apple mava cake

It is the end of October and the talk everywhere is pumpkins while I am still at apples, and secretly thinking berries.  And if you were to season-type me, I would definitely show up as summer.  Embracing Fall does happen……eventually….and I come around to appreciating all the gifts of the season.  Fruit trees festooned with apples and pears, the earthy colors on leaves bringing words like flame orange, dusty yellows and burnt sienna to mind, deep breaths of crisp morning air and sunsets from my kitchen window, with a sky aglow with shades of blue gently merging into gold.

And I get to bake more often.  My kind of cakes…simple with some fruit and a spice or two…or three 🙂  If you happen to see the other cakes on the blog, you will know that I have a thing for tea cakes. Ones I can just pick up and munch on, while having my afternoon cup of tea or coffee….a precious time not to be messed with 🙂  And although a piece of cake on the side has now become an occasional indulgence, it is a special time when it does appear.

I was getting ready to make a fresh batch of Mava for some Diwali sweets and needed to use up some that I still had in the freezer, so I thought of my favorite mava cake.  This time though, I wanted to add something extra in keeping with the season and hence this cake.  If you haven’t had a mava cake before, can I nudge you to try it at least once?  I am looking for suitable adjectives to describe a cake that is dense, pound cake-like, just sweet enough, has milk boiled down until almost solid and wonderfully caramelized, hints of cardamom and is rich, smooth and buttery and good…..so good!

I added some grated apple to this cake which makes it really moist without being mushy.  Then dressed it up with some thinly sliced apples fanned on top.  I used Sweetango apples which are quite crisp and juicy but you can use other varieties too.  Try to use the most fragrant apples you can find though…even it means having to sniff the apples at the grocery store:)  I also did a mix of all purpose and almond flours this time around and reduced the amount of butter.  You can make it completely with all-purpose flour but make sure to increase the amount of butter to 6 tbsp.

So as the temperatures start to dip, I hope you brew yourself a fresh cup of tea or coffee, grab a slice of this cake and treat yourself to some ‘me’ time!

Apple Mava Cake

Print recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
8-10 cardamoms to give approx. 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3/4 cup mava, room temperature (My recipe for mava is here and here)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar + 1/2 tbsp raw sugar
2 eggs
1 cup grated apples (approx. 1 medium apple)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a loaf pan and cover bottom with parchment paper.  I used a 10 x 4 pan but a 8 x 5 or 9 x 4 pan will work just as well.

Mix the all-purpose flour, almond flour, salt, baking powder and cardamom.  Sieve it once to get rid of any lumps.

Cream the butter, sugar and mava for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Since I used raw sugar, I pulsed it in a blender a few times.  This is helpful especially if your blades are coated with plastic.  Raw sugar acted like sandpaper on mine….now I am wiser:)

Add the eggs, one at a time until well mixed.

Add the flour mixture in 2-3 instalments and mix just until the flour disappears.  The batter will be quite stiff.

Stir in the grated  apples and stir well.

Transfer to the greased pan and smooth top.  Arrange the sliced apples in any pattern.

Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp of raw sugar on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about an hour.  It might take a little less or more time depending on your oven so start checking at about 50 mins.  Test the center of loaf with a skewer to make sure the cake is baked all the way through.

Cool for ten minutes in pan and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Slice and enjoy!

*  This cake is just sweet enough but if you prefer your cakes on the sweeter side, you can increase the sugar to 1 cup.