Spiced Apple Stack Cake
Spiced Apple Stack Cake
Spiced Apple Stack Cake



600g dried apple slices

1.5 litres (6 cups) wate

220g (1 cup) firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

250g butter, softened

440g (2 cups) caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

300g (2 cups) plain flour

600g (4 cups) self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 

¼ teaspoon salt

160ml (⅔ cup) buttermilk

icing sugar, to dust

3 cinnamon sticks



1   Place apple and the water in a large saucepan; cover surface with a round of baking paper, then a small plate to weigh it down. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until apple is soft. Drain. Cool. Blend or process apple, in batches, until smooth; transfer to a large bowl. Stir brown sugar and spices into the warm apple. Chill.

2   Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease and line two oven trays with baking paper.

3   Beat butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Sift flours, soda and salt into another large bowl. Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, in three batches, until combined. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and combined.

4   Divide dough into eight equal portions. Roll one portion between sheets of baking paper into a 23cm round. Using a 22cm plate or cake pan as a guide, cut round from dough. Transfer to one tray. Repeat with anotherportion of dough and second tray.

5   Bake for 12 minutes, swapping trays from top to bottom halfway through cooking time or until golden. Stand rounds on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with remaining dough portions, in batches, to make eight rounds in total.

6          Place a cake round on a platter or cake stand; spread with a slightly rounded 100g (1/2 cup) of apple filling. Repeatlayering with remaining cake rounds and apple filling, finishing with a cake round. Cover cake with cling film; refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, dust cake with icing sugar; decorate with cinnamon sticks.