Sophies Apple Tea Cake With Carmelized Verjuice Syrup Recipes

BROWN-SUGAR SPICE CAKE WITH CREAM AND CARAMELIZED APPLES

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour cake pan, knocking out excess flour.
• Make caramelized apples:
• Peel and core apples, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.
• Spread softened butter in an even layer over bottom of a 12-inch heavy skillet and sprinkle with brown sugar. Add apple wedges and cook over moderate heat, without stirring, until sugar is melted and apples start to give off liquid, about 10 minutes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are just tender and juices become syrupy, about 30 minutes more.
• Pour syrup from skillet into a small heatproof bowl, then sauté apples, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and very tender, about 30 minutes more. Return syrup to apples and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
• Make cake while apples cook:
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg until combined. Add maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla and beat until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, then mix until just incorporated.
• Spread batter in cake pan and bake until cake is golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes.
• Make cream just before serving:
• Beat cream with sour cream and sugar using cleaned beaters at high speed until it just holds soft peaks.
• To serve:
• Run a thin knife around edge of pan, then invert cake onto a plate and cut into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with warm apple mixture and cream.

DONNA HAY'S APPLE UPSIDE-DOWN SYRUP CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160C (200F).
• Stir 90g butter, brown sugar and water together in a saucepan until butter is melted. Then stir in apple slices and cook for 3 minutes.
• Spoon apples equally into 6 x 1 cup muffin tins or ramikins. put a few tablespoons of syrup in with the apple slices as well. Reserve the remaining syrup for later.
• Prepare the cake batter: Put all the ingredients in a bowl together. Mix until combined. Then spoon the batter equally over apples.
• Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool 5 minutes in the tin, then flip onto serving plates. Serve with extra caramel sauce and ice cream or unsweetened cream.

SOPHIE'S CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE

Steps:

• Break the chocolate into squares and place in a heatproof bowl with the butter. Set over a pan of simmering water and allow to melt. Remove from the heat and mix in the cream and golden syrup by hand, which will take a few minutes.
• Break the digestive biscuits into large chunks and gently fold into the chocolate mixture so as not to break up the biscuits too much. Using a spatula, transfer to a 900ml (1 1/2 pints) loaf tin that has been double lined with clingfilm, as this makes the cake much easier to lift out. Chill for at least 2 hours, though overnight is best.
• To serve, turn out the chocolate biscuit cake onto a platter. Break the white chocolate into squares, if using, and melt in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Drizzle all over the chocolate biscuit cake and leave at room temperature to set for about 20 minutes before cutting into slices and arranging on plates.

APPLE SYRUP CAKE

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add eggs one by one beating well after each addition.
• Sift dry ingredients together and add to mixture.
• Add milk mixing well.
• Add vanilla extract.
• Pour into greased Pyrex dish (9'' x 12") and spread evenly.
• Pack apple pieces evenly over batter.
• Bake at 350F for 30 minutes checking at 25 minutes.
• Boil all syrup ingredients together for 5 minutes and pour over hot cake as soon as it comes out of the oven.
• Serve as a cake or dessert with custard or cream.

SOPHIE'S APPLE TEA CAKE WITH CARMELIZED VERJUICE SYRUP

Steps:

• Method
• Peel and core the apples, then cut them into eighths and put them into a saucepan with 1/4 cup castor sugar and the verjuice. Bring to a boil over a high heat, then gently stir until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat but don't move the pan. Leave the apple in this light syrup for 10 minutes, then drain, reserving the syrup (you should have about 3 fluid ounces).
• Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 22 cm springform tin. To make the cake, cream the butter and castor sugar until pale and thick. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. (If the mixture starts to curdle, add a tablespoon of the measured flour to stablize it.) Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt and add alternately to the egg mixture with the milk and vanilla extract. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
• Arrange the apple on the top in a concentric pattern, pushing the pieces into the batter slightly. Mix 2 teaspoons castor sugar and the ground cassia and sprinkle evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake stand in the tin for at least 10 minutes, then remove the tin carefully.
• While the cake is cooking, make the syrup. Have iced water ready in the sink or a large bowl. Bring the verjuice and castor sugar to a boil in a saucepan and cook until a deep, golden brown. Remove the caramel from the heat and cautiously add the reserved apple cooking syrup - the mixture may spit a little. Stand the saucepan in the iced water immediately to arrest the cooking, then pour into a jug ready to serve.
• To Serve
• To serve, brush the warm cake with the syrup. Put a wedge of warm cake onto each plate (one with a gently lip is best), then ladle over the syrup and offer with a hearty dollop of thick cream.