few switches here and there, but overall it never failed me.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) canola oil (I've used sunflower, because that's what I usually have at home)
1 cup (220g) white sugar
1 cup (175g) dark brown sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 apples
1/4 cup (ca. 50g) chopped walnuts 

1) In a large bowl mix together the oil and sugars. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla.

2) In a second bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Blend into the egg mixture.

3) Peel and chop the apples. You can cut the pieces to any size you like. I usually end up with 1/4 inch cubes. Chop the walnuts and add to the dough along with the apple pieces.

4) Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a bundt cake pan and dust with flour. Pour the dough into the tin, make sure it is evenly distributed.

5) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes until a skewer comes out completely clean.

Yield: 1 bundt cake, approx. 16 pieces
Active preparation time: 30 minutes
Total preparation time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Here's how mine turned out:

This cake is very moist from the apples. I didn't use specific apples for baking, but my favorite kind called Elstar. You have to make sure the cake is cooked through or you won't be able to get it out of the tin. It is also super important to wait until the cake has cooled a fair bit or you will end up breaking the cake trying to get it out of the tin. The reason I'm sharing this recipe now even though I've been making it a few times already is that I've been trough all the errors listed above and ended up with cakes not worthy of a picture... 

The original recipe calls for white sugar only but I like to use brown sugar as well because it lends the cake a nice caramel flavour. I also omit the walnuts sometimes. The picture above shows the cake without walnuts because I'd run out of them. 

I've already introduced you to my favourite apple cake recipe which is baked on a tray. If I had to pick my favourite tin baked apple cake, it would be this recipe. It has the perfect amount of sweetness, a hint of tartness (if you use tart apples) and a lovely, moist texture. 

Have fun trying and enjoy beautiful fall season!