maple apple loaf cake
this maple apple loaf cake is made from a spiced cake filled with tart apple chunks, topped with a crunchy walnut streusel and maple glaze. with layers of autumnal flavors and cozy textures, this cake is ready for all your fall baking needs!
Equipment
- medium sauce pan
- large heat safe bowl
- 9X5 loaf pan
- parchment paper
- stand mixer with paddle or hand mixer with beaters
- food thermometer and/or toothpicks
Ingredients
brown sugar walnut streusel
- ½ c (60g) all purpose flour
- ¼ c (50g) maple or light brown sugar
- ½ tsp chai or pumpkin spice or ground cinnamon
- ½ c (75g) chopped raw or toasted walnuts
- 4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
spiced apple loaf cake
- 2 c (240g) all purpose flour
- 2-3 tsp chai or pumpkin spice or ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ c (113g) browned butter, softened to room temperature see notes
- 1 c (170g) maple sugar or 1 c (200g) light brown sugar
- 2 (106-114g) large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ c (79ml) buttermilk see notes
- 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (2.5ml) maple extract, optional and recommended
- 2 c (~236g) peeled and chopped baking apples Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Mutsu, Winesap, Pink Lady
brown butter maple glaze
- 1 c (125g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 tbsp (57g) browned butter, melted see notes
- 3-4 tbsp (45-60ml) room temperature maple syrup, as needed to taste
Instructions
- Make the brown butter: Make brown butter the day before or about two hours before you plan to bake the loaf. It will need 60-120 minutes to cool enough to become the texture of softened butter. To make the brown butter, melt butter in a clear heavy bottom sauce pan. Once the butter starts to foam, whisk continuously until brown bits start to form. Remove from heat, pour into clean bowl and cool 30 minutes to room temperature and transfer to the fridge for an additonal 60-90 minutes.
- Line 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving 1-2 in. overhang on the sides. Preheat oven to 350F (177C).If making your own buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the ⅓ c whole milk now. It needs about 10 minutes to curdle.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients for the streusel topping in a small mixing bowl. Work in the cubes of butter until the mixture comes together into coarse pieces of sand, with some larger pieces mixed in. Set the bowl in the fridge to chill while preparing the loaf cake.
- Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, chai (or pumpkin) spice and salt together until well combined.
- Beat the softened brown butter and sugar until well combined, about 2-3 minutes on low-medium speed.
- On low, beat in the eggs, vanilla and maple extracts. Beat for each about 20 seconds before adding the next. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat on low for an additional 30-60 seconds or until well combined.
- In this order (dry ingredients, buttermilk, dry, buttermilk, dry), add dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the buttermilk. Slowly beat each time until JUST combined. A few flour streaks is okay!
- Clean, peel and chop (or grate) the apples. Make sure to measure the final amount in a measuring cup. Fold in the apples into the cake batter by hand using a spoon or scilicone spatula.
- Evenly scoop ½ the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Evenly smooth into the corners and along the sides. Scoop the remaining ½ batter into the pan and repeat. Top with the walnut struesel.
- Bake at 350F (177C) for 50 minutes. Using a toothpick and/or internal food thermometer, check the doneness of the loaf cake. If needed, return to the oven for 10-20 minutes, checking for doneness every 5 minutes (55-65 minutes total). When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, its done. The edges of the cake will pull slightly from the edges of the pan. The internal temperature of the center of the cake should read 200 F (94C).
- Cool in pan for 20 minutes. While the cake cools, make the brown butter maple glaze.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. If the remaining brown butter has cooled, remelt in the microwave in 10 second intervals until melted and warm to the touch. Sift sugar directly into the bowl with the warm brown butter. Mix until mostly combined. Add maple syrup by the tablespoon (15ml), as needed to create the glaze consistency you want.
- Pour the warm brown butter maple glaze on the apple loaf cake while it is still in the warm pan. After the cake has cooled in the pan for no longer than 30 minutes, gently run a knife on any part of the cake that is on the unlined part of the pan. Lift the cake out of the loaf pan to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- Slice and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
batch browning butter: this recipe calls for a lot of browned butter. it’s worth it to brown at least 2 pounds of butter at the same time. to do this, simply brown the butter, cool to room temperature in a heat proof bowl. once the brown butter has cooled, pour the butter into an airtight container and store in the fridge. bring to room temperature the same way you would regular unsalted butter. by using a food scale, you can make a big batch of brown butter and slice off/measure the amount chilled and reformed butter you need for the recipe.
to brown just enough butter for this recipe, you will need a TOTAL of 1 c ( 16 tbsp, 226g) regular unsalted butter. when the butter is browned, it will lose some water weight, leaving the total weight AFTER browning around ¾ c ( 12 tbsp, 170g). This will then be divided into ½ c (113g) and 4 tablespoon (57g) browned butter.
buttermilk: to make your own DIY buttermilk, measure out ⅓ c milk. add in 1 teaspoon lemon juice. mix together. let sit for 10 minutes to curdle.
did you make this recipe?tag @olivesnthyme on Instagram