Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake

On Tuesday my baby boy turned one.

We had a little party for him on the weekend and I made him a koala chocolate cake but I wanted him to have a cake for the actual day too.

We have an abundance of apples in our house and I have these memories of a delicious apple spice cake my mum baked when I was a child. There was a layer of apple baked right in the middle.

I also chose to incorporate some puree pumpkin and diced apple in the spiced batter.

I tossed sliced apple in cinnamon, butter and sugar before layering in the middle of my cake.

The result was a moist cake full of apple, that was enjoyed by all (well except my daughter who did not even try it - she very strangely does not like cake).

I topped it with a glaze of vanilla cream cheese icing.

Instead of sugar I used rapadura, it is dehydrated cane sugar juice.

My little boy who is sick with an ear infection actually had a moment of happiness in the cake cooking process.

And for those of you who are interested this is his 'brown' koala cake (I didn't want to use black food colouring), a layered chocolate cake filled with chocoalte ganache, cream and strawberries, and milk chocolate buttercream.

It is the first 'kids' cake I have ever attempted, so yes your allowed to laugh at it!

But you must smile when it is cut :)

Apple Pumpkin Spice Cake 

(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients

Cake Batter

2 eggs

1/2 cup rapadura

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup macadamia oil

1 cup wholewheat flour

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

2 apples, peeled, small dice

Apple Filling

1 tsp rapadura

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp melted butter

2 apples sliced

Glaze

40g cream cheese

1/4 tsp vanilla paste

1/4 cup icing sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. 

Grease and line the bottom of a 23cm round cake tin.

Prepare the sliced apple filling by tossing the apple through the mixed butter, rapadura and cinnamon.

Sift the dry ingredients together. 

Beat the eggs and rapadura together well. 

Turn the speed down and add the pumpkin, oil, and milk until well combined.

Fold through the dry ingredients followed by the diced apple.

Spread half the batter in the prepared cake tin.

Top evenly with the apple slices.

Spread over the remaining batter and bake for 40 minutes.

Let cool in tin for about 5 minutes before turning out gently onto a cake cooler. 

Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla together.

Spread over the cake while still warm.