Though this blog and blog may lead you to believe otherwise I’m actually not a big sweet tooth. I do however love home made sweets.

There’s something about cakes and pastries made by hand that hold a magical quality all their own. Many are recipes passed around families like a favourite auntie’s sponge cake or others like this one that become family favourites. Some hold historical value like the scones I’ve shared with you before or the delicious persian love cake we enjoyed on our holiday last week….quite apt really on an anniversary trip but I digress. Persian Love Cake was first created by a woman madly in love with a prince. In an effort to bewitch him with her culinary wiles she concocted a cake flavoured with spices and rosewater. Perhaps she imagined the spices, used as currency in ancient cultures, would offer a suggestion of wealth, perceived as an attractive attribute. Or perhaps in the true spirit of a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, she hoped to entrance him with her culinary skills.

As I sat with my husband sharing cake and coffee in a dreamy country café last week (more about that below) I was taken with heady yet subtle mix of spices and it occurred to me this is what I love most in baked goods. Indeed when I mentally scroll through other cakes and the like I’ve shared with you this became even more evident to me. Likewise as we communed over cake and reacquainted ourselves with each other I was reminded of our mutual love of apple in baked goods. He loves a sweet old school aussie bakery apple cake which weirdly is not cake at all but rather a round overgrown hand pie type dish of apple encased in a shortbread like pastry and topped with a thick layer of simple vanilla icing. I, as we all know, love a warm apple dish like a crumble but at apple we meet. It got me to thinking about a dish that could be sweetened in a more subtle way, laced with spices for interest and threaded with apple. Maybe I should call it Frawley Love Cake…..or maybe not….too cheesy? Probably lol.

Spiced Apple Loaf is all the things for me. My favourite spices, sweetened with caramel like brown sugar and honey all come together all wrapped around chunks of tart granny smith apple have come together in this moist loaf. Served warm with lashings of butter I can’t promise it won’t be gobbled up before it’s cooled completely but if it does it will last a few days. Served cool it makes a lovely breakfast in the same way as banana bread does perhaps topped with ricotta and a little drizzle of honey or even some persian feta and a sprinkle of pistachios.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/3 c brown sugar firmly packed

1 tsp vanilla

180ml neutral flavoured oil. I’ve used grape seed here.

¼ c honey

1/3 c Greek yoghurt. You can sub in sour cream or buttermilk.

220 gm plain flour

80 gm wholemeal spelt flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cardamon

½ tsp ground ginger

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt flakes

3 apples 2 chopped one grated. I’ve used granny smiths but any baking apple is fine.

Method:

Preheat oven 180c non fan forced (160 if using fan forced)

Grease and line 20cm x 10cm loaf tin ( check the link below in finds and forays for a hot tip on lining).

In a large bowl combine flours, spices and baking powder. Dry whisk with a balloon whisk to combine and aerate and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium until combine then increase to med-high for 5 minutes or until lighter in colour, thick and frothy. Th sugar will be almost dissolved if you rub some mixture between your fingers. Reduce speed to medium and add oil pouring in a thin stream until completely added. Increase speed again and mix for one minute until combined. Add honey and yoghurt and mix again until well combined.

Tip apples into dry ingredients and gently stir to even distribute though the dry ingredients.

Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and gently fold through until just combined. Like when making muffins, don’t overwork it as it will toughen the texture. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes to make sure the top isn’t browning too quickly. Pop a loose sheet of foil over the top if you need to protect the crust.