Chocolate Nut Apple Cake

For my dad’s birthday I baked this loaf cake.  At first I thought the apple/nut/chocolate combination would be strange, but it really works well together.  I just used a little more chocolate than the recipe asked for.  I found the recipe in Tarek Malouf’s Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.  I have read a number of blogs recently that swear these are awesome recipes, so I thought I’d give it a try.  This was a great recipe to start with!

You need to plan ahead a bit, as the batter needs to be refrigerated for a few hours or overnight. This is a great benefit it you want to make something freshly baked but don’t have time that day; just make the batter a day ahead and bake it when you need it.

What you need:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam (I used raspberry)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup mixed nuts (I used almonds, walnuts and coconut)
• 2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

What you do:

1. Beat the butter, sugar and jam with a mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is incorporated.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the mixing bowl, then beat it until incorporated.
4. Stir in the nuts, chocolate and apples until they are evenly distributed.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 325F.
6. Butter and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
7. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top down.
8. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test to see if is done by inserting a toothpick; if it comes out with no batter sticking to it the cake is done.
9. Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan.

Enjoy!