Helen RandellRum and Raisin apple cake
November 15th 2009 01:27
Ahhhhh, Jo Seagar, you were treating my so well - but now, within the pages of your 'foolproof' recipes I have found a flaw.
I was delighted to read about your rum and raisin apple cake, and even more excited to try it out myself, but where you say cook for 40 minutes... well, I don't think that's quite correct. For you see, I cooked your cake for 40 minutes, at the desired temperature, in my oven which has only ever served me well, and when I inserted a skewer to test, your cake was still quite gooey... so, I kept your cake in there for a bit longer, and then a bit longer, and then a bit longer. And finally when I thought it could take no more, I pulled in out of the oven to cool overnight.
After visions of sugarplums dancing in my head, I awoke the next morning and decided to cut the cake, just to be sure it was done. But done it was not, and so, back into a slow oven for another 30 minutes it went.
Despite the excessive cooking time, this cake is a winner. The combination of sweet and soft cooked apple is beautifully complemented by the spice of cinnamon and rum and the occasional crunch of walnuts. Next time (and there will be a next time because it is such a delicious cake) I will cook it in a bunt tin so that the heat can penetrate through the middle of the cake as well.
Rum and Raisin Apple Cake
from Jo Seagar's The Cook School Recipes
1/2 cup rum (white or dark)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 large Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1cm dice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 24cm bunt tin. You can use a spring form pan, but be prepared to cook for a lot longer than specified.
Simmer the rum in a small saucepan until it has reduced by half. Beat the sugar and eggs together and add the oil, vanilla and reduced rum. Mix in the dry ingredients, apple, walnuts and raisins. Scrape into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the tin. Please note, that from my experience this cooking time is very rubbery here - test after 40 minutes, but be prepared to cook for double this time.
Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and cool further. Serve with cream and a dusting of icing sugar.
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Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
You should write to him!
Comment by Helen Randell
Rough Cooking