This cake combines my two favourite textures: a soft sponge and the crunch of a crumble. It also combines my love for a sweet treat with my gym-loving boyfriend’s protein fix. It varies from brand to brand, but with our protein powder of choice, there’s roughly 35g of protein per loaf cake.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Makes at least 12 servings
Ingredients
For the apple compote:
- 2-3 apples, preferably a kind that’s sweet and tart, like Jazz or Braeburn, but you do you!
- 3tsp brown sugar
- 3tsp granulated, white, sugar
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-2tbsp butter
- A pinch of salt
- A splash of amaretto (Optional)
For the crumble:
- 1tsp butter (fridge cold)
- 2tsp granulated sugar
- 2tsp plain flour
For the batter:
- 250ml granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 300ml plain flour
- 100ml (about 45g) vanilla-flavoured whey protein powder
- 1tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 100ml milk
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tbs vanilla extract (optional)
- 1tsp chia seeds
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175 C, 165 C for fan-assisted ovens.
- Peel, core, and cut the apples into small pieces (about ½ inch cubes, ideally).
- Combine with brown and granulated sugar, butter, salt and cinnamon in a saucepan and simmer until softened; remember that they’ll soften further in the oven. Add Amaretto to taste, if you feel like it. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the cold butter and sugar, then add the flour to make the crumble. It’s ready when it’s flakey and powdery. Set aside.
- For the sponge batter, mix egg and sugar thoroughly. Get it as fluffy as your arm muscles allow, unless you’re blessed with an electric mixer. Add the milk and vanilla extract then stir.
- Combine flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, in a bowl. Mix well.
- Add the dry mix to the egg mixture, and stir until smooth.
- Add chia seeds for fibre, or opt-out if that’s not your thing.
- Spray with oil or butter in a bread tin. Mine measures 9 ½ x 5 x 2 ½ inches.
- Not unlike a lasagna, layer batter and apple compote. I try to keep the majority of the compote closer to the top of the tin – but they’ll sink regardless.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly on top and pop in the oven for 60 minutes.
- The cake is done when measuring roughly 97 C internally, or when the knife you stab it with comes out clean. Enjoy!
Featured image credit: Madelene Månsson