A delicious moist apple hazelnut cake which is made extra scrumptious with the addition of brandy soaked sultanas and milk chocolate chips. Keeps well for a good few days.
When we plan a holiday, there’s usually a big question to resolve. What cake to take with us? On our last holiday, two years ago, I made a well remembered chocolate mayonnaise cake which was not only delicious but lasted the whole week. I needed to replicate the delicious and lasting qualities for this year, But I wanted something a little different.
Apple Hazelnut Cake
In the end, the sheer number of apples I’d been given sealed the deal. It just had to be an apple cake. Leafing through my many recipe books and scraps of paper, I finally plumped for an apple and hazelnut cake. I’ve had this recipe for at least fourteen years but have never actually made it. And where it came from is now lost in the mists of time.
I adapted it to include chocolate of course and made a few other amendments along the way, including brandy soaked sultanas. If you decide to soak the sultanas in brandy and I highly recommend that you do, try to soak them for as long as possible. Overnight is best.
Needless to say the cake was delicious. It also lasted us the week, although with the various other treats we had whilst we were there, we probably shouldn’t have had any cake at all.
Apples
This apple hazelnut cake is a great bake for autumn when both apples and hazelnuts are abundant. If you know anyone with apple trees, you should get lucky. They’re often more than happy to offload a few. I usually get a big bag or two of my mother’s unnamed Cornish cooking apples.
So the main task for this bake is peeling, coring and chopping apples. Except for the apple that goes on top. It’s best to use a dessert apple for this so that it keeps its shape. You also don’t need to peel this one, just core and slice it.
Hazelnuts
This was a cake of true dedication. I spent an age cracking the last of last year’s hazelnuts. They just happened to be small Cornish nuts gathered along the hedgerows and they are fiddly to crack. But please don’t let that put you off, you can just go and buy a packet of ready shelled hazelnuts. It’s what I usually do after all.
Once you have your hazelnuts, toast or roast them to bring out the flavour, then grind them up. The flavour of roasted hazelnuts permeates the whole cake. It’s so good.
A Week on the Lizard, Cornwall
We are just back from a rather damp week spent on the Lizard. For those wondering, the Lizard is not a large scaly reptile, although there is a reptilian link. It’s a peninsula lying at the most southerly point of mainland UK and it’s made of serpentine rock. It’s actually a piece of sea floor which somehow ended up in the wrong place.
The serpentine has unusual chemical properties which leads to a unique habitat, making it a Mecca for botanists. CT was in his element. Despite the fact we only had one morning of sun the entire duration of our stay, it wasn’t as wet as it might have been and we had a lovely time, spoilt only by the fact it passed far too quickly.
Here are a few highlights from our trip. They’re in no particular order of merit or occurrence:
Walking the coastal path on that first sunny morning somewhere near Kennack Sands.
Spotting our first view of Cornish Heath (Erica vagans) this year. It’s no longer at its best but always exciting as the Lizard is one of the very few places that it grows in the UK.
Dodging showers around Trewidden Gardens, Penzance. Our first visit and the most impressive grove of tree ferns we’ve seen in the UK.
Kynance Cove as we saw it two years ago – this time it was hard to discern through the thick mist.
The biggest swathe of Devil’s Bit Scabious either of us have ever seen.
Dragonfly on CT’s knee.
The delightful fishing village of Cadgwith.
Posh nosh at New Yard Restaurant, Trelowarren.
Other Apple Cake Recipes You Might Like
- Almond apple cider cake
- Dorset apple cake
- Irish apple cake
- Kale apple cake
- Toffee apple hazelnut cake
- Upside-down apple cake
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this apple hazelnut cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more apple recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Choc Chip Apple Hazelnut Cake. PIN IT.
Apple Hazelnut Cake – The Recipe
Apple Hazelnut Cake with Sultanas and Milk Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- 3 oz sultanas
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 3 oz hazelnuts
- 1 lb cooking apples
- 8 oz unsalted butter
- 6 oz golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 3 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
- 12 oz flour – half wholemeal, half plain
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 oz milk chocolate drops (40%)
- 1 dessert apple
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
Instructions
- Soak the sultanas in the brandy for at least a couple of hours, although overnight is better.3 oz sultanas, 1 tbsp brandy
- Toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a few minutes until lightly brown.3 oz hazelnuts
- Allow to cool then blitz in a food processor or blender. I use a coffee grinder. Don’t worry if the nuts aren’t ground to a fine powder, it’s good to get some texture in the cake.
- Peel, core and chop the apples1 lb cooking apples
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.8 oz unsalted butter, 6 oz golden caster sugar
- Beat in the eggs, one by one.3 large eggs
- Sieve in the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and stir until just incorporated.12 oz flour – half wholemeal, half plain, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, pinch sea salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Gently mix in the hazelnuts, followed by the apple pieces.
- Stir in the sultanas and milk chocolate drops.3 oz milk chocolate drops
- Spoon into a 23cm round silicone cake mould or lined tin.
- Slice, but don’t peel the dessert apple and arrange the slices around the top of the cake.1 dessert apple
- Scatter the demerara sugar over the top.2 tbsp demerara sugar
- Bake for 45 mins in a preheated oven at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4). Insert a skewer into the middle of the cake, if it comes out wet, you’ll need to give the cake a few more minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for fifteen minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Either eat immediately or wrap in parchment paper and store in an airtight tin for up to five days.
jimi says
looks like a great holiday and the cake sounds delicious – I have a chocolate hazelnut and apple cake recipe but it is not as posh as this one
oxslip says
Welcome back, looks like a wonderful trip. And what an amazing cake, wish I’d seen your recipe before I made my burned version of an apple cake
Grazing Kate says
And we’re just a couple of weeks back from the same places on the Lizard. What did you think of New Yard? We didn’t visit this time, but Trelowarren was where we always used to stay (when their prices were about a quarter of what they are now!)
Choclette says
Jill – it’s a fabulous place, lots to explore and lots of good food too 😉
Ruth – thank you. I like the sound of masterpiece 😉
Angie – thank you.
Malli – thank you
Johanna – oh, have you made it? Hazelnuts, apple and chocolate are a lovely combination.
Mia's Bakehouse says
Mmmm cake sounds and looks so tasty, i love any desserts/cakes with apples in! Cornwall looks as beautiful as ever too!
Johanna GGG says
looks like a great holiday and the cake sounds delicious – I have a chocolate hazelnut and apple cake recipe but it is not as posh as this one
Malli says
Insanely tempting apple cake:)
Angie's Recipes says
What a fabulous coffee cake!
Ruth says
I love those photos – and the apple cake – wow. Hazelnuts, chocolate chips, apples – it’s an autumnal masterpiece!
Choclette says
Chele – it’s a fabulous spot and because we got such good views from inside, weather watching was quite fun too 😉
Karen – it’s very hard to pick a favourite spot in Cornwall, but the Lizard is certainly one of them.
Gloria – thank you.
Kath – that dragonfly seemed devoted to CT’s knee. Every time he moved it flew off and then settled straight back there again. The flowers were mostly apple mint growing in vast quantities and montbretia which I picked from the hedges and didn’t have to feel guilty about as they are an invasive species.
C – thank you. September is usually quite sunny and calm here in Cornwall, so I was hopeful – hey ho, it was still a good break.
Foodycat – thanks, both holiday and cake were indeed good.
Katie – apple and hazelnuts are a really good combination.
CityHippy – there are some stunning rocks around there. Although to be fair, most of the Cornish coast has stunning rocks. We did momentarily get a scene of beautiful turquoise water that appeared when the mist lifted for a short while but all the more magical for that.
Celia – he he, not sure we burned up as much energy as we consumed, but we did get a fair bit of exercise in. There are so many lovely walks around that area.
Janice – thank you. I expect you’ve got all sorts of stunning scenery around you too, although it may be a bit warmer on the Lizard. Now you’ve got me thinking about ginger and apple cake …..
CC – glad to report, it was a massive cake – it did have to last us the week 😉
Foodiva – thank you for your kind comment. CT and I are not known for our restraint 😉
Torview – thank you.
Maggie – having a good cake to take with us was part of the fun.
KitchenMaid – ha ha, greedy we may be, but sometimes you have to eke out the pleasure.
Catherine – I think we’re more likely to get heart failure from the cake than the dragonfly, but we valiantly ate it all anyway 😉
Lizzy – thank you. I have apples spilling from various bags all over my kitchen at the moment!!!
MadAboutMacarons says
What a gorgeous place – I’ve been wanting to go there for years and now you’ve inspired me to do something about it. Sorry about the weather, but with that gorgeous cake – who worries? Love the look of the posh nosh, too! Jill
Lizzy says
Beautiful country! I can see why you went back 🙂 And your cake looks marvelous…I’m so glad it’s apple season again~
Catherine says
I’d have a heart attack if a dragonfly landed on my knee 😮
Heart failure aside… what a tremendous cake! Apples, hazelnuts, brandy soaked sultanas AND chocolate? Yes please!
Lizard looks absolutely beautiful 🙂
The KitchenMaid says
A cake that lasts a week? Surely you jest, I have never heard of such a thing! Beautiful holiday snaps, am very envious.
Maggie says
Looks like a wonderful holiday with fabulous scenery and food. I am impressed that you took a homemade cake with you too.
Torviewtoronto says
beautiful coastal pictures
delicious looking cake
Foodiva says
There are so many things I like about this cake,the hazelnuts, the duck eggs, the apples, the size :-). And the Lizard looks like a gorgeous place too, with so many breathtaking sights. Thanks for sharing your recipe and holiday with us!
The Caked Crusader says
Wow – that’s either a small plate or a massive cake! (I’m hoping it’s the latter). Looks divine.
I love the way apple softens when it bakes on the top of a cake
Janice says
Welcome back. I would love to visit the Lizard again, it is many years since I was there. Your cake sounds very good, we always used to take a Dundee cake on holiday and a big gingerbread.
celia says
What a beautiful place, Choc! I’m glad you had your good cake to sustain you – sounds like you would have been burning up energy exploring! 🙂
cityhippyfarmgirl says
What a stunning looking place. The beautiful colour of the water contrasting with the jutting rocks makes me want to sit on the edge, ponder the world…with a large wedge of your cake in hand.
Glad you had a good time away.
Katie says
That cake looks delicious and love the sound of your additons. A lovely cake to take on holiday and enjoy by the coats. looks idilic
Foodycat says
It looks like a lovely holiday! And a beautiful cake.
C says
Gorgeous pictures there, a pity the weather wasn’t kinder to you.
It sounds like a fabulous early autumn cake, making the most of all our seasonal bounty!
Kath says
Lovely, fancy that dragonfly landing on CT’s knee. I love those flowers in the jug.
Gloria says
Beautiful post and delicious cake! LOL gloria
Karen S Booth says
LOVELY looking cake and I LOVE that part of Cornwall.
Karen
Chele says
And what a cake to pick too! Your holiday spot looks lovely, even if the weather was slightly on the rubbish side ;0)