Fyriskaka

As much as I admire the sentiment and applaud those taking part, Veganuary and  Dry January are passing me by again. 

I know there’s been the inevitable overindulgence during the holiday period, not helped in my case by having a January 1st birthday. All of this followed by a week where ‘we better just finish this off’ seems to proceed every meal.

But taking this all into account, I still think a stricter adherence to position control is the best I’m going to manage. I need a little help to get me through January, not some self-imposed austerity.

All of this brings me to the Fyriskaka I made yesterday. A soft, sweet and spicy Swedish apple cake.

Apple cakes always feel so right to me at this time of year. The addition of spice, in some recipes a splash of whisky, and some flecks of dark bitter chocolate, gives them a wonderfully seasonal flavour.

Ingredients

• 130 grams butter
• 1 teaspoon crushed cardamon seeds ( You can use pre-ground, but seeds from pods you’ve opened and crushed always seem to have more flavour )
• 3 medium-sized apples
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar ( I used demerara, but if you don’t have that any brown sugar will work )
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 130 grams of caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 140 grams of flour ( I like to use spelt flour for extra flavour, but plain flour will work fine )
• 0.5 teaspoon baking powder

Method

• Grease and line a springform baking tin ( the one I used is 18 centimetres )
• Preheat the oven to 160c for a fan oven, 180c for electric or 350f for gas.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then stir in the crushed cardamon and leave to cool.
• Peel the apples and slice them thinly.
• Mix two tablespoons of brown sugar and the cinnamon in a bowl. Then add the sliced apple. Gently mix with your hands until all slices are covered in the sugar mix.
• In a second bowl whisk the cooled butter and the caster sugar until smooth. Then add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until combined.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into the butter/sugar mix and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined.
• Pour the cake batter into your lined baking tin and spread it out. Place the apple slices on the top and sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar over them. Don’t worry if you have to do two layers of apple slices to use them all up. 
• Bake for 35 minutes. The cake is done when a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

The fabulous smells of caramelised apple filling your kitchen will probably make it quite difficult to wait until the cake has cooled before you try a slice. But believe me, it’s worth it, and if you join me in a little bit of portion control, it will last even longer.