While I don’t like liquorice, or anything with a strong aniseed taste for that matter, it was curiosity that got the better of me on this one when I saw apple being paired with fennel and thought, let’s give it a go.  Well, I was amazed as to how much I loved the flavour profile.  There is just enough of the aromatic fennel coming through to complement the apple without overpowering it.  I guarantee you won’t be left wondering what flavours are in this cake.

Cake in a loaf tin

Apple & fennel seed cake

Delicious, moist, apple & fennel seed loaf cake
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Tea & Cake
Cuisine British
Servings 5

Equipment

  • 1 26cm x 13cm x 7.5cm loaf tin

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g eating apples cleaned weight, peeled, cored, chopped into small pieces
  • 200 g whole eggs
  • 200 g vegetable oil
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 200 g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 7.5 g fennel seeds

Instructions
 

Prepare the apples:

  • Peel and core the apples and chop into small pieces. You need 400g cleaned weight.
  • Put into a bowl and set aside.

Prepare the loaf tin, seeds and oven:

  • Line the bottom and sides of the tin with parchment and set aside.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C.
  • Put the fennel seeds on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5-10 mins until they are fragrant. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Make the cake:

  • In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs until doubled in volume.
  • Add the sugar and continue to whisk on high speed until ribbon stage is achieved.
  • Slowly pour in the oil and continue to whisk on high speed.
  • Sieve the flour and baking powder three times to ensure they are fully combined.
  • Lower the speed of the mixer and fold the flour into the egg mixture.
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the apple and fennel seeds by hand using a spatula.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake:

  • Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour until golden and risen and a skewer comes out clean.
  • Immediately remove the cake from the tin onto a cooling rack.
  • Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or crème fraiche.
Keyword apple cake, fennel seed

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