Apple and Cinnamon Genoise Cake

A delicious and light Genoise sponge cake, filled with cream and an apple & cinnamon compote made the perfect birthday cake to celebrate mum's birthday.

So, let's get to it and bake!

Apple and Cinnamon Genoise Cake     Yum

Yield: 1 x 20cm cake
Serves: 10
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: hands on time about 35 minutes; plus 20-25 minutes bake time; cooling time
Freezable: Yes, undecorated
Adapted from: 'Cinnamon and Apple Gateau' in the book Cakes and Cake Decorating

You will need:

Large Glass Mixing Bowl
Pan
1 x small Pan
Electric Hand Held Beater
Teatowl
Sieve
Spatula or large Metal Spoon
20cm Springform Cake Tin
Greaseproof Paper
Wooden Spoon
Balloon Whisk
Serrated Bread Knife
Pallet Knife
Piping Bag
Star Piping Nozzle
Paring Knife
Pastry Brush

For the sponge mixture

4 medium eggs
65g Golden Caster Sugar
60g Caster Sugar
125g Plain Flour (I used gluten free) + 1 tsp for greasing
32g Unsalted Butter + extra for greasing

For the Apple Compote

2 large Eating Apples
1 medium Bramley Apple
40g Clear Runny Honey
50ml Water
60g Sultanas
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Filling

150g Full Fat Cream Cheese
25g Fromage Frais
15ml Clear Runny Honey
1 tsp Lemon Juice

For the Chantilly Cream

200ml Double Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
4 tsp Icing Sugar (or to taste)

To Decorate

1 Large Eating Apple (ideally with red skin)
½ Lemon, juice of
2 dessert spoons smooth Apricot Jam
1 dessert spoon Water

How to make it:

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 200c / Fan 180c / Gas 6.

2.  Prepare the cake tin.  Grease the insides of the cake tin thoroughly and line the base with greaseproof paper.  Place the teaspoon of flour into the greased cake tin and, holding it on its side and over the sink, tap the cake tin so that the flour adheres to the greased sides of the tin.  Knock out any excess flour.

3. Weigh the cake ingredients.  Have all of your cake ingredients ready as you need to work swiftly once the batter has been beaten to help reduce the loss of volume.  Sieve the flour 3 times.  Fold a tea towl into quarters and place on the work surface.

4.  Melt the butter.  Place the butter into a small pan and set over a low heat to slowly melt.  Remove from the heat once it has melted and set aside.

5.  Make the sponge.  Add some water to the pan so that it is no more than a quarter full.  Break the eggs into a large glass bowl and suspend this bowl over the pan.  Ensure the water in the pan doesn't touch the bowl.   Place the pan over a low heat on the hob.  Using the electric beaters (or balloon whisk if you're feeling energetic) lightly whisk the eggs.  Add the two sugars and continue beating on a medium setting for about 7 minutes.  The egg mixture will initially be frothy, but will gradually become thicker the longer the mixture is beaten.  You're aiming for ribbon stage.  This is where the mixture leaves a trail on the surface when  the beaters are lifted.  You should be able to write the number 8 without the ribbon sinking into the mixture until the number has been completed.

6.  Fold in the flour and butter.  Remove the bowl from the pan and sit it on the tea towel.  Pour the butter down the side of the bowl into the mixture so that it's not landing directly onto the top of the aerated batter.  Sieve the flour into the mixture.  Using a spatula or large metal spoon start to gently fold the flour and butter into the mixture.  Ensure you get to the bottom of the bowl where flour can become trapped.  Avoid over working the mixture.  The batter will deflate a little during this process, but do aim to work gently yet speedily.

7.  Fill the cake tin.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin from a low height.

8.  Bake.  Place the cake tin in the centre of the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.  You may need to rotate the tin after 20 minutes of baking.   Once baked, remove from the oven and place on a cooling tray.  Remove the sponge from the cake tin after a couple of minutes and allow to fully cool.

9.  Make the compote.  While the cake is baking make the apple compote.  Peel, core and chop the apples.  Place into a pan with the honey and water.  Set over a medium heat and allow to cook stirring periodically with a wooden spoon.  After about 10 minutes, the apples will have broken down.  Add the sultanas and ground cinnamon.  Stir again and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.

10.  Prepare the apricot jam.  Place 2 dessert spoons of apricot jam into a small pan with one spoon of water.  Set over a low heat allowing the jam to loosen.  Stir thoroughly to mix it with the water.  Pour into a bowl and set aside.

11.  Prepare the cream cheese filling.  Place the cream cheese, fromage frais, honey and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk together until well combined.  Avoid over mixing.  Set aside.

12.  Prepare the chantilly cream.  Pour the cream into another bowl.  Using a balloon whisk beat the cream until it has reached soft peak stage.  Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and stir together, avoid over beating it.

13.  Assemble the cake.  Once the cake is fully cold place it onto the board / stand you want to serve it on.   Use a serrated bread knife to cut the cake in half horizontally.   Carefully set the top half aside.  Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the cut surface of the cake and spread it out almost to the edge with a pallet knife or back of a spoon.   Using a spoon distribute the apple compote over the top of the cream cheese frosting.  Level it out with the pallet knife or back of a spoon.   Place the top half of the cake onto the filled base, ideally in the same orientation that it was removed.  Fit the piping bag with a star nozzle and fill with the chantilly cream.  Starting in the centre of the cake pipe rosettes to the top surface.  Continue until the whole of the top of the cake is covered.   Pipe rosettes along the cut seam of the cake.    Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl.  With a paring knife, or similar, core and thinly slice the remaining eating apple.  Toss the apple slices in lemon juice to prevent them from browning.   Arrange the slices to the top of the cake.  Using a pastry brush,  lightly coat the apple slices with a little of the loosened apricot jam.