Honey Apple Cakes and a Cornish Cliff Top Walk
These delightful apple honey cakes are lightly spiced with cardamom and full of autumnal flavour. They’re made with Mediterranean honey, which gives them an aromatic stickiness to the light sponge. If you only make one apple bake this autumn, make it these little beauties.
AD – this post contains affiliate links. See my cookie and privacy statement for further details.
Some say Autumn starts here in the Northern Hemisphere on 1 September, some say the 22nd. Either way the apple season has started and to me that means one of my favourite times of year with morning mists, clear warm days and cold nights. If we’re lucky that is. The first few apples have been gathered from my mother’s garden and honey apple cardamom cakes are calling.
Honey Cakes: Mediterranean Fragrance
On one of those perfect autumnal days, last weekend, we visited friends and sat outside at lunchtime in shorts and t-shirts eating a veritable feast and indulging in these little honey apple cardamom mini bundt cakes. Our friends are Italian and I wanted to give a nod to their country in this bake.
It was time to break open the honey I received from Ufuud last year. I’d been saving it for a special occasion. It was powerful stuff with a strong Mediterranean fragrance about it. I only used a small amount, but it not only gives a delightful stickiness to the cakes, but a deeply flavourful aromatic quality too.
The Cornish apples offered a tart piquant note and the cardamom added a hint of mystery. These cakes have made it to the top of my must-make-again list and I suspect this might happen very soon.
Mini Bundt Cakes
I’ve long admired Dom’s mini bundt cakes and have been on the look out for some moulds. It’s taken a while, but I am now the proud owner of one six hole bundt mould*. This bake was its first outing and I was delighted with the results.
Initially, I’d planned on icing the apple cakes, but they looked so pretty when they came out of the mould and were in any case sticky from the honey, they really didn’t need it. As I only had six bundt spaces, I used six small muffin cases for the rest.
If you have mini bundt moulds, do use them. The cakes look so pretty when you turn them out. But otherwise use cupcake moulds or tins lined with cupcake cases.
Cornish Coast Path
After the feast we strolled down the lane then we meandered down a leafy footpath to the beach where I swam as a child. The sea was calm and blue and the coast looked magnificent.
Things became a little more strenuous after that as we clambered our way up and down the inclines of the Cornish coast path. There were occasional stops to admire the scenery or identify a plant or insect. It was glorious.
Other Small Apple Cakes You Might Like
- Apple & chocolate rock cakes – Tin and Thyme
- Apple crumble and custard mini cakes – Tin and Thyme
- Blackberry, apple & speculaas muffins – Fab Food 4 All
- Blackberry & apple cupcakes – Tin and Thyme
- Chocolate chip & apple muffins with cream cheese – Tin and Thyme
- Spiced apple & raisin cupcakes (vegan) – Family Friends Food
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these honey apple cardamom cakes, 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.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
And for more cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Honey Cardamom Apple Cakes. PIN IT.
Honey & Cardamom Apple Cakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 120 g unsalted butter
- 100 g golden caster sugar
- 30 g runny honey (1 scant tbsp) – well flavoured
- 3 cardamom pods
- 2 large eggs I used duck eggs
- 60 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat)
- 55 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 50 g ground almonds
- 200 g cooking apple 1 large or 2 small apples – peeled, cored and chopped small
- 1 tbsp natural yoghurt
Instructions
- Remove the seeds from the cardamom and grind as finely as possible using a pestle and morter.3 cardamom pods
- In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and honey along with the cardamom until light and fluffy.120 g unsalted butter, 100 g golden caster sugar, 30 g runny honey
- Beat in the eggs, one by one.2 large eggs
- Sieve in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated.60 g wholemeal flour (whole wheat), 55 g plain flour (all purpose flour), 1 tsp baking powder, ⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), 50 g ground almonds
- Stir in the apple and yoghurt.200 g cooking apple, 1 tbsp natural yoghurt
- Spoon into 12 mini bundt moulds or cupcake cases.
- Bake at 180℃ (160℃ fan, 350℉, Gas 4) for 15-20 minutes until the cakes are well risen, golden and firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Honey Apple Cardamom Cakes: Linking Up
Apples in season are very much part of my cultural heritage. My mother has always had apple trees, so harvesting, eating and cooking with them at this time of year is just what you do in our family. We don’t have a specific recipe, anything goes.
These tasty little apple cakes are my nod to Inheritance Recipes and apples this year and they would make a delightful addition to any child’s lunch box. The challenge is hosted by Margot over at Coffee and Vanilla and Solange from Pebble Soup.
They also go to Treat Petite which has no theme this month and is celebrating it’s 2nd birthday – how time flies. It’s hosted alternately by CakeyBoi and Kat over at The Baking Explorer.
I’m linking these honey apple cardamom mini bundt cakes to Lisa’s Apple Season link-up over at United Cakedom. I needed to use the apples for these cakes quickly as they were windfalls. I’m thus also linking to the No Waste Food Challenge which is hosted this month by Foodie Quine.
This post contains affiliate links which are marked with an *. If you buy through a link it won’t cost you any more, but I’ll get a small commission. Thank you for supporting the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
Such delicious flavours and so very autumnal! Perfect. I too must hunt down mini bundt tins – they look so cute!
Thanks Chris. I need to dust them off and get using them again and the apples too 🙂
I have needed an excuse to buy mini bundt pans and I think I found it! These look great! Thank you for sharing them in my apple linky!! Round up post will be coming soon!!!
Thanks Lisa. Large bundts or mini ones are just fab for making cakes look really special without having to do a great deal to them.
These look just adorable! Thanks so much for linking them up to #NoWasteFoodChallenge
The perfect use for windfall apples.
Thanks Claire. I make so many apple bakes in the autumn, it can be a bit of a challenge to come up with something different.
What a great treat, than you for entering it to our challenge! 🙂
Thanks Margot, wish I had one in the house now!
Gorgeous Choclette – a lady in our cake club would go daft for these – she loves all things bundt! Thanks for taking part in Treat Petite x
Thanks Stuart. I like my large bundt too, but these mini ones are super cute.
These look so lovely!! I can’t wait to make them – maybe while I’m still in Ghana; yet, definitely when I get back to the US.
Hope you’re having a wonderful time in Ghana. Do let me know how you get on if you do make these cakes.
Ooh yum! These sound so delicious with the inclusion of the cardamom, and the being baked in a mini bundt mould just makes them look so different and pretty.
Angela x
Only Crumbs Remain
Thanks Angela. The cardamom is a lovely addition and I’m thrilled with the bundt moulds. Looking forward to using them again.
These wouldn’t hang around in my house for long – they look fantastic!
Haha Heidi, they didn’t hang around here very long either 🙂
Honey and cardamon sounds delicious! Perfect dessert for Autumn afternoon with hot cup of chocolate! 😉
Haha Syliva, how very naughty! How very comforting too 🙂
I have an overwhelming urge to coat one of those in warm custard and dive in.
Go for it Jac. That would be fantastic straight out of the oven.
These look delicious. I love the combo of honey and apple and the addition of cardamom sounds wonderful
Thanks Emily, cardamom is a brilliant spice for baking. I use it a lot.
These cakes look so pretty and delicious! I do make apple cake but never tried it with honey and cardamom although, I’m obsessed with this aromatic spice and not just add it to me chai daily but love eating it too esp. the seeds! 😀
Beautiful post as always!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Cardamom is a wonderful spice and I use it a lot Madiha, but I think this might be the first time I’ve paired it with apple. I can confirm it works brilliantly 😉
These are so cute! They would make great gifts, too! I love the thought of cardamom and apple!
You’re right Whitney, these would make lovely gifts. Thanks for the suggestion.
It’s cold today in Boston for the first time in a bit and these little cakes would be perfect for today’s weather! Cardamom has become a new favorite of mine. 🙂 Great recipe!
Mini bundt cakes look so good.. must be flavourful too with the addition of cardamom.
Thanks Shobha. I am a big fan of cardamom.
These are so stinkin’ cute!!! I have been using cardamom a lot lately. It’s such a nice warming spice. I don’t have mini bundt pans but will have to try this as a large bundt or muffins!
Yes Jenna, I made the other six in muffin moulds and they worked fine, just didn’t look as cute. It’s a delicious recipe though and I’ll be making it again for sure.
Such a beautiful post. You’ve been in some glorious coastal places recently. I love Autumn and these little beauties are such a compliment to the start of the season. Gorgeous! Thanks for the mention honey x
Haha Dom, honey is the right word for sure. We had a wet August, so it’s been great to be able to get out. We did a coastal walk two days on the trot, the first ones for two months – honestly!
Wow these cakes look gorgeous, love the flavour combination and now want mini bundt tins.
Yes, I’ve been wanting those moulds ever since I saw Dom’s cakes – it’s such an easy way to get great looking little cakes.
Cardamom… brilliant!! This is such a wonderful recipe.. can’t wait to try it!!
Thank you Heather, they really are worth a try.
What beautiful bundts Choclette. They look absolutely perfect and need no decoration! Honey, apple and cardamom sounds divine….
Thanks Kate, my thoughts exactly. Both the flavour and texture of these are perfect – she says modestly!
Well aren’t these just he cutest things you ever did see 😀 I need to invest in a mini bundt tin (not that I even have a big one for that matter!)
I’ve not tried the combination of cardamom or apple before so I’ll have to give this a go. Clearly I’ve been missing out.
Oh you have been missing out Emma, apple and cardamom is lovely and you need a bundt tin – mini or otherwise 😉
The cakes look delicious and love the flavor of cardamom with apple. Autumn is just so much special because of all the pies, cakes, roasts n so on.
I’m with you there Molly – bring on the comfort food 😉
I am in love with these Bundt cakes!! They look gorgeous!!Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Preethi, they are super cute aren’t they?
Honey, apple and cardamom? Those are my favorites. Can’t wait to give this a try.
Thanks Sandi. This really is a lovely combination of ingredients.
Those look and sounds so delicious. That is nearly a perfect mix of ingredients.
Thanks Chris. You have me curious now. What do you reckon would make the mix perfect?
These look gorgeous. Honey, cardamom and apple sounds like a divine combination.
Thanks Emily. I sort of knew these flavours would work well together and they really did.
They sound delicious and look so cute 😀 I bet homegrown apples taste so much better than the ones you get at the supermarket!
Thanks Nadia, that is so very true. These apples are a Cornish variety that are somewhere between an eater and a cooker, which makes them quite versatile. However, my mother also has the best apples I’ve ever eaten – sadly the birds, squirrels and wasps think so too.
Aw, they’re so cute – I must give them a go!
Thanks Cathy. Do please give them a go. They look good, but they taste wonderful too.
They look beautiful as well as delicious as well as perfect ! Did you use a silicone mould for these ?
The mould seems like a good investment for me too ….
Haha, thank you Henk. Yes the mould was a silicone one. Not cheap, but well worth it.
First of all these mini bundt cake look delicious; I’ve the same moulds…thanks for sharing; I’ll give them a go. I love the pic of the path; it looks like the landscapes I saw in Pembrokeshire last August…Love them!
I love the moulds Manu, but it took me so long to find them. The cakes are delicious and you have access to good honey too. The Pembrokeshire coast reminded me of our South Cornish coast when I was there – both are lovely.
These look delicious. Are there any left?
Haha Jo, who are you kidding?
These are utterly adorable! Perfect little bites 🙂
Thanks Elizabeth, they were every bit as good as I hoped they might be AND they tasted good too 😉
These apple cakes are adorable! I need to find mini bundt moulds to make similar ones!!
If you can find some Diana, I’d strongly recommend it. For very little effort, they make cakes and puddings look quite stunning. Wish I’d bought two now 😉
These look fab! I’m going to pin them to my Rosh Hashanah boards on Pinterest – apples & honey cakes are perfect for Jewish New Year 🙂
Ooh yes Helen, good point. I now know that apples play a key role in Rosh Hashanah. Does honey too?