This is part 3 of a series of blog posts featuring the wonderful products from Eden Ciders.
There’s a saying that goes “as American as apple pie” that I’d like to tweak for the purpose of this blog post to “as Norwegian as apple cake.” There is hardly a cake that is as popular as apple cake in Norway. Although the fall might seem like the appropriate season, this cake is baked all year round, and for good reason!
Apples grow well in colder climates like Norway’s and historically allowed people from the north to be able to enjoy fruit, something otherwise reserved for people living further south in the country.
The Vikings ate apples and from the 1700s onward, growing apples became an important source of income and nutrition in warm villages and hillsides of the westerly fjords. Apple growers started to import different varieties from abroad and took good care of the hybrids and mutations that came about as a result.
Today, Norwegian apples are of world class quality and used for both desserts and cider making. Apple orchards have a long history in Norway and may be the reason why eplekake (apple cake) is one of the most beloved cakes among Norwegians.
As I live in the United States now, and in the “apple state” of New York nonetheless, I naturally became interested in discovering apple and cider culture on this side of the Atlantic.
Which brings me to Eden Ciders, located in Newport, Vermont. This artisan cidery grows over 35 varieties biodynamically and has a close relationship with small growers in the area who all help each other to ensure quality fruit and quality ciders.
They are known for their award-winning ice ciders, produced from traditional heirloom variety apples, all locally grown. Their Heirloom 2015 is their flagship ice cider, which they have produced since 2007. Comprised of over 15 varieties, the cider is matured for 36 months in stainless steel and filtered just before bottling.
This is truly one of those ciders that stuns you with its purity, beauty, and utterly delightful flavors and leaves you thinking “Ice cider, where have you been all my life!”
Despite its sweet flavor, no sugar is ever added to Eden Ciders’ ice ciders, the sweetness is all natural from the concentration of sugars in the apples. The apples are pressed in December and January depending on the weather, and left to freeze in the cold temperatures. The water in the juice rises to the top in form of ice (about 80% of the total liquid), and the “good stuff” gathers at the bottom of the container, which turns into naturally concentrated, super-sweet juice.
Gorgeous notes of tropical fruit like pineapples and mango is intermingled with bright citrus notes and a piercing, but well-balanced acidity which does not make this a cloying dessert wine but a refreshing and sophisticated drink you want to have one more sip of.
I don’t often pair wines with desserts, because I prefer having either dessert or a dessert wine on its own, finding it too much to have both. Not so in this case, and that is precisely because of the crisp acidity that helps balance and bring out the nuanced and complex sweetness from the apples.
Pairing apples with apples might seem obvious but you’ll see why this is such a fantastic pairing when you try this combination. So please, make this cake and get a bottle of Eden Ciders’ Heirloom ice cider and your taste buds will thank you!
NORVEGAN APPLE CAKE
Cake:
250 grams (8.8 oz) vegan butter, room temperature
½ cup (125 ml) Just Eggs or applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (230 g) sugar
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
¼ cup (50 ml) apple juice
Sliced almonds, pearl sugar for topping cake (optional)
Filling:
130 grams blanched almonds
130 grams light brown sugar
1 vanilla pod, inside scraped out, or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 stick (113 g) vegan butter, room temperature
2-3 high-acid apples like Granny Smith
Lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon for sprinkling on apples
To make the cake, combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowls with a spatula as needed. Turn the speed on low and slowly add in the Just Eggs or applesauce and vanilla extract, beat until combined.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices and just fold in lightly using a spatula (do not over mix). Set aside.
To make the filling, add the almonds and brown sugar into a high speed blender and blend until a thick paste is formed. Transfer into a bowl and add in the vanilla paste, cinnamon and butter and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth.
Finally, core, peel and dice the apples, place them in a bowl and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over them along with a sprinkle of additional brown sugar and cinnamon.
Prepare a 9-inch (23 cm) round baking pan, either lining it with parchment paper or generously butter it if using a springform pan. Preheat your oven to 350℉ (175℃).
Pour a little over half the cake batter into the pan, smooth out evenly across the pan, then add about half the almond-sugar paste, then top with a couple of handfuls of the sliced apples, lightly pushing them into the batter.
Repeat with a layer of the remaining cake batter, half of the remaining almond-sugar paste and then some diced apples. Top with the remaining almond-sugar mixture, sprinkle with some sliced almonds and pearl sugar if desired.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 50 minutes until the edges firm up and golden brown up top (use a cake tester to check if cake is done, sometimes it can take a little longer depending on your oven).
Serve cake with some whipped vegan cream (like Silk or Violife’s heavy whipping cream) or some vegan vanilla ice cream and of course.. A glass of Eden Cider’s Heirloom Blend Ice Cider!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 250 grams (8.8 oz) vegan butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (125 ml) Just Eggs or applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (230 g) sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
- ¼ cup (50 ml) apple juice
- Sliced almonds, pearl sugar for topping cake (optional)
For the filling:
- 130 grams blanched almonds
- 130 grams light brown sugar
- 1 vanilla pod inside scraped out or 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 stick (113 g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 2-3 high acid apples like Granny Smith
- Lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon for sprinkling on apples
Instructions
- To make the cake, combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the side of the bowls with a spatula as needed. Turn the speed on low and slowly add in the Just Eggs or applesauce and vanilla extract, beat until combined.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and spices and just fold in lightly using a spatula (do not overmix). Set aside.
- To make the filling, add the almonds and brown sugar into a high speed blender and blend until a thick paste is formed. Transfer into a bowl and add in the vanilla paste, cinnamon and butter and mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth.
- Finally, core, peel and dice the apples, place them in a bowl and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over them along with a sprinkle of additional brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Prepare a 9-inch (23 cm) round baking pan, either lining it with parchment paper or generously butter it if using a springform pan. Preheat your oven to 350℉ (175℃).
- Pour a little over half the cake batter into the pan, smooth out evenly across the pan, then add about half the almond-sugar paste, then top with a couple of handfuls of the sliced apples, lightly pushing them into the batter.
- Repeat with a layer of the remaining cake batter, half of the remaining almond-sugar paste and then some diced apples. Top with the remaining almond-sugar mixture, sprinkle with some sliced almonds and pearl sugar if desired.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for about 50 minutes until the edges firm up and golden brown up top (use a cake tester to check if cake is done, sometimes it can take a little longer depending on your oven).
- Serve cake with some whipped vegan cream (like Silk or Violife’s heavy whipping cream) or some vegan vanilla ice cream and of course.. A glass of Eden Cider’s Heirloom Blend Ice Cider!
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