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
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