Apple, Whiskey and Walnut Streusel Cake
Photography by Aaron McLean.
This is a lovely moist cake full of tender apples and topped with a nutty walnut crumble. It’s great made ahead and I think it tastes even better the day after baking.
INGREDIENTS
Streusel
¼ cup plain flour
¼ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40 grams butter, diced
Apples
3 medium Braeburn apples, peeled and sliced 1cm
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons whiskey, optional
Cake
1¾ cups plain flour
1½ teaspoons mixed spice
pinch salt
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
100 grams butter, melted
1 cup milk
finely grated zest 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whiskey and honey cream
1 cup cream
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Irish whiskey
24cm spring form cake tin greased and lined fully with baking paper
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
Streusel: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips to make damp, coarse crumbs. Chill until ready to use.
Apples: Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and cook the apples and sugar for about 10 minutes until softened but still holding their shape. Increase the heat and add the whiskey then cook until evaporated. Cool then divide in half.
Combine the flour, mixed spice, salt, sugar, baking powder and soda in a large bowl.
Whisk the butter, milk, lemon zest and juice, eggs and vanilla together. Add to the dry ingredients along with half of the apples and gently but thoroughly combine, ensuring there are no pockets of flour in the batter.
Tip into the tin and smooth the top. Scatter over the remaining apples then the streusel.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil if browning too much before the cake is fully cooked.
Cool then remove from the tin.
Cream: Beat the cream to soft peaks. Dissolve the honey in the whiskey then fold into the whipped cream.
To serve: Dust with icing sugar and serve with the whiskey cream. Serves 8–10

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