Apple Spelt Pound Cake

I'm a happy camper this year as I have more apples on my trees than ever before, enough for me and whatever animals are feasting on them at night.  I feel like laying out a blanket and a picnic hamper, maybe some tooth picks or a few after dinner mints?  The apples are tart and perfect for baking as well as eating, so I picked a basket full and baked my first apple cake of the season.  This cake recipe was adapted from The World Of Cake by Krystina Castella.  It's a recipe loosely based on a French Canadian version of pound cake which is called a Quatre-Quarts.  The French name refers to it's traditional ingredients consisting of one pound each of flour, butter, sugar and eggs.  Lucky me finding this recipe which calls for chopped apples, cinnamon and vanilla icing, which I spiced up with an additional touch of cinnamon.  Who knew that a simple pound cake filled with apples could be so good?   I swapped out a cup of all purpose flour for my favorite nutty flavored spelt flour but using only all purpose flour would be fine too.  This is a simple cake to make at home and the perfect place to stash a few apples for your own enjoyment before all the critters that make noises in the middle of night get to them.

The cookbook that I'm giving away will be My Calabria by Rosetta Costantino with Janet Fletcher.  If you like rustic Italian family cooking from southern Italy than this book is for you.  All you have to do is comment on my apple cake and my smoked trout salad( which is my last post) to qualify for my very scientific drawing which will be preformed by the accounting firm of Scott B. Price & Co CPA's on September 20th, sort of like The Academy Awards but not really.  I have to say that I'm very impressed with my fish loving followers and all their comments on my smoked trout salad post, I would like to give everyone a copy of this book but I only have one!

Ingredients and Directions for Apple Spelt Pound Cake
Makes 1 loaf cake (serves 8)


Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 175° C
Butter and flour an 8-inch loaf pan

For The Cake
3/4 Cup or 1 &1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
3/4 Cup(90 grams) granulated sugar
3 Eggs, separated
1 Cup(120 grams) spelt flour
1/4 Cup(30 grams) all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon sea salt
1 Generous cup(300 grams) peeled, cored and chopped baking apple, like Pink Lady

For The Vanilla Icing
2 Tablespoons(18 grams) unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup(120 grams) confectioner's sugar
2 Tablespoon milk
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl mix together the flours and cinnamon, set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg yolks one at a time- beating well after each addition.  Stir in the vanilla and gradually add the flours.  Remove the batter from the mixer bowl and place in a large bowl.  Clean the mixer bowl and return to the stand mixer.  Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl and beat until stiff.  Remove the egg whites, gently add to the batter and fold in the chopped apple.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes until tester inserted into cake comes out with a few crumbs.  Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes and turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
Make the icing in a small bowl by mixing together all the icing ingredients until smooth, it should be thick.  Drizzle the cake with icing or pipe on with a small piping bag.  Let the icing set up before serving.

I submitted this recipe to Honest Cooking, an online cooking magazine that features 'down to earth' food loving cooks from all over the world, please check it out and consider subscribing to their weekly updates, if you haven't already done so.