Biscoff apple pudding cake

My Biscoff apple pudding cake is a soft, moist, and very moreish dessert. It's mixed and baked like a simple apple cake, but I've added Biscoff for a lovely warming flavour (because why not?) and soaked the cake in a rich caramel syrup while still hot from the oven, to create a delicious, creamy apple pudding.

This recipe came about as a result of a combination of events:

• I found a jar of Biscoff that had been in my cupboard for ages and needed using up;
• I also had a few apples leftover from making this frying pan apple cake;
• I'd been toying with the idea of making a South African-style syrup-soaked apple cake/dessert for a few weeks.

So everything came together perfectly!

The result was a luscious apple sponge pudding, flavoured with lots of warming spices and tasty Biscoff, finished with a warm, buttery syrup poured over while the cake was still hot. The syrup soaks in slowly, transforming a simple apple sponge cake into something closer to a pudding, with a soft, spoonable texture and the most amazing taste.

The texture of this apple pudding cake is quite dense, and that's down to 2 things: the grated apples stirred into the batter before baking, and the syrup poured over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. But don't let that put you off - it may not be a light, fluffy sponge, but it's rich and comforting with the most delicious taste.

It's also very easy to make. Simply mix up a quick cake batter, add the apples and bake. While the cake is baking, boil the syrup in a small saucepan, so it's ready to pour over while the cake is still warm from the oven. The hardest part is waiting for the syrup to soak into the cake!

When you're ready to serve it, add a dollop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of homemade custard, and you have a Biscoff dessert that will have everyone clamouring for seconds!

And the best part is it takes hardly any effort at all!

Jump to:

• Recipe at a glance
• Why you'll love this Biscoff apple pudding cake
• Ingredients
• How to make this apple pudding cake
• Serving suggestions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storing and freezing
• Top Tip
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Why you'll love this Biscoff apple pudding cake

• It's a lovely, comforting dessert. Soft, syrup-soaked and spoonable, this is definitely more of a pudding than a cake, although once cold, you can slice it and serve it like a cake. It is a bit sticky for a cake though, so you might find a cake fork helpful!
• Simple ingredients. Nothing fancy, just standard pantry ingredients. Even the Biscoff spread is easy to find - it's normally sold in supermarkets alongside the jars of peanut butter!
• Easy to make. No complicated steps - if you can bake a cake, you can make this pudding.
• Perfect for using up odds and ends. A great way to use up the last few apples in the fruit bowl or that half-forgotten Biscoff spread in the cupboard.

Ingredients

I've separated the ingredients into those for the cake and those for the syrup. You can find the exact quantities for both on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Ingredients for the apple cake

• Flour. I used self-raising flour. Substitute with plain or all-purpose flour and add a teaspoon of baking powder.
• Sugar. Either granulated or caster sugar will be fine.
• Butter. This should be at room temperature. The butter will be creamed with the sugar, and if you use it directly out of the refrigerator, it will be difficult to mix.
• Eggs. I used large eggs.
• Milk. Either full-fat or semi-skimmed will be fine.
• Apples. I used Granny Smith for this recipe, but you could use Bramleys. To be honest any apples work well - eating apples give a firmer texture; cooking apples will be softer.
• Mixed spice. This is a traditional British spice blend, normally a mixture of cinnamon, ground coriander and nutmeg, although some brands include cloves and ginger. The closest substitute would be pumpkin spice mix. If you don't have either of these, substitute with ground cinnamon and if you have it, a pinch of allspice.
• Biscoff spread. The distinctive caramel flavour of Biscoff pairs beautifully with apples. Because of the fat content, Biscoff also adds a creaminess to the cake, helping to make it more pudding-like once the syrup has been added.

Ingredients for the caramel syrup

• Dark brown sugar. This creates the caramel flavour, and I recommend using it. You could substitute with lighter demerara sugar if you don't have dark brown sugar.
• Cream. Double or heavy cream is preferable, but you could substitute with single cream.
• Butter. I've added this for extra indulgence. You could leave the butter out and add the equivalent amount of extra cream.
• Apple juice. This is the liquid component of the sauce, and I've used apple juice to complement the apple flavour of the cake. Substitute with water, milk, pear or orange juice.
• Ground cinnamon. I used this to complement the mixed spice in the cake batter. Substitute with mixed spice.

How to make this apple pudding cake

The cake

💡Tip - Make sure the butter is at room temperature for easy mixing, and if possible use an electric hand-mixer. A wooden spoon will also work, but it will just take a little longer to cream the ingredients.

💡Tip - Fold the flour gently into the batter so you don't knock all the air out. The batter will be quite stiff, but once you add the grated apples it will thin down to the right consistency.

💡Tip - Cut the apple pieces quite small and try to keep them approximately the same size so that they all cook at the same time.

💡Tip - If the cake isn't done in the specified time, leave it a few minutes longer. If it seems to be browning too much, lay a sheet of tin foil loosely over the dish.

The syrup

💡Tip - When boiling the syrup, don't boil it for too long or it will turn into toffee. The aim is to thicken it slightly, but it should still be pourable enough to soak into the cake.

Serving suggestions

• Serve either warm or cold (I think warm is best - but that's just my opinion) with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of homemade custard.
• If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, you can serve them sliced as you would a normal cake.

Note - being soaked in syrup makes the cake difficult to slice neatly. The syrup-soaked crumb will be inclined to stick to the knife, so keep a damp cloth handy to wipe the knife between slices. Obviously, if you are serving it as a dessert, spooned out of the dish and smothered in custard, then you won't need to worry about neat slices 😁.

Variations

This is an easy recipe, and there are plenty of ways to vary it:

• Change the fruit. Swap the apples for pears, or use a mixture of the two. Stone fruits like plums or apricots would also work well, although you wouldn't be able to grate them - just chop some of them more finely.
• Add some nuts. For a little crunch, sprinkle some chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts on top of the batter before baking.
• Change the spices. Instead of mixed spice, use a mixture of other warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves (just a pinch - it's strong) or ginger.
• Make a richer sauce. For a richer sauce, stir in a tablespoon of Biscoff spread.

Equipment

These are the main items of equipment you will need to make this apple pudding cake:

• Mixing bowl - I used a 2-quart or 2-litre-sized bowl.
• Vegetable peeler - for peeling the apples - or use a sharp knife.
• Cheese grater - for grating the apples.
• Electric hand mixer - for easy mixing - or use a wooden spoon.
• 10 x 7 inch (26 x 18 cm) baking dish. You can use a differently sized dish, but if you use a smaller, deeper dish (such as a loaf tin), you will probably have to increase the cooking time. I'm afraid I haven't tried it, so it will be trial and error on your part.
• Small saucepan - for making the syrup.

Storing and freezing

• Refrigerator. Store leftovers in the original baking dish in the refrigerator. Cover the dish with tin foil so the cake doesn't dry out. The cake will keep like this for up to 4 days.
• Freezer. I haven't tried to freeze this cake, but there's no reason why it wouldn't freeze well. The syrup in the cake will keep it moist in the freezer and prevent it from drying out. If I were going to freeze this cake, I would be inclined to assemble and bake it in a disposable aluminium container so as not to have to freeze my baking dish. Freeze for up to 3 months.
• Defrosting. Allow the frozen cake to defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
• Reheating. A defrosted cake can be covered loosely with foil and reheated in the container. Preheat the oven to 160C / 325F and heat the cake for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
• Reheating leftovers. Leftovers can be reheated (with or without custard) in short 20-second bursts in the microwave until heated through.

FAQ

Save for later

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Related recipes

Visit my cakes, biscuits and dessert recipes page for other tasty treats. Here are a few recipes using apples that you might enjoy:

📋The recipe

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