The Silver Palate Apple Cake is one of the most beloved apple cake recipes of all time, and it just screams Fall.
Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso are the dynamic duo that wrote the definitive cookbook of the 1980s, The Silver Palate. The Silver Palate Apple Cake is one of the most beloved recipes from the book, so many of us have made it at one time in our lives. This cake sits tall and proud and is jam packed with apples and spices making it the ultimate fall baking project.
The Silver Palate apple cake is topped with a warm cider/brandy glaze that soaks into every crumb. The combination of apples and brandy is lovely, I’m filing it away for future recipes!
Cakes topped with warm glazes were popular in the 80s. But be warned, it makes for a very moist, almost wet interior. In this case it has a kind of apple pie effect.
tips for baking the Silver Palate Apple Cake
Best baking apples: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Granny Smith.
Soggy center? Bake longer; heavy apple cakes need full time. Check for 200–205°F.
Nuts: classic would be walnuts → try pecans or hazelnuts too.
more apple cake recipes to try
Everyone should make at least one apple cake every fall
Bundt: Apple Cider Doughnut Cake
Layer Cake: Apple Butter Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream
Sheet Cake: Caramel Apple Sheet Cake
Loaf Cake: Apple Spice Cake
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The Silver Palate Apple Cake
Equipment
- 10" springform pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground mace, I used nutmeg
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
- 1 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 1/4 cups coarse chunks apple, peeled
- 3 Tbsp Calvados, I used brandy because they didn’t have one of those cute tiny bottles of Calvados at the liquor store
glaze
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons Calvados, or brandy
- 1/4 cup sweet cider, I use apple cider
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Grease a 10" round cake pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the vegetable oil and sugar until thick and opaque. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift together all-purpose flour, cloves, cinnamon, mace, baking soda, and salt, then stir in whole wheat flour.
- Add the dry ingredients to the oil mixture and blend. Stir in walnuts, apple chunks, and apple brandy. Stir to distribute pieces evenly.
- Pour into a greased 10 inch round cake pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake rest for 10 minutes, then unmold and pour glaze over warm cake or cut cake and pour glaze over slices. (note: I used a 9 inch spring-form pan and cooked it almost 10 minutes longer)
- To make the glaze, mix the ingredients together in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly, and cook 4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Pour while still warm over warm cake.
your photos are beautiful! I love the giant chunks of apples and the whipped cream! Im going apple picking tomorrow so I’ll have plenty of apples to make this!
oh, apple cake. i haven’t come across a version yet that i didn’t devour, and from the looks of this one, it’d rank among my favorites! lovely images of a tasty treat. 🙂
Great photos and recipe!
I don’t recall when I last checked out a cooking book for a recipe. Most of the time I get on the internet and find something that will suit what I currently have in my kitchen.
Well, I suppose I probably had other things on my 7-year old wish list in 1982…but boy would I have loved somebody to have made me this cake! It’s seriously beautiful…so thick and moist. Bookmarked!
Your apple cake looks fabulous, Sue. What a perfect choice from Silver Palate….right in tune with fall. I’ve never made this and will now put it on my list. I adore moist cakes like this.
I, too, love your photos! That cake was a bane to me over the years, it was always too moist for me … but unlike you, I worshiped The Silver Palate Cookbook – no diet foods in there! Yes! Long ingredients list, but I so love so many of the recipes between those covers! I hear you, though. Some books speak to your cooking style and others are just ‘meh’! You’re wise to make room for more that excite you as a cook!
Great post, Sue!
This looks so delicious. I’m a huge fan of apple cake and how moist it always is! I’ve never heard of the Silver Palate cookbook, but now you’ve intrigued me and I might just check it out (even if it didn’t work out for you) 🙂
Sue, this cakes looks delicious and perfect with my cup of coffee right this very minute! I love all your photos and styling! I can practically see your eggs coming to room temperature. As I was reading through your post I kept thinking the same thing about the book. Recipes seemed long and lots of steps. I actually had to go over to my cookbooks to see if my copy of Silver Palate made the cut when we moved 2 years ago. And just like you….It did not.
xo annie
Now that cake looks super moist, perfect for the fall.
I won’t tell you that 82 also happens to be the year I was born 😉 this is a beautiful looking cake. I can’t wait to start whipping up apple creations soon 🙂