Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with Cider Glaze
Spelt Flour gives this apple cake a pleasant nutty quality. It’s not very sweet so the cider glaze adds just the right sweetness.
The final hours of the year are ticking by…has 2018 been good to you? Are you wishing you could hit the pause button on the calendar or are you raring to jump into 2019?
For me 2018 has had its surprises and challenges but overall it’s been a good one. The year presented several opportunities for personal growth; the less desirable parts of me I leave behind while I plan to carry over into the new year those that make me feel like hey, I’m a pretty okay person. I am walking into a new year with a plan, a purpose and it feels good.
One of the challenges I alluded to had to do with upgrading the back end and the content of this blog. It took some time to get it all worked out for this tech noob but in the end the sweat and frustration were worth it.
The pipeline of recipes I want to share continues to grow and I plan to fill the succulent and travel pages, too. But for now, I’ll bid adieu to 2018 with this final sweet treat of the year.
This is Dessert Number Three of the holiday trio I’m sharing this week. Another great find from Cooking Light, this Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with Cider Glaze checks off the qualities I look for in a sweet treat–loaded with apples, not too sweet and made with spelt flour (if you’ve been visiting this blog for a while you know my obsession with the ancient grain).
This cake is mildly spiced, nutty from the spelt flour, the glaze providing just the right amount of sweetness the cake needs. I don’t even mind that I’m sharing this recipe slightly out of season because this is a recipe I would bake all year as long as I can get my hand on good apples.
In 48 hours I’ll be jumping into a self-imposed fitness plan which includes cutting back on indulgent treats but this isn’t one of them. This cake, heavy on fruit, fiber and light on sugar (I might even swap out the dairy and eggs)– is a sweet discovery from 2018 that I’ll happily carry into the new year.
Spiced Apple Bundt Cake with Cider Glaze
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups peeled, grated Honeycrisp or Gala apples (about three apples) squeeze out the liquid
- 13.5 ounces spelt or whole wheat flour (about three cups)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup evaporated whole milk
- Baking spray with flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar (4 oz)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/2-3 tablespoons apple cider
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer beat the softened butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, about two to three minutes. Add the canola oil and vanilla bean paste and mix on medium speed until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. This will take about two minutes. The mixture won’t be smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat again on medium speed until well combined, about two minutes. Add the eggs and beat again until well combined, about one minute. Add the grated apples and beat on low speed for about one minute just until combined.
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In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon teaspoon salt. Add the flour mixture and evaporated milk to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Beat on low speed after each addition until just combined. Pour the batter into a 10-cup bundt pan covered in baking spray.
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Bake at 350ºF until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes.
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Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then carefully invert onto the rack. Cool to room temperature.
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Prepare the glaze by stirring together the powdered sugar, melted butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider. If the mixture is too thick add 1/2 tablespoon apple cider at a time until the mixture is too your liking. Drizzle over cake and serve.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe based on Cooking Light’s Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Cider Glaze (November 2017)
- The original recipe called for infusing the oil with a vanilla bean; I skipped this step and used vanilla bean paste with great results.
Thank you for sharing the recipe as I agree that it would be good anytime of the year that you can get nice apples. Wishing you all the best in this new year.
Such a pretty bundt cake, Jean! I love the cider glaze! 🙂