Sweat Treats: Curd cake with caramelised apples

If you want a new baking or dessert recipe to add to your repertoire then look no further than this sweet treat, which makes the most of juicy apples.

You can never have enough ideas for dessert and this curd cake with caramelised apples is sure to hit the sweet spot for any dinner guests, family or friends you might be entertaining this summer.

Or why not make it for yourself to enjoy with a nice cup of tea or your morning coffee throughout the week? The ways in which you can enjoy this sweet treat are undoubtedly endless.

If curd cake isn’t enough then why not have a go at some of our other sweet treat recipes, such as this white chocolate and strawberry mousse or this salted chocolate butternut squash tart?

Curd cake with caramelised apples

(Serves 8-10) 

Ingredients

• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g apples, cored and sliced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 500g ricotta or good-quality cottage cheese
• 120g fine semolina or polenta
• Pinch of salt

Method

1. Melt 25g of the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the apples and cook for two to three minutes on each side until they start to turn golden.
2. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and cook the apples for another minute on each side, then transfer the caramelised apples to a bowl and let them cool slightly.
3. Preheat your oven to 200C/Fan 180F/Gas Mark 6 and grease a 20cm square or round cake tin with butter. Lay the apples in the base of the cake tin.
4. If, like me, you left your butter out in the kitchen overnight, but it was so blooming cold it didn’t soften properly, cut the rest of it into small pieces.
5. Whatever state the butter is in, put it into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, along with 150g of the caster sugar, and whisk until it’s looking fairly fluffy.
6. Break the egg yolks with a fork and gradually add them, whisking well, then whisk in the vanilla extract and cheese. Transfer the mixture to another bowl, then fold in the semolina or polenta (the latter will result in a cake with more texture).
7. Wash and dry your mixer bowl and whisk attachment, then put in the egg whites and whisk until they start frothing up. Add the remaining 50g of caster sugar and salt and keep whisking until you have soft peaks.
8. Now take a large spoonful of the egg white mixture and fold it quite vigorously into the butter and cheese mixture to loosen it up.
9. Add the rest of the egg white and fold in gently. Pour the mixture over the apples in the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until it is a little wobbly, but not liquid. Remember it will set more firmly as it cools.
10. Leave the cake in its tin to rest and cool down, then slice and serve. Some unsweetened tea with lemon goes perfectly with this.

Recipe from Summer Kitchens by Olia Hercules is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Recipe photography by Joe Woodhouse.