Hairy Bikers Apple Cake Recipe

This Hairy Bikers apple cake is their Hairy Dieters Spiced Apple Cake, with lemony Bramley slices folded through a cinnamon batter made with sunflower oil. And going by their official site, it serves 12 at 229 calories a slice, while I allow 1 hour 25 minutes including cooling.

On their own site they write, “Bet you didn’t think you could enjoy something like this on a diet!” And unlike a classic butter sponge, the batter uses sunflower oil and semi-skimmed milk, with lemon zest lifting the cinnamon and mixed spice.

Slicing the apples thinly matters most, because 500g of them are mixed all through the batter rather than laid on top. So thin slices soften in the hour, which is why the skewer test checks that it slides easily through the apples in the centre.

Hairy Bikers Apple Cake Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:British Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time:1 hour Rest time: 10 minutesTotal time:1 hour 25 minutesServings:12 servingsCalories:229 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

Lemony Bramley slices are folded into a lightly spiced batter, then baked in a lined springclip tin under a scatter of demerara. And once it’s out of the tin, a dusting of icing sugar finishes it off.

Ingredients

For the cake

• oil, for spraying
• 750g Bramley cooking apples (about 500g once peeled and cored)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 2 large eggs
• 100g demerara sugar, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
• 200ml semi-skimmed milk
• 100ml sunflower oil

To finish

• ½ tsp icing sugar, sifted
• single cream or half-fat crème fraîche, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat and line: Heat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Then line a 23cm springclip cake tin with baking parchment and mist the base and sides with oil.
2. Slice the apples: Peel, quarter and core the apples, then cut them into thin slices, about 5mm for me, which should give you around 500g. Toss the slices in a bowl with the lemon juice and zest.
3. Mix the dry and wet: Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice in a large bowl. Then, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 100g of demerara, milk and sunflower oil together with a large metal whisk.
4. Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stir lightly until combined, using the whisk to break up any stubborn lumps. Then toss the lemony apples through the batter until evenly mixed.
5. Bake: Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of demerara evenly over the top. Bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour, until well risen and golden.
6. Test and cool: Push a skewer into the middle, where it should slide easily through the apples and come out clean. But if it doesn’t, I give it another 5 minutes and test again. Then leave it in the tin for 10 minutes, before releasing the springclip and peeling off the parchment.
7. Finish: Dust with the icing sugar and serve warm or cold, with a little single cream or half-fat crème fraîche.

FAQs

Is this a diet apple cake?

Yes, it’s from their Hairy Dieters range, though it isn’t fat-free, since 100ml of sunflower oil goes into the batter. So the saving comes from using less fat and sugar than a classic butter sponge, then cutting it into 12 slices.

Their Hairy Dieters carrot cake works the same way, with 100ml of sunflower oil and 239 calories a slice. And if you like this one, that’s the next lighter bake I’d try.

Do they have a Dutch apple cake?

They do, and it’s in the Big Book of Baking, inspired by one they ate at a bakery in Scheveningen on the Dutch coast. But as they write, Frank, the baker, “didn’t want to give us his recipe”, so they came up with their own.

It’s much richer than this one, with four medium eggs whisked with sugar until pale and thick, then 225g of melted butter. Then thin Bramley slices tossed with cinnamon, sugar and flaked almonds go on top. And it bakes in a shallow 2.25-litre dish, a lasagne dish being ideal, for 35 to 40 minutes.

What other apple cakes do they make?

In Brilliant Bakes, they make a Swedish apple cake spiced with cardamom and cinnamon, using a mix of plain and wholemeal flour. And eating apples go on top in slim wedges, glazed with warm apple or apricot jam, for about 15 slices.

I haven’t found an apple and pear cake in the books I cook from. But for pears, their pear and ginger upside-down cake in The Hairy Dieters Eat Well Every Day comes in at 310 calories a slice. And for another apple bake, their caramelised apple cheesecake puts dried apples in the base.

Can I use eating apples instead of Bramleys?

The recipe calls for Bramleys, which soften right down into the crumb as the cake bakes. But with eating apples, I’d expect the pieces to hold their shape and taste a little sweeter, though that’s my swap, not theirs.

So I’d add an extra squeeze of lemon with them, since they lack a Bramley’s sharpness. And if you’ve bought a big bag of Bramleys, their classic Bramley apple pie uses another 600g.

How long does it keep, and can I freeze it?

It’s a very moist cake, so wrap it in foil and eat it within a couple of days. Or cut it into quarters and freeze what you won’t eat, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months.

Defrost it fully before serving, then warm it through in a low oven or the microwave if you like.