Cinnamon Apple & Ricotta Cake

A review and remake of the BEST Cinnamon Apple Cake

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Sitting in my fruit bowl sat two rejected Pink Lady apples – sad to not have made it into our week of fruit intake. “Fear not”, I thought as I held them in my hands, “for I am a skilled baker and will find a delicious way to bring new life to your existence!”

I started Googling for a cinnamon apple cake recipe. I have made a gluten free French apple cake before for a work morning tea (which was absolutely sublime), but I really felt like something a bit more cinnamony (totally a word…).

Short on time, I went with the recipe that had high review rating, but also boasted being the BEST – right there in the title. So I loaded up the Sweetest Menu’s recipe for The BEST Cinnamon Apple Cake, feeling confidence that I would be eating a scrummy cinnamon apple cake in no time.

Source: Sweetest Menu – I couldn’t go past this delicious looking apple cake

Scrolling through the ingredients, I pulled out everything onto the bench one-by-one – except when I got to the last ingredient. Ah crap – I didn’t have Greek yoghurt. No matter – I pulled out some buttermilk (to help bring in the acid required), and ricotta to help thicken it to more of a yoghurt consistency. That’ll do – I want this cake!

I didn’t know how it was going to go, but after baking for about an hour, my house was seriously smelling amazing! Apples and cinnamon filled the air as I took it out of the oven. I lightly tapped the top and was delighted that the Cinnamon Topping provided a caramelised crunch topping. I was salivating.

It tested my patience having to wait for it to cool. I think I lasted all of about 30 minutes before I caved – one small piece… The top crunched as the knife cut downwards, making way for the super-soft cake interior, with slight pressure at the points where I cut through the apple pieces within.

As I took that first bite – I realised that this cake was something very special that I would be remaking in the future. I love cinnamon apple desserts – my Dad (being Austrian), often baked apple strudels from scratch. It was a staple in our culture. This cake hit all the right notes with the cinnamon and apple. Sure, it doesn’t offer the flaky pastry – but for those short on time, this is a wonderful substitute to use up some apples. And it’s got fruit it in – so how bad can it be? 😉

You may notice that I did not add the extra icing sugar glaze. This was purposeful. I don’t think it really needs it (I thought it was sweet enough), but if you wanted to jazz it up a bit, some drizzled over the top would definitely do the trick.

Cinnamon Apple and Ricotta Cake

A remake of the BEST Cinnamon Apple Cake recipe found on the Sweetest Menu website.
Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Dessert, Snack
Servings 12 Slices
Calories 263 kcal

Equipment

  • Peeler
  • Electric scales
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Sieve/Sifter
  • Whisk
  • Spatula
  • 8" Cake Tin
  • Cake wrap (options)

Ingredients
  

Cake Batter

  • 2 apples Pink Lady, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 210 g plain flour sifted
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda sifted
  • 150 g caster sugar sifted
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 120 ml oil rice bran or vegetable
  • 60 ml buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup ricotta full fat

Cinnamon Topping

  • 20 g salted butter melted
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 150°C (fan-forced). If using cake wrap, get that soaking. Grease and line an 8" cake tin.
  • Peel and roughly chop 2 Pink Lady apples. Toss in cinnamon to coat. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine the sifted dry ingredients – plain flour, baking soda and sugar. Add in the cinnamon apple pieces and gently toss in the dry ingredients mix.
  • In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – eggs, vanilla extract, oil, buttermilk and ricotta.
  • Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Pour into prepared cake tin and set aside to make the Cinnamon Topping.
  • In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar and cinnamon, Mix well, and then sprinkle over the top of the cake batter.
  • Place the cake wrap around the cake tin, and bake in preheated over for approximately 1 hour. Use a wooden skewer to check for doneness in centre of cake (you should not see any wet cake batter).
  • When cooked, remove from oven and set aside to rest in the cake tin for 10 minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool.
Keyword Apple, Cake, Cinnamon, Ricotta
Lactation Cookies

Lactation Cookies

Looking for a small boost for your milk supply? These delicious cookies have 3 active galactagogue ingredients – oats, brewers yeast and flaxseed meal. Sometimes it can be hard to find the time to fix a proper meal when you’re in between changing nappies and feeding bub, having a stash of these ready to go can help buy some time until your Uber Eats order arrives. And bonus – they are also helping you with your supply!

Lactation Cookies

Lactation Cookies

A delicious oatmeal-based lactation cookie with three active ingredients to help boost milk supply.
Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 12 mins
Total Time 57 mins
Course Snack
Servings 36 Cookies
Calories 155 kcal

Equipment

  • Electric scales
  • Electric mixer
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • 1 extra small bowl
  • Spatula
  • Cookie/ice cream scoop
  • Baking tray/s

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
  • 225 g salted butter room temperature
  • 1 cup caster sugar sifted
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cup plain flour sifted
  • 2-4 tbsp brewers yeast sifted
  • 1 tsp baking soda sifted
  • 1 tsp salt sifted
  • 3 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup choc chips optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 160 degrees (celcius) fan-forced. Line baking tray/s with baking paper.
  • Mix flaxseed meal and water in a small bowl, set aside to soak.
  • Cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer for approximately 3 minutes.
  • Beat in eggs, one at a time, before mixing in the vanilla extract and soaked flaxseed.
  • Mix in the sifted dry ingredients on low speed – flour, brewers yeast, baking soda and salt. Stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients have been incorporated.
  • Stir in the oats and choc chips until evenly distributed in the cookie dough.
  • Scoop dough onto prepared baking trays, making sure to leave enough space between scoops to accommodate any spreading.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes (12 minutes for softer cookies, 15 minute for crunchier cookies). Remove from oven and rest for 2 minutes on the cookie trays before transferring to cooling racks to cool.

Notes

  • Flaxseed meal can be found at Woolworths or Coles
  • Brewers yeast can be found at natural health food shops or even at Woolworths as well
  • The optional 1 cup choc chips can be substituted with other mix-in ingredients of your choice. Some ideas:
    • 1/2 cup macadamia nuts + 1/2 cup white choc chips
    • 1/2 cup dried cranberries + 1/2 cup white choc chips
    • 1 cup raisins (or other dried fruits of your choice)
Keyword cookie, Lactation, Lactation cookie, Oatmeal
Mixed Berry & Ricotta Cake

Mixed Berry & Ricotta Cake

I originally stumbled across this recipe while searching for something to make with some leftover ricotta cheese I had after making a lasagne. This is an absolutely amazing cake – moist, light, and the pops of berry in it is just heaven. A light dusting of icing sugar is all it needs for a gorgeous addition for a spring Sunday afternoon tea, but pairing this with a vanilla bean buttercream is also delightful.

Mixed Berry & Ricotta Cake

I’ve converted the recipe into grams, and have made a couple adjustments, honouring it as a standalone cake that carries its own sweetness. If you were intending to pair this with an American buttercream, I would be inclined to reduce the sugar in the cake recipe by 10-20%.

Mixed Berry & Ricotta Cake

Mixed Berry & Ricotta Cake

A light, moist cake perfect for a spring Sunday afternoon tea.
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 20 mins
Total Time 1 hr 50 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 12

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • Spatula
  • 2 mixing bowls
  • 7" cake tin

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g plain flour
  • 150 g caster sugar
  • 1.33 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 260 g ricotta cheese smooth
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs large
  • 75 g salted butter melted
  • 85 g blueberries & raspberries frozen
  • 0.5 tbsp lemon zest optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 150 degrees fan-forced. If using a cake wrap, begin to soak it. Grease and line the cake tin.
  • In a large mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Give it a whisk to combine.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest, until smooth.
  • Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, until just combined.
  • Add the melted butter, and again fold in until just combined.
  • Finally, fold in the frozen berries. Try be as gentle as possible as to not damage the fruits.
  • Pour into the lined cake tin, and bang/drop the tin onto the bench a few times to remove any air bubbles (this should also help flatten out the top). If using a cake wrap, apply around the cake tin.
  • For this recipe, a Cecil & Co cake tin was used with a cake wrap applied, in an electric fan-forced (rear element) oven. It took a total of 1 hour 20 minutes. If using a darker-coloured cake tin and no cake wrap, begin to check the cake at the 50-60 minute mark. Check the cake is cooked by inserting a wooden skewer in. If it comes out clean, it is cooked.
  • Remove cake from oven, take off the cake wrap (if using), and allow the cake to rest in the tin. After 15 minutes, turn the cake onto a cooling rack and allow the cake to cool completely.

Notes

  • This cake bakes to approx 4-4.25cm high in the 7" tin.
Keyword Cake, Mixed berry, Ricotta, Tea cake