Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake (Donna Hay)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake
Apples.
Cinnamon.
Cake.

Yum.


Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake
Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake

My co-worker went to the American Library Association conference last year (oh yeah, thousands of librarians in one place...[insert your own joke here]). She was waltzing around the vendor area and one of them was packing up...decided to not shlep all of the display books back home...so she gave away this great Donna Hay Simple Essentials: Fruit book!

And then my co-worker gave the book to me! How sweet! Oh yeah, did I mention that pages were marked with "suggestions" to make and bring to work?! (just kidding...sorta)

This book is awesome and beautiful. Every recipe is short and sweet (she fits 4 recipes on one page!!) and each one has an awesome photo. Donna Hay has a lovely empire of magazines and books. Australia is so lucky to have such a gem.

Okay, so my intention was to make the cake as directed on page 82...but I didn't have all the ingredients and ended up substituting so many things I don't know if its her recipe anymore. Anyway, my creation was yummy. And I'm sure her recipe would only be much better, richer and more delicious. I'll gather all the right ingredients and make it again.

Here are the changes I made:
- Used an 8” springform (instead of an 8 1/2" springform) so mine is a bit taller. Next time, I'll use a 9" springform.
- Used what I had at the time – skim milk instead of whole milk.
- Used granulated sugar instead of caster or superfine sugar (because I didn’t have it on hand)
- Misread the ingredient list and used 6 oz. butter (1 ½ sticks) instead of 6 ½ oz.

apple and cinnamon tea cake

Cream together: 6 ½ oz. soft butter (if my conversions are right, this should be 1 stick + 5 T butter), ½ t cinnamon and 2/3 c caster (superfine) sugar.
Add one at a time: 3 eggs.
Sift onto batter: 1 ½ c all-purpose flour and ½ t baking powder.
Mix in: 1/3 c milk.

Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake
Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake
Place on top of batter: 4 small green apples, peeled, halved, cored, and cut thin - but don't cut all the way through. I didn't press them down at all because the apples were small snack size gala apples. Sprinkle on top: 1 t sugar and ¼ t cinnamon.

Bake for 50 minutes (160 C / 320 F) then brush on ¼ c apricot jam or jelly, warmed. Pop back into oven and bake for another 10 minutes or so. I ended up baking mine for 65 minutes at 325 F.

Donna Hay Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake
Yummy! And the co-worker who gave me the book? She loved this cake. Thought it really focused on the apple.

Get a copy of Donna Hay's Fruit book here, or see if your library has it on Worlcat!
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28 comments:

Pearl said... [Reply to comment]

OH my gosh. i love the slices on the apples. wow.

Elyse said... [Reply to comment]

What a sweet treat from your coworker! And now they're totally going to reap the rewards of giving you this book--treats for the office!! This cake looks delicious. I'm a huge fan of apples and cakes mixed together. This cake looks moist, dense, and perfect for a snack or dessert--or even breakfast! I can't wait to make it!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

lovely!! it's very reminiscent of the french pear tarts we did in january for tuesdays with dorie. i love the idea of apples in a light cake. your photos are gorgeous.

Juls said... [Reply to comment]

Donna Hay is great, and your cake is a real masterpiece! Besides that, apples and cinnamon are a great mix!

Kana said... [Reply to comment]

Lovely cake. That was so thoughtful of your co-worker!

Audrey said... [Reply to comment]

Whoever's recipe it is, I want it to be mine! But I promise to say that I got it from a wonderful food librarian...This makes me think of our TWD french pear tart but in a cake...which would almost assuredly mean that it would be made more often. So pretty, too! Thank you for sharing this!

Mary said... [Reply to comment]

Your coworkers are so nice. I have read Donna Hay's magazine and seen her on Australian TV and she is great..very low key and informative.

Shari@Whisk: a food blog said... [Reply to comment]

I love Donna Hay's cookbooks just for the photos! This looks scrumptious (and love your plug for libraries). I love my library and always check to see if they have the cookbook before buying it!

Katie said... [Reply to comment]

Oh my goodness. I have to make this cake it looks so fantastic. It looks so moist and perfect for fall!

Monica H said... [Reply to comment]

Free cookbook? awesome!

I love how tall your cake is, and thoise sliced apples are killing me!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

It sounds like a great cookbook. Your cakes are always so beautiful.

Thanks for the help with the jujubes. Now I know what they are. :)

Cathy said... [Reply to comment]

How nice of your friend to give you the book! You will clearly put it to great use. This cake looks truly to die for. My favorite flavors.

Hayley said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful pictures! The cake sounds incredible, and the decorative slices are amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Eliana said... [Reply to comment]

I don't usually like baked fruit desserts but your pictures are making me want to try this one. They look great.

Vivien said... [Reply to comment]

the cake looks really dense, is it suppose to be like that?

The Food Librarian said... [Reply to comment]

Vivien, I just grabbed the book and Donna Hay's cake crowned more on the center but it does look dense. It isn't dense-too heavy, but dense-moist. :) But it definitely isn't light and airy. - mary

Liz said... [Reply to comment]

Gorgeous! Love the sliced strawberries! You have the luckiest coworkers in the world.

Esi said... [Reply to comment]

I love the presentation of this with the apples sliced almost all the way down. Gorgeous. Four recipes per page and with pictures? Sounds like a great book!

The Food Librarian said... [Reply to comment]

Vivien, Wanted to add...I had to substitute a few things - especially the caster sugar. That might affect the density of the cake. Donna Hay's is probably lighter than mine.

Magic Whale said... [Reply to comment]

This looks SCRUMPTIOUS!

kellypea said... [Reply to comment]

I love Donna Hay's recipes. So simple and fresh. This is another wonderful cake with my favorite flavors packed into it. Just beautiful.

TeaLady said... [Reply to comment]

Oh. Wow!!! That looks fantastic. Wonder if I could use my low carb bake mix with this one. Yummy!!!

Creative Classroom Core said... [Reply to comment]

The presentation of this cake is just beautiful. What a lovely tea time snack! Thanks for sharing another great recipe!

eatme_delicious said... [Reply to comment]

This cake looks perfect! I love how tall it is. And the way the apples look.

Sihan said... [Reply to comment]

nice side profile shot of the cake slice. and I love donna hay too! always been a fan of her clean layouts and light pastel shades used... pretty!

Sophie said... [Reply to comment]

This is a really grand dessert, I especially like how the apples look on top! I've made apple cakes, but have never thought of incorporating them into a recipe like this, they really add an elegant touch to your lovely dessert :). Great recipe choice!

tavolini said... [Reply to comment]

oh wow--I bet that was good with coffee ;)

How To Eat A Cupcake said... [Reply to comment]

That is so gorgeous! Perhaps the best looking apple cake I've ever seen! :D

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