Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake

Inspired by a Bulgarian dessert, this Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake features Sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice alongside crunchy apples and subtle cinnamon for a  sweet baked treat that you most definitely will not want to share.

Good morning guys, how was your weekend? Adelaide had the good fortune of a lovely three day weekend, which was spectacularly good timing for us to get the house sorted.

I think we’ve moved around 75% of our stuff now, and just being able to spend the last few nights at home, waking up in our own bed, was an absolute treat.

I know that sounds a bit silly. But you guys know how long we’ve been waiting for this! 😛

This morning we woke up feeling super refreshed and ready to take up that old morning ritual of hitting the streets with our pup Bonnie.

Yep. It feels so goooood to be back.

Ooooh wait wait wait. I don’t think we’ve introduced Bonnie! Here’s a quick pic of our little scruffy cuddle monster:

How on earth did we go a whole year without THAT FACE in our lives!?

Anyway, now there are just a few things waiting to get their butts over to our house. Next on the hit list? TV Unit and PlayStation collection.

Although how in the world they weren’t FIRST on the list I’ll never know.

(I’m lookin’ at you Sarah. >_> <_< )

A few days ago we thought it’d be a cool idea to invite a couple of awesome friends over for breakfast. We had ambitious plans to whip up a batch of homemade pancakes and try out our new idea for a Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake.

As they were arriving though, we kinda remembered a small yet relevant fact. You know that bold statement we made on Saturday about having a fully functional kitchen?

Yeah well, that might have been a teensy bit of a white lie.

You see in all the excitement of moving we kinda forgot that we don’t have a gas connection until Wednesday…

Eeep?

Cue the mini portable gas burner. It may be tiny, it may be cheap, but it was enough. Pancakes saved!

We set up the little burner that could outside on the porch because safety-first, and so the whole group ended up moving outside as well to bask in the pancake ambiance.

Even the neighbours were enjoying parfum de pancake from the sounds of it. 😛

Once the pancakes were golden and fluffy we had a very sophisticated breakfast (or should I say brunch?) sitting outside on plastic outdoor chairs at a decadent cardboard table.

Ohhh yehs darrrrling. It was an eeeelegant breakfast party. Sniff.

Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake

Meanwhile the Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake was rising to crispy golden perfection in our actually-functioning electric oven.

Made from a sweet vanilla base, crunchy apples, subtle cinnamon and tart sumac, it’s one of Sarah’s favourite cakes to whip up for a tasty dessert, and my favourite when smothered in a dollop of cream. 😀

Oddly enough we first stumbled across sumac in Bulgaria, where we learned from our couchsurfing host Boris (you know, the one that taught us this Easy White Bean Salad) that sumac + apple is most definitely a pairing that you need in your life.

Made from the flowers of a wild Middle Eastern berry bush, you can easily sprinkle this tangy spice over fresh apple slices for a deliciously healthy snack and eat to your heart’s content. (Keen to find out how else it can be used? Check out Serious Eats’ guide on how to use sumac here.)

But we think this pairing is EVEN BETTER when whipped up into a deliciously soft and fluffy cake.

There’s just one problem. For all those uncooked cake batter addicts out there (raise your hands, I know you’re there), this one is going to be extremely hard to avoid taste-testing.

Sorry-not-sorry?

Resist though, and you’ll be rewarded when that spicy apple crunch melts into soft, sweet vanilla heaven.

Have you cooked with Sumac before? What’s your favourite way use it? Join the conversation on our Facebook page – see you there!

Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake

This Spiced Apple Cinnamon Sumac Cake features Sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice, crunchy apples and subtle cinnamon for a sweet baked treat.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Course: Cake

Cuisine: Bulgarian

Servings: 6

Author: Wandercooks

Ingredients

• 1 granny smith apple finely diced
• 250 g brown sugar
• 125 g butter softened
• 2 eggs
• 125 ml full cream milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cinnamon sugar
• 3 tbsp sumac
• 1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius. Grease a medium rectangular baking dish with butter and set aside.
• Add 2/3 cup sugar and the butter to a large bowl. Blend until creamy with an electric mixer.
• Add eggs and vanilla extract. Continue to blend until well combined.
• Add flour gradually while blending. Once flour has been incorporated, add the milk and combine until mixture reaches a smooth texture.
• Pour half of the cake mixture into baking dish. Top with half of the diced apple, cinnamon sugar, brown sugar and sumac.
• Cover with remaining cake mixture and top again with remaining apple, cinnamon sugar, brown sugar and sumac.
• Bake for 40 - 50 minutes (depending on your oven) until a skewer pressed into the cake comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Hey hey – Did you make this recipe?We’d love it if you could give a star rating below ★★★★★ and show us your creations on Instagram! Snap a pic and tag @wandercooks / #Wandercooks