As the first post in the grandma’s recipes category of this blog I had no choice but choosing the legendary spice cake, a recipe my grandma got from her fried Cecily. I first encountered this cake when my parents visited me during my university days. Immediately this cake became a great success, my roommate got addicted to it and everyone always ask me for a recipe. Since then I prepared it dozens of times. Something about the spice mix, the nutty and buttery topping, quick preparation and simple ingredients just make this recipe the number one cake recipe you always come back to.

Like any other pound cake this can be kept at room temperature in a sealed container but it is best on the same day it was baked.

Ingredients (1 large cake in english cake baking dish or 2 small ones)
prep time – 15 minutes
baking time – 45 minutes

For the cake:

• 1+3/4 cup white flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup apple puree
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp allspice

For the topping:

• 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• a little less then 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 50 gr butter
• 1 tbs milk
• 1 tbs flour

Directions

Heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Start with preparing the topping – put all the topping ingredients excluding the flour in a small pot and cook until it boils. Add 1 tbs of flour, mix and set aside to cool down.

The cake preparation – mix all the cake ingredients excluding the flour and baking powder. Add the flour (mixed with the baking flour) gradually  and mix only until the mixture is uniform. Make sure not to mix too much since it will make the cake heavy and dense. Place the mixture in a large greased english cake baking dish, or two small ones. The cake will look pretty low at this stage, don’t worry! It will rise well and be high and fancy after a quick visit in the oven.

Bake on 180 degrees for about 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick will come out clean and dry. Try to not overcook it so the cake will remain moist.

Comments and suggestions

Topping. Do you have an annoying partner that doesn’t like walnuts? Are you craving for a cake without butter? It’s possible to (sadly) skip the topping and bake the cake without it. You can also take 2 or 3 small pears, halve them, take out the seeds and place them with the sliced side up on top of the cake mixture, like in this picture.

Oil. You can use any type of oil here. I usually put half canola half olive oil or just olive oil.

Flour. The cake will turn out too heavy if you’ll use only whole flour. It’s better to use only white flour or half and half.

In short

Boil all the topping ingredients excluding the flour in a small pot. Add 1 tbs of flour and set aside. Mix well all the cake ingredients excluding the flour and baking soda. Add the flour and baking soda gradually and mix only until the mixture becomes uniform. Place the mixture in a large english cake baking dish, cover with the topping (use a tablespoon). Bake in 180 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Take out when a toothpick comes out dry.