Mulled apple and spelt loaf
SERVES 6-8 // PREP TIME 20 MINS // COOK 45 MINS (PLUS COOLING)
“This loaf is delicious if eaten the day it’s made, but even better left overnight before being iced and eaten,” says Yu-Ching Lee. “An alternative to icing, if you’re not that way inclined, is to serve it thickly sliced and toasted, with a little salted butter.”
100 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature
220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar 2 eggs
Finely grated rind of
1 lemon
50 gm Greek-style yoghurt 50 ml apple cider
200 gm unsweetened apple sauce (see note)
½ tsp vanilla extract
210 gm white spelt flour
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cardamom 40 gm coarsely chopped
walnuts, plus extra to serve 30 gm dried apple, chopped
APPLE ICING
25 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature
125 gm pure icing sugar, sifted 20 ml apple cider
1 Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease a 23cm x 8cm loaf tin and line with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until incorporated. Combine lemon rind, yoghurt, cider, apple sauce, vanilla and ¼ tsp sea salt flakes in a separate bowl, then fold into butter mixture.
Sift in flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, fold to combine, then fold in walnut pieces and dried apple.
2 Spread mixture evenly in tin and bake until a skewer inserted withdraws clean
(45-50 minutes; cover with foil if browning too quickly). Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (about 2 hours).
3 For apple icing, beat butter, icing sugar and ¼ tsp salt flakes in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and creamy (2-3 minutes). Add apple cider and beat until well incorporated. Spread icing over loaf and decorate with extra walnuts. Loaf will keep for 3 days in an airtight container.
Note Unsweetened apple sauce is available from supermarkets.