Dorset Apple Cake with Caramel Chocolate

A not quite traditional recipe for Dorset apple cake. It swaps caramel chocolate for the more normal raisins. But oh what a lush result this gives.

Best of British comes back to the South West this month from London and has now reached the county of Dorset. The first and if truth be told, only thing that came to mind when thinking about Dorset speciality food was Dorset Apple Cake.

Strangely, with all of my cookery books I didn’t have a single recipe for this. So, I resorted to the net and came up with one by Greg Coomer, voted the Dorset National Dish in 2006.

Dive Right In

• Why Make Dorset Apple Cake?
• Dorset Apple Cake?
• Update -September 2024
• Ingredients
• How To Make Dorset Apple Cake
• Other Apple Cake Recipes You Might Like
• Keep In Touch
• The Recipe

Why Make Dorset Apple Cake?

The most obvious answer to this question is, why wouldn’t you want to make my Dorset apple cake? But if you need more convincing, here are a few more detailed reasons.

• Appeals to Everyone: With a mix of tender apples, hints of cardamom and indulgent caramel chocolate, Dorset apple cake is a crowd-pleaser that both kids and adults will love.
• Autumn Baking – Nothing quite says autumn like an apple cake. Apples are abundant at this time of year and if you’re lucky you’ll have friends and neighbours happy to give them away. Dorset apple cake captures the essence of the season and there’s a taste of the season in every bite.
• Caramel Chocolate Twist – The addition of caramel chocolate chunks takes this classic bake up a notch or two. Little pockets of melted caramel bring a deliciously rich, sweet surprise that turns the cake from traditional to irresistible.
• Easy and Satisfying – This apple cake is a simple one to make and requires no fancy techniques, yet it delivers big on both flavour and comfort. Whether you’re an experienced baker or just starting out, this cake is an easy win.
• Versatile – Whether you prefer it warm with cream or custard or on its own at room temperature, this cake fits many an occasion. Enjoy it for dessert, afternoon tea, or just when you need something comforting and delicious.
• Tradition with a Modern Twist – This recipe combines the comforting nostalgia of a traditional British bake with a modern update. Not only does it contain caramel chocolate, but it’s made with wholegrain flour, which makes it healthier than most. It feels both familiar and exciting.

Dorset Apple Cake with Chocolate Caramel

Like many other people this year, I haven’t been lucky with apples. My mother’s apple trees are normally prolific producers but she’s had nothing like the amount she gets in an average year. Luckily, I was still able to cadge a few.

I’d been mulling over making an apple cake for a while but wanted to include a bar of Lindt’s caramel chocolate. Caramel and apples pair so well together, but I couldn’t see why chocolate wouldn’t work too. Easy peasy, I would adapt Greg’s cake of course.

I made a larger quantity than the original recipe as I don’t have an eight inch cake mould. Other changes included omitting the lemon peel, substituting chocolate for raisins and using cardamom sugar instead of plain.

I also substituted buckwheat for the specified cornflour and used my favourite wholemeal spelt flour instead of plain flour. And, more controversially I used, err, Cornish apples – shhhhh!

Luscious by name, luscious by nature is the only way to describe this cake. The apple shone through and was complemented perfectly by the caramel chocolate. I now feel the urge to stock up on this type of chocolate so I can include it in other apple cakes.

We feel it’s best served warm and complemented by a large spoonful of Cornish clotted cream. However, it lasts well for a few days and is almost as delicious served at room temperature.

Store in a sealed container, but don’t put it in the fridge.

Dorset Apple Cake Update -September 2024

I’ve updated this recipe with new images, more info and an actual recipe card. I first made this Dorset apple cake in the old Chocolate Log Blog days, hence the need to add chocolate to the cake. However, caramel chocolate works so well, I’ve included it ever since.

Thus, even though Chocolate Log Blog morphed into Tin and Thyme many years ago, I stand by the inclusion of caramel chocolate in this recipe. This has not always been the case and I’ve removed it from some recipes that really didn’t need the addition of chocolate.

Ingredients

Other than the afore mentioned caramel chocolate, you don’t need any unusual ingredients to make Dorset apple cake.

Apples

Cooking apples are the best ones to use for this cake. They’re nice and tart, full of flavour and soften nicely when cooked. I’ve used many varieties over the years and they all work well.

You can use windfall apples instead, as they too are usually fairly tart. But you might get a bit more texture once baked, depending on the type of apples used.

In the images you can see here, I use Bramley apples.

You will also need a dessert apple to decorate the top of the cake. Dessert apples are much firmer than cooking ones and are more likely to hold their shape.

Caramel Chocolate

You can use any type of caramel chocolate you like. Personally, I prefer chocolate pieces that contain liquid caramel rather than chocolate that’s studded with hard bits of butterscotch, toffee or caramel. The liquid caramel soaks into the cake sponge, making it delightfully chewy.

My preferred caramel chocolate is salted caramel. No surprises there.

Flour

I’ve talked about why wholemeal spelt flour is my favourite for baking cakes, biscuits, scones and pastry many times before. Suffice it to say, if you can’t get hold of any or don’t have any to hand, it’s fine to use ordinary wholemeal flour instead.

Likewise, if you don’t have any buckwheat flour, just replace it with more spelt flour. Buckwheat adds additional nutrition, a bit of extra flavour and gives a smoother mouthfeel than you get with an ordinary wholemeal cake.

I often get asked if it’s okay to use plain flour (all purpose) instead of wholemeal. The answer is yes of course, go with what you have or can get hold of. However wholemeal is so much better for you and also gives a bit of a nutty flavour, it’s definitely worth incorporating at least some of it into your bakes.

Sugar

Instead of ordinary caster (or granulated) sugar, I use cardamom sugar for this cake. It’s by no means compulsory, but it adds a light but lovely touch that doesn’t taste of cardamom but is slightly spicy. I have a jar permanently on the go.

It’s ever so easy to make your own cardamom sugar, although it takes a while to get the first batch going. Just stick a handful of cardamom pods in a jar and cover with golden caster (or granulated) sugar.

Leave for at least a couple of weeks, giving the jar an occasional shake. When you need to use it, pass the sugar through a wide meshed sieve to catch the cardamom pods and any seeds that might have escaped. Throw those back in the jar and cover with more sugar. And so it goes on.

Liquid

As well as eggs, you also need a little liquid so that the batter isn’t too stiff. You could just use milk, but I like to use kefir as we always have some lurking in the fridge.

Kefir is really good for the gut and aids digestion, so I prefer it to milk. It also helps the cake to rise. Plus it gives the cake a nice, but subtle flavour. Buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt provide a similar function.

How To Make Dorset Apple Cake

Dorset apple cake is a simple classic British bake that requires no special equipment or ingredients.

Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.

Step 1. Rub Butter Into Flour

Weigh the flours and tip into a large mixing bowl along with the salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Cut the cold butter into small cubes and rub them into the flour with your fingertips.

Once the mix resembles breadcrumbs, stir in the sugar.

Step 2. Prepare Apples

Peel the cooking apples and cut down the centre into into quarters or eighths, depending on size. I only needed one as it was so large. Remove the core and seeds from each section, then chop into fairly small pieces.

As soon as you’ve chopped one section, add it to the bowl of flour and stir it in. This will prevent the apples from browning. Work as quickly as you can so the apples keep their colour.

Step 3. Add Liquid

Make a well in the middle of the mixture, break in the eggs and add the kefir, buttermilk, sour milk or watered down yoghurt.

Stir from the inside out until everything is well mixed.

Step 4. Add Chocolate

Chop the bar of chocolate into small chunks, then add to the bowl and stir again until everything is combined.

Step 5. Assemble Cake

Line your cake tin with baking paper, as necessary. If using a silicon mould, just lightly grease it with the butter paper.

Scrape the batter into the mould and roughly level it with the back of a spoon.

Cut the dessert apple into quarters. Core it, but don’t peel. Slice it thinly and place the slices into a bowl of lemon juice as you cut them. This prevents them from browning and gives a nice flavour to the slices too.

Lay the apple slices around the top of the cake, pressing them in slightly as you go. Sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the top.

Step 6. Bake

Bake the cake until it’s nicely risen and firm to the touch. It should be golden in colour. Test by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out more or less clean, it’s done.

Transfer the cake tin to a wire rack and allow it to cool for ten minutes or so.

Invert the cake onto a board, then flip it over onto a plate or cake stand. Serve warm with cream or custard, if liked, or leave to cool completely.

If storing the cake, make sure it’s cool, then transfer to an airtight container. It will keep for 4-5 days, but don’t put it in the fridge. Cake’s generally don’t fare well if they get too cold.

Other Apple Cake Recipes You Might Like

• Almond apple cider cake
• Irish apple cake
• Kale apple cake
• Sticky ginger apple cakes
• Toffee apple hazelnut cake
• Upside-down apple cake

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this Dorset apple cake, with or without the chocolate, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making apple cakes?

Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.

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If you’d like more large cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Dorset Apple Cake. PIN IT.

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Best of British is sponsored by The Face of New World Appliances and hosted once again by Karen of Lavender and Lovage this month.