Squirrel - a perfect cake for autumn

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Today I'd like to share a recipe for an autumn cake called Squirrel, topped with a simple gingerbread icing and walnuts.


Our Squirrel is delicious and moist thanks to apples; add to it sweet, juicy cranberries, pleasantly crunchy walnuts and chocolate that brings depth of flavour. Icing goes great with it and underlines autumn vibe.

You'll find a list of ingredients, method and approximate nutritional value below.

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List of ingredients

Cake

  • 2 handfuls (~80 g) dried cranberries
  • 2 handfuls (~80 g) walnuts
  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 2 apples (~250 g after peeling)
  • 3/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 scant cups (~220 g) wheat flour
  • 2 tbsp (~20 g) cocoa
  • 1 scant tsp baking powder
  • 1 scant tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup (~120 g) sugar
  • 80 g unsalted butter

Icing

  • 160 g cream cheese
  • 60 g unsalted butter softened at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup (~80 g) icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 1 handful (~40 g) walnuts

Method

  1. Prepare extras. Put dry cranberries into a cup and cover it with boiling water. Set it aside to soak for 15 minutes. Roughly chop walnuts and dark chocolate. Rinse, peel and remove cores from apples; slice them into 1 cm cubes.
  2. Transfer apples into a bowl and add 3/2 tsp cinnamon. Stir thoroughly.
  3. Sift 220 g wheat flour, 20 g dark cocoa, and 1 scant tsp each of baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Add a small pinch of salt. Mix through with a whisk until fully combined.
  4. Pour 3 eggs into a large bowl and add 120 g caster sugar. Beat eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer at high speed, until light and fluffy, and all of sugar dissolves.
  5. Slowly trickle melted and cooled butter into the batter, continuing to mix at high speed.
  6. Once batter thickens up slightly and all of grease is in, turn down mixer speed and start adding dry ingredients, one or two spoonfuls at a time. Mix batter thoroughly each time before adding the next batch. Once all of flour is in add cubed apples, chopped walnuts and chocolate as well as drained cranberries. mix them in with a wooden spoon.
  7. Transfer batter into a square tin (20 x 20 cm) lined with baking paper. Spread it gently across the surface and even out the top. Bake the cake in a conventional oven preheated to 180 deg C for 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.
  8. Take the cake out of the oven and set it aside for 15 minutes in the tin to cool slightly. Take the cake out of the tin then and cool completely on a wire rack.
  9. Prepare the icing. Put 60 g butter, 165 g cream cheese, 80 g sugar, a scant tsp mixed spice and 1 tsp vanilla paste into a bowl. Combine all the ingredients with an electric mixer at low speed. Put icing into a fridge until cake is cool.
  10. Cover cool cake with icing and spread it evenly. Decorate with walnut halves. Serve immediately or on the next day.
  11. Enjoy!

Approximate nutritional value

100 g

  • 368 kcal
  • Carbs: 40 g 
  • Fat: 21 g
  • Protein: 6 g
  • Fibre: 2 g

1 slice (recipe makes 16 slices)

  • 304 kcal
  • Carbs: 33 g 
  • Fat: 17 g
  • Protein: 5 g
  • Fibre: 2 g

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