Ginger Apple Loaf Cake

This Ginger Apple Loaf Cake is fruity and sweet cake – perfect for chilly yet sunny days or a weekend with friends and family. After all apple, ginger and fudge are just a perfect combination in a cake! An easy apple loaf to make at home. Perfect for Fall bakes and Autumn baking. A family favourite easy recipe perfect for all ages. A great bonfire night cake too!

I absolutely love the Autumn thanks to all the winter spices like ground ginger, mixed spice and cinnamon. After all, they aren’t exactly summer flavours! I use them tons in baking – especially warming, spiced cakes – even better if fruit is involved!

This apple cinnamon loaf cake is so moreish and really does feel like autumn in each slice. It’s actually really quick and simple to mix up the batter, so you don’t need to worry if you’re a baking novice – no fear here!

Plus, Autumn is a great time for apples, which go perfectly with all of these spices! It would be silly not to combine the two. And so, this Ginger Apple Loaf Cake was born! It’s perfect for cold, dark evenings and tastes the way Bonfire night feels – like a warming celebration!

Turn this into a toffee apple loaf cake

Want to make this loaf even better? Try adding some fudge pieces! It is super simple to add them in before adding the mix into the loaf tin to bake. It adds a different type of sweetness to the finish bake.

The autumn cake is great cold, but even better warm with a cup of tea. After all, what sort of cake isn’t better with a nice hot mug of tea? I challenge you to think of one! Nobody in my house can refuse this cake – it’s gone practically the second it comes out of the oven!

Another fun fact: the basket in these photos was a car boot sale find at only £2! It makes a lovely picnic basket and I’ll definitely be using it all year round!

What ingredients do I need to make this apple loaf cake?

None of the ingredients are difficult to find, but you might need to make some substitutions if you can’t find them all so it’s definitely useful to pay attention to this part!

• Large cooking apples – I like bramley apples here, although if you prefer Granny Smith apples then they work brilliantly too! This bramley apple loaf cake has such a brilliant taste from this apple variety. You can either peel and chop the apples or you can grate the apple in once peeled. If you grate it squeeze out liquid before adding it to the mixture. A grated apple loaf cake gives a consistent level of apple throughout and will help create a moist apple loaf cake.
• Regular eating apples – I like royal gala, but you can use whatever your favourite is!
• A few tablespoons of lemon juice – fresh squeezed is always better, but no worries if you only have bottled – it isn’t the end of the world by any stretch!
• Unsalted butter. It’s worth shelling out for butter instead of margarine here even if you do typically use margarine – butter is best!
• Soft light brown sugar – not dark brown sugar or granulated sugar. Each one has a different moisture level, which can affect the final cake so it’s important to use light brown sugar so that it’s not too dry or too soggy.
• 4 medium eggs – don’t use large here. The different size will affect the final cake quite dramatically so it’s worth buying medium eggs even if you typically use large ones!
• Self-raising flour. You can substitute plain flour and extra baking powder, but most people usually have self-raising flour so hopefully it won’t be necessary in your case!
• Baking powder to make sure that the cake rises properly and isn’t too dense or hard. After all, nobody likes an overly dense cake!
• Mixed spice – if you can’t find any then use an even blend of nutmeg and cinnamon to recreate the flavour.
• Ground ginger. This is a pretty key ingredient, so it’s best to avoid trying to replace it with fresh ginger or any other substitutes!
• Fudge pieces – these are usually found in the baking aisle with the chocolate chips at most supermarkets.
• Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top once it’s cool – which, of course, is strictly optional!

So nothing too rare – it just looks like a lot! You should already have most things and be able to find the rest fairly easily.

Now, on to the method!

What Equipment do I need?

Another great thing about this moist Apple Loaf Cake is that you really don’t need lots of equipment.

This equipment list contains affiliate links;

2Lb loaf tin – I like this from Tala. It’s a good brand and affordable too.

Loaf tin liners – these are great for making loafs and easily getting them out of the tin once baked.

Peeler – for the apples

Large mixing bowl – I love mason cash bowls so they will also be recommended from me.

Stand mixer – I always choose KitchenAid as I love mine but there are many other stand mixers available.

Kitchen scales – so incredibly useful for baking.

What substitutions can I make?

This recipe is brilliantly adaptable. You can add substitute a few ingredients really easily.

GINGER

I use ground ginger for this recipe but you could add in grated fresh ginger or even thinly sliced preserved ginger to add extra spice. An apple and ginger loaf is such a wonderful combination of flavours.

CHOCOLATE

Apple and chocolate loaf might sound a bit odd but it certainly is delicious. Just before putting the mix into the loaf tin to bake you could add 100g of your favourite chocolate chips.

GLUTEN-FREE APPLE LOAF

This recipe can easily be turned gluten-free by removing the flour and replacing it with 275g of gluten-free flour. I recommend Dove’s farm flour as I have tried it with that brand. It might need a little more or less depending on the flour density.

It is also easy to find gluten-free baking powder in supermarkets too.

APPLES

Grating the apples or chopping them – A grated apple loaf cake gives a consistent level of apple throughout and will help create a moist apple loaf cake. If you leave it chunky you get a nicer proportion of cake to apple bites. Both work and work are delicious.

If you don’t have Bramley apples you can easily replace them with regular eating apples.

CINNAMON

Add in extra cinnamon to turn this recipe into a Ginger and cinnamon loaf cake. Ginger and cinnamon are possibly two of my most favourite flavours so this always gets my vote. This isn’t like the ginger loaf cake by Nigella but is a lighter bake and one that I’m sure you will come back to!

Recipes with bramley apples

Bramley apples are possibly one of the most underrated cooking ingredients. They are chunky and tasty. Of course not raw but that doesn’t matter for this cinnamon apple loaf. Unlike regular apples, Bramley apples are larger and pretty sour until cooked. They are a perfect ingredient for a crumble and of course cake!

Bramley apples can be grated or chopped or mashed down for different recipes. At Christmas I make apple sauce out of mine, I also love making cranberry crumble with them too.

For this recipe, you don’t need to cook the Bramley apples before use. You only need thinly slice and mix in. As the apple loaf cake cooks in the oven the apple will cook. The sweet batter will also help reduce some of the sourness too.

Looking for other Bramley apple recipes? Try these…

Christmas Crumble with oat topping

I love apple crumble so I had to put a Christmas twist on it and make an Apple and Cranberry Christmas Crumble with oat crumble topping. Adding cranberries makes the festive crumble extra special and perfect for a winter dessert.

Autumn Apple and Blackberry Cake

Autumn is a delicious time of year for apples and blackberries so we why not whip up this simple and yet delicious Autumn Apple and Blackberry Cake.

Christmas Apple and Cinnamon Bundt Cake

This is a delicious bake and a favourite of mine during the festive period. Try my Christmas Apple and Cinnamon Bundt cake.

How do I make this autumn Apple Cake?

The method is actually pretty easy despite the intimidating-looking list of ingredients! So long as you follow these simple instructions on how to make this easy apple cake, you shouldn’t have a problem!

1. Line 2 loaf tins and preheat the oven. You can use liners or cut greaseproof paper to fit.
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a stand mixer until light and fluffy or by hand if you don’t have a mixer.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and mix in on low speed.
4. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mix and gently mix them in.
5. Peel and chop the apples into small chunks and sprinkle over the lemon juice, blotting off any excess juice with kitchen paper.
6. Fold in the apple pieces and add the mixture to the loaf tins (with half the mixture in each)
7. Bake until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean then leave to cool on a wire rack.
8. Sprinkle with granulated sugar once cool if you like.

Nothing too complicated! 

Why do you put lemon juice on apples?

If you’re wondering why I’ve used the lemon juice on the apples, then it’s just to avoid the apple pieces browning after you chop them. It’s mostly superficial, but it just makes them look prettier in the finished apple loaf cake! It also adds a touch of acid to the cake which helps the texture of the cake and apples develop properly as it bakes.

The gorgeous and photogenic Autumn Cake ready to be taken to an Autumn picnic.

Apple Ginger Loaf for Autumn

Happy Autumn! This is a great apple ginger loaf to make and smells wonderful when cooking and when eating too. I love the sugar on the top to add a slight crunch to the final bake. I love Autumn for the delicious fruit to use in my bakes. The mix of apple and ginger really does make me think of Autumn and the start of using richer spices as winter and Christmas approaches. You really can’t go wrong with this ginger and apple loaf cake.

How long does the apple loaf cake last? How do I store a loaf cake?

Storing a ginger apple loaf cake is very similar to how you would store a regular cake. Keep it in an air tight container in a cool place. The loaf cake will last about 3 days up to 5 days if you don’t eat it all at once.

Serving Suggestions

This apple loaf cake is so good on its own but there definitely a few ways you can add to the fun of eating it.

When it’s still warm I have tried it with custard – it turned it from a bake into a dessert and was very good indeed. The same goes for ice cream. It melts over the hot apples and how wonderful is that.

If this going to be served for an Autumn afternoon tea for example a dusting of icing sugar makes it look picture perfect.

Other easy Autumn recipes you might like

Blackberry Cake with ginger

Have you been picking blackberries or have some to use up? This moist and slightly spicy Blackberry Cake is a yoghurt based bundt cake with mixed spice, ground ginger and fresh blackberries. It is a warming bake for blackberry fans. Plus a great way to use up any extras to make them last a little longer.

Slow Cooked Venison Sausage Casserole

This delicious Slow Cooked Venison Sausage Casserole makes the most of deer sausages with a flavour packed sauce full of veggies and potatoes. It's as easy to make in the crockpot as it is in the oven and the ingredients are super versatile – you can even make this into a pork sausage casserole.

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Ginger Apple Loaf Cake

Sisley White

This Ginger Apple Loaf Cake is fruity and sweet cake – perfect for chilly yet sunny days or a weekend with friends and family. After all apple, ginger and fudge are just a perfect combination in a cake! An easy apple loaf to make at home. Perfect for Fall bakes and Autumn baking. A family favourite easy recipe perfect for all ages. A great bonfire night cake too!

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Bakes, Dessert

Cuisine British, International

Servings 20 slices

Calories 224 kcal

Equipment

• Mixing bowl
• Stand Mixer
• Kitchen Scales
• Wooden spoon
• 2lb Loaf tin
• loaf tin liners

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 2 (2) cooking apples
• 3 (3) regular eating apples (I used Royal Gala)
• 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) lemon juice
• 250 grams (1.1 cups) unsalted butter
• 250 grams (1.14 cups) light brown soft sugar
• 4 (4) medium eggs
• 250 grams (2 cups) self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) baking powder
• ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) mixed spice (nutmeg and cinnamon)
• 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
• 100 grams (0.5 cups) fudge pieces (I got mine from Sainsburys)
• 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar (sprinkle when cool)

Instructions

 

• Line 2 x 2lb loaf tins with liners and preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. You can do this in a stnad mixer or by hand in a mixing bowl.
• Add the eggs one a time and mix in.
• Sieve the flour and baking powder in to the mix and gently stir it in.
• Add the spices and fudge pieces and gently fold into the mixture.
• Peel and chop the apples in to small 1cm size chunks.
• Sprinkle on the lemon juice and using kitchen paper blot off any excess juice.
• Mix into the cake mixture and divide evenly between the two loaf tins.
• Pop into the oven and bake for 40-55 minutes until golden brown and until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Leave to cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
• You can serve it warm or cold. Both taste great.

Notes

• It tastes good cold and also works really well when it’s still warm with custard or ice cream.

• It is easily to store in an air tight container somewhere cool.

• It will last for 3-5 days if you don’t manage to eat it all on the first day.

Nutrition

Calories: 224kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 61mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 1gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 385IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Keyword apple cake, apple loaf cake, Apple, Ginger and Fudge Autumn Cake, autumn apple cakes, Autumn cakes, ginger apple loaf, Ginger Apple Loaf Cake

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