Dessert Italian

Apple, fig and walnut cake

Name: Apple, fig and walnut cake recipe
Yield: 8
Cuisine: /italian
Ingredients: 150g unsalted cold butter, chopped, plus extra to grease; 300g plain flour; 150g caster sugar; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon; 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 125ml milk; Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon; 3 (425g total) small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped; 100g dried soft figs, roughly chopped; Mascarpone, to serve; 75g walnut; 40.00 ml brown sugar; 20g softened butter

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by Emiko Davies

CHEF

Mar 17, 2024

“The brown butter part of this warming cake is inspired by Danielle Alvarez’s buckwheat and apple cake. It turned me onto browning the butter for other cakes (great for when I had forgotten to take it out of the fridge to soften it) and it lends such great flavour.” – Emiko Davies. You’ll need a 22cm round cake pan.

150g unsalted cold butter, chopped, plus extra to grease
2 cups (300g) plain flour, flour, plus extra to dust
150g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (125ml) milk
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 (425g total) small Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped
100g dried soft figs, roughly chopped
Mascarpone, to serve

Topping

3/4 cup (75g) walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tbs brown sugar
20g softened butter

Method

1.

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 22cm round cake pan with extra butter and dust with extra flour, tapping off excess.
2.

Place the butter in a medium frypan over medium heat and cook for 4-5 minutes until browned. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside to cool slightly.
3.

Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and a pinch of fine salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add eggs and milk to brown butter and whisk until smooth. Add zest and juice and whisk until smooth. Add to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add the apple and fig and stir to combine. Spoon into prepared pan and level surface with a spatula.
4.

Place all topping ingredients in a small bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers. Sprinkle over the cake and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes until nicely browned and springy on top. Cool in pan for 15 minutes.
5.

Turn onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with mascarpone.