Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake

Last week I made an amazing Classic Green Mint Chutney from Spices & Seasons, and this week I wanted to try something sweet from the book.  A couple of recipes caught my eye, but there was one I just could not resist - a Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake.

The inspiration for this recipe was a cake from David Lebovitz, which the author adapted by adding Indian tea spices and apple.  I tend to stay away from recipes that use a large amount of molasses, but I was intrigued by the idea of marrying a traditional American cake with spices from India. As it turns out I did not have as much molasses in the bottle as I thought I did, so I ended up using ½ cup of molasses and ½ cup of Golden Syrup. A quick tip for getting sticky things out of measuring cups - measure the oil first, then the molasses and the molasses will slide right out of the measuring cup.

After getting everything measured, and chopping the apples this cake is a breeze to put together.  I ended up making it in my KitchenAid just because the clean up is a little easier than my food processor, and seriously I think my food processor qualifies as weight lifting.

I know this really isn't a very "summer-ish" dessert, but who says that spice cakes can only be eaten in winter?  I am planning on making this again soon, and serving it with a ginger-flavored cream. Warm from the oven it was so good, and the apples did not get completely soft so there was a great texture to the cake.

There are so many recipes that I want to try from this book including Slow-cooked Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Ginger, Tandoori Spice Roasted Potatoes, and Red Chili, Garlic, and Cardamom Lamb - and that is only the beginning. 

Next week I am going to do a review of the book and one lucky person will win a copy of this book, so make sure you check back and enter to win.

Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup regular strength molasses
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup of water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 2½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick
• 6 to 8 cloves
• ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
• ¼ teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 apples (preferably Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped
• 2 large eggs

Preparation

1. Grease and flour a round 10 inch springform or bundt cake pan (I sprayed with Baker's Secret).
2. Pre-heat the oven to 350℉.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil.
4. Place 1 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When it has just started boiling, stir in the baking soda and remove form heat. Mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger.
5. Sift the flour into the bowl of a food processor or mixing bowl. Place the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom seeds, and black peppercorns in a spice or coffee grinder and grind until smooth. Stir into the flour.
6. Add the apples to the flour and pulse a few times, until well mixed.
7. Gradually add the molasses mixture and pulse until well mixed (if using a regular mixing bowl, you can use an electric mixer for this purpose).
8. Beat the eggs and add to the batter and mix until thoroughly combined.
9. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.
10. Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

Recipe from Spices & Seasons by Rinku Bhattacharya