This is our 4th bake for The Home Bakers! The chosen cake this time is originally a Pear Pinwheel and Hazelnut Cake by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids - I know I know... my cake looks nothing like a pinwheel at all and the name of my cake is apple instead of pear...
Well, I tried hunting down this Anjou / Bosc pears that was originally stated in the recipe, but I couldn't find them at all. On the other hand, there were so many other types of pears to choose from that made me so lost and confused, so I decided to just use Granny Smith apples instead.
As for the pinwheel part, I baked only ½ of the recipe and though I could have baked it in a very tiny pan, I saw my heart-shaped silicon mould lying in the back of my cupboard... (the last time I used it was like... probably a year or more ago?!) So heart-shape cakes they became!
Making this cake is definitely not difficult, just that extra time is needed to toast and grind the nuts and peel, core and slice the apples. I decided to mix in huge chunks of apples into the cake, hoping to give it a more apple taste.
The resulting cake is sweet, sour, nutty and cinnamon-y at the same time. The hazelnut taste really came through very strongly in the cake and the apples lend the cake a nice sweet and sour taste. The cinnamon's a bit too strong for my mom but I quite liked the overall taste. The apples that are mixed inside are very soft and mushy, while the ones on top are slightly firmer. The cakes are also very, very moist, probably a bit too moist for me.
Overall, I like the cake base because it's easy and very nutty (I would try substituting with other nuts in the future), but I would probably swap out the apples for berries or chocolate (imagine hazelnut and nutella!) the next time I bake them.
And now for the step-by-step photos!
Toast the hazelnuts in a 180 degrees Celsius oven for 10 minutes.
Let the toasted nuts cool completely and combine it with some flour in a food processor.
Pulse the nuts until they are powdery.
(One trick that I've found out when grinding nuts is to not grind them for too long at one time in the food processor. Pulse them several times, resting for a while between pulses. This will greatly help in preventing the ground nuts from clumping together. I suspect this is because continuous grinding heat up the blades which in turn heat up the nuts, causing them to release more oil, making them clumpy.)
In a mixing bowl, combine brown sugar and some room temperature unsalted butter.
Beat with an electric mixer and add in 1 egg.
Beat again until the egg has been fully incorporated then dump in the nut-flour mixture.
Fold until fully incorporated - the mixture will be slightly lumpy if your nuts are not fine enough, but no worries!
Refrigerate the batter while you prepare the apples.
Peel the apple and cut it into half...
... then into quarters.
Remove both ends.
Place the knife at a diagonal at the core of the apple and gently slice it in halfway.
Turn the apple 180 degrees and do the same thing, then twist the knife upwards and the core should come out easily.
Something like this!
Slice the apple into half...
... Then turn it 90 degrees and dice it.
Repeat for all the apples, except for ½ apple, which I sliced it for the topping
Place the diced apples in a small bowl.
Add in flour and cinnamon and toss to coat.
Add into the batter and mix it in.
Divide the batter among the muffin-lined pans (or any cute pans you may have).
Top with the reserved slices of apple (I ended up with 6 mini-cakes but I only had 10 slices... so one was without the topping.)
Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Yum!
Do join us at The Home Bakers (click on the picture for more information!)
I'm going to list down the ingredients I used for this recipe as I've made quite a bit of changes, for the instructions, please visit Zoe's blog!
And do hop over here to see other bloggers' beautiful bakes!
Happy baking!
Apple Hazelnut Cake (makes 6 mini-cakes)
adapted from Coffee Cakes by Lou Seibert Pappas.
Cake batter:
55 grams hazelnuts, toasted and cooled
1 ½ tablespoons plain flour
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons tightly packed (40 grams) brown sugar
1 egg
Apples:
1 ½ Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced (to be mixed into the batter)
½ Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced (to be place on top of the cake before baking)
1 tablespoon plain flour
½ tablespoon cinnamon
Kit says
This is so sweet! Love how you've made them in mini heart shape that made me 'melt' too! Great cakes with beautiful substitution using apples! Fabulous idea! Simply WONDERFUL! 🙂
AmyHull says
Oh wow! What a beautiful post, your photos are gorgeous! Took a look at your blog after you liked one of mine.. and I'm hooked! So inspiring, love it! Wish I could eat one of those right now! hehe
Apple, Maple and Oatmeal Crumble « Food Is My Life says
[...] (Photos are actually taken from the previous post…) [...]
Jasline says
Thank you for the compliments! 🙂
yummychunklet says
Love those heart shapes! Great process photos.
Jasline says
Hi Zoe, thank you for the compliments! 🙂
Zoe says
That's an amazing transformation! Your heart-shaped apple cakes look very cute 😀
Jasline says
Thank you Raymund! I'll make a fresh batch and send you one! 🙂
Jasline says
Thank you Jeannie! I see... hope to see your bake in the next THB! 🙂
Jasline says
Thank you! I found this for you: http://amzn.to/LV63gx
Jasline says
Thank you! I'm glad you like them 🙂
Jasline says
Thank you for the compliment Lena. Haha lucky I have my food processor to grind it for me, I'm always in awe as to how the people in olden days grind their own flour and nuts!
Jasline says
Thank you Bobbi, I'll make sure I send you more than two... you will need some to feed your hungry teenager 😉
Jasline says
Aww thank you Janine! I'm already brainstorming of what next to bake with this mould 😉
Jasline says
Thank you for the compliments Mich!
rsmacaalay says
That cake looks really moist! I want one
Jeannie says
I think your cake looks so wonderful, love that mould of yours! I too couldn't find pears and did thought of using apples instead, but that is out of the theme so I decided not to bake for this round.
Luv What You Do says
These are so cute!!!
I love the heart mini muffin pan. I need to find me one of those!
cakeboule says
Love mini cakes and you have inspired me to try some sometime soon as I love the fact these are heart shaped!
lena says
i always like to see you baking into minis..you always make them look so cute and pretty! i;m glad that i hv ground hazelnut in my fridge otherwise i would hv to grind them myself ..something that i dont always look forward to do! haha!
Bam's Kitchen says
Because they are mini cakes I can have two, right? These look so moist and I love your silicone pan. BAM
Janine says
i'm jealous of your heart shaped mould too! uber cute, and it just elevates your simple coffee cake to something so much more!
Mich - Piece of Cake says
I love your heart shaped baking tin! The mini cakes are so beautiful!
Jasline says
Thank you Uru! I hope you make these soon 😉
Jasline says
Thank you Anuja! I really should make more heart-shape desserts with this mould!
Jasline says
Hey suts! Thanks for the note! Giant's really far from my house.. but I'll definitely go check it out when I can! Ahh I really should get shux to make the crumble for us next time!
Jasline says
Thank you Chaya! Wow I can't wait to see all the pear recipes on your blog!
Jasline says
Thank you! It is indeed pretty tasty 😀
Jasline says
Thank you!
Jasline says
Thank you Shira, I guess I need to make more bakes using the heart-shape moulds! 😉
Jasline says
Thank you for the compliments Sibella!
Jasline says
Aww I wish I can send one over right now!
Jasline says
Thank you! I agree.. I still have so many bakes on my to-bake list! If only I have 48 hours a day instead of 24...
Jasline says
Thank you Joyce! yea it's a bit too moist but I really liked the hazelnut taste. I think the moistness probably comes from the apples.. will try with other substitutions next time 🙂 Have a great week ahead!
Anuja says
OMG your heart shaped mould is super cute. Love the idea of making mini cakes.
suts says
hey jas check out giant for bosc or anjour pear(if really want it). it maybe seasonal...saw them early this yr in giant n they were fm USA. i prefer bosc cos they r sweeter n crunchier...nice for making pear crumble(e only thing that shux knows how to make).
Chaya says
I have fallen in love with those molds. They make adorable little cakes. When I made this, I also thought apples but fortunately, my husband had brought back a large number of pears which were too ripe. I had to use them so I made the pear cake and then I made another pear cake and a pear crumble. We will be eating baked pear dishes, for a while.
Thanks for teaching me the proper way to core an apple.
A_Boleyn says
A charming mini-cake. I'm sure it was just as tasty with apples instead of pears.
Choc Chip Uru says
Your photography just makes me want to dive in and take a bite 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
putneyfarm says
Great photos...
Shira says
This looks just wonderful and your photos are fabulous - the hearts are just too much (in the best possible way) 🙂
Sibella says
Wonderful looking cakes Jasline! You are such a great baker! 🙂
mydearbakes says
I got hungry just by looking at your post! =)
mybeautfulthings says
These look brilliant! I'm collecting so many recipes from blogs I'm going to be cooking for ever! 🙂
kitchen flavours says
Hi Jasline, Your mini cakes are so cute! Lovely silicone mould! Great changes that you've made with chunks of apples in the cake! This cake is a little too moist for me too! My daughter likes it.
Great bake! Looking forward to the next bake!
Have a lovely weekend!