I’m always looking for something yummy to do with apples. We go through phases with them sometimes they’re in every snack and become a late night treat coupled with cheddar cheese. And then suddenly, we’ll be off them for weeks and I won’t be out of the habit of buying them so there will be piles of them, languishing prettily in a bowl in the kitchen until I take pity on them and turn them into apple sauce or some such thing.
This week I’m working with an abundance of ricotta that I bought, intending to use it for something before we got sick and then, well, 2 weeks of soup only due to a rotten cold really fouls up the plans. So I’m playing with ricotta cake recipes and fruit.
The Ricotta Pear Cake has been such a hit I’m trying an apple spice cake version. Where pears have a delicate flavor that needs subtlety to complement them, apples enjoy the interplay of a robust spice to highlight their flavor. I use whatever apples we happen to have around the house, which I know for some bakers is a travesty, but honestly, it always tastes good no matter what it’s made with and much of my experiments are based on a desire to not let ingredients we have in house go to waste. We tend toward Fuji, Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples so I can vouch for these in this recipe but I would assume a tart green apple would hold up nicely and there really are many varieties that bake up well, I recommend trying them all. 
This version should be a little more custardy, there’s a little more fruit, an extra egg and 1/4 cup more ricotta than you will find in the pear version. Keeping that in mind, you still want the toothpick to come out clean to be sure it’s cooked through. It also takes a little more time to bake so be patient, it’s worth it.
Let me know what you think!
MWAH!
Sabrina – The Kitchen Witch
Spiced Apple Ricotta Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 T Corn Starch
- 1 1/2 t Baking Powder
- 1/4 t Baking Soda
- 1/4 t Salt
- 1 lg Pinch Ground Star Anise
- 1/8 t Ground Ginger
- 1/8 t Ground Cardamom
- 1/16 t Ground Clove
- 1 t Ground Cinnamon
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 4 med Eggs
- 1 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
- 2 1/2 T Coconut Oil
- 2 t Vanilla
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 4 lg Ripe Apples
Instructions
- Grease and flour a springform pan which makes it easier to take out of the pan.
- Peel the apples and slice them into thin slices (I use a mandolin to ensure a uniform thickness), set aside.
- Combine all dry ingredients, except sugars, (flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, dry spices) and make sure it is sifted together well and there are no lumps.
- In a stand mixer, cream together the coconut oil, sugar, and vanilla adding the eggs one at a time.
- On low speed add the ricotta cheese to the cream mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated.
- Gently fold together the dry and creamed mixture, it will be thick.
- Place a layer of apple slices in the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon a thin layer of cake over the apples until they are thinly covered (I use a slice of apple to spread the cake mix as the juices in the apple allow you to spread the mix thinly without it sticking to it like it it sticks to a spatula or spoon).
- Repeat this process until you have several layers.
- I like to save a few nice pieces of apple to make a pattern in the top of the cake.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the cake in an even layer.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.