Apple Sponge Cake with Spelt Flour

As I recover from labour and spend time bonding and cuddling with my new baby, Sophie, from Accidental Artisan, is sharing with you her delicious and nostalgic recipe for Apple Sponge Cake made with Spelt Flour! Doesn't it look amazing?!

I may have squealed a little when Carly asked me to write a guest blog post for Modern Hippie Housewife. I knew exactly what recipe I wanted to share: this delightfully fancy looking but oh so simple apple cake. This is a recipe that my Mom has been making since she was in her twenties thanks to this much loved (and completely falling apart) German Home Baking recipe book from the 60’s.Both my Mom and I have been baking exclusively with spelt for around 10 years now. It started with my naturopath suggesting I remove wheat from my diet, but all we could find at the grocery stores were these hard, dense lumps of bread that reminded me of doorstops. So we tinkered around and ended up with a wheat free, no-knead bread that we both still make to this day.A Few Facts about Spelt

• Spelt has not been continuously bred and manufactured like common wheat so our body actually recognizes it as food.
• Spelt’s gluten content is lower and water soluble so it can be easier to digest for people with wheat and gluten sensitivities (this also means you don’t want to overmix or over knead doughs made with spelt flour as the gluten will begin to break down).
• Spelt is richer in protein and minerals than wheat including niacin, copper, iron, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus.
• Spelt has more soluble fiber than wheat which is beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol and regulating blood sugar levels.

Sources: Benefits of Spelt Versus Common Wheat, What are the Benefits of Eating Spelt FlourFor me, eating spelt flour has been far easier on my digestive system and doesn’t make my ears, nose and throat scratchy like wheat does (allergic reaction much?) so I knew I was on to something. These days I make everything from bread, to cakes, pastry, muffins, pancakes and waffles, pizza dough and pasta with spelt flour.So back to this cake…I’ve had it endless amounts of times for dessert (or breakfast!) and every single time my taste buds do a happy dance as if I’ve never had it before. True to many European recipes there is little sugar in this cake, but it really allows the flavors of the apple and lemon to shine through.

Apple Sponge Cake with Spelt Flour

For the Cake½ cup/4 oz. butter, room temperature½ cup sugar (preferably raw, organic cane sugar like this)2 large eggs, room temperature (free-run, organic)1/8 tsp quality salt (like this)Rind of 1 lemon200 grams/3/4 cup + 2tbsp white spelt flour (like this)3 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free like this)4-5 tbsp milk (learn how to make your own dairy-free milk here!)½ tsp vanilla extract (organic, I like this one)For the Topping1 ½ lbs granny smith apples, organic (approx. 3 large or 4 medium apples)Icing sugar for dusting (you can make this by blending raw cane sugar in a high speed blender for a minute) Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10 ½ inch cake tin and removable rim well with butter. Set aside.

2. Grate the rind from 1 lemon into a small bowl and set aside. Squeeze all the juice from the lemon into a large bowl and remove any seeds that may have fallen into the bowl. Peel all the apples, cut each apple into quarters and cut out the core from each quarter. Add these quarters to the bowl as you core them and toss so the lemon juice coats each piece (helps the apples from browning). Hold each quarter of apple in one hand with the palm of the apple facing up. Use a small paring knife and slice each quarter length wise about half way through. The slices should be about ½ cm apart. Cutting the apples like this creates a fan like look when baked. Cut each sliced quarter in half lengthwise. Set apples aside.

3. Cream butter in a large bowl. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add the vanilla extract and lemon rind and beat again until combined. Set aside.

4. Sift the flour and baking powder together into a small bowl. Fold in a little at a time to the wet mixture. As the mixture becomes firmer, start to add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, but only add as much milk as you need to give the mixture a firm dropping consistency (should slowly and gradually fall off a spoon).

5. Spread the mixture evenly into the greased cake tin. Lay the apples side by side with the fan side facing up (see photo).

6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 – 50 minutes. Turn cake tin halfway through the baking time to brown evenly. The cake is finished when the apples are soft (gently poke them with a paring knife) and the cake is golden brown. Let cake cool before removing cake tin rim. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Apple Sponge Cake with Spelt Flour

Author: Modern Hippie Housewife

Ingredients

• For the Cake
• ½ cup/4 oz. butter at room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Rind of 1 lemon
• 200 grams/3/4 cup + 2tbsp white spelt flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 4-5 tbsp milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• For the Topping
• 1 ½ lbs granny smith apples (approx. 3 large or 4 medium apples)
• Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 10 ½ inch cake tin and removable rim well with butter. Set aside.
2. Grate the rind from 1 lemon into a small bowl and set aside. Squeeze all the juice from the lemon into a large bowl and remove any seeds that may have fallen into the bowl. Peel all the apples, cut each apple into quarters and cut out the core from each quarter. Add these quarters to the bowl as you core them and toss so the lemon juice coats each piece (helps the apples from browning). Hold each quarter of apple in one hand with the palm of the apple facing up. Use a small paring knife and slice each quarter length wise about half way through. The slices should be about ½ cm apart. Cutting the apples like this creates a fan like look when baked. Cut each sliced quarter in half lengthwise. Set apples aside.
3. Cream butter in a large bowl. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add the vanilla extract and lemon rind and beat again until combined. Set aside.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together into a small bowl. Fold in a little at a time to the wet mixture. As the mixture becomes firmer, start to add the milk 1 tbsp at a time, but only add as much milk as you need to give the mixture a firm dropping consistency (should slowly and gradually fall off a spoon).
5. Spread the mixture evenly into the greased cake tin. Lay the apples side by side with the fan side facing up (see photo).
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 – 50 minutes. Turn cake tin halfway through the baking time to brown evenly. The cake is finished when the apples are soft (gently poke them with a paring knife) and the cake is golden brown. Let cake cool before removing cake tin rim. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

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About Sophie

Sophie is a social media consultant by day, food blogger by night, and nature adventurer, yogi, and animal lover in between. She has a passion for baking with ancient grains, which prompted her to start her own food blog, Accidental Artisan!"Like" The Accidental Artisan on Facebook to follow Sophie's journey baking with ancient grains!