These mini apple cakes are flavored with pumpkin spice, packed with juicy slices of Honeycrisp apple and topped with cinnamon whipped cream. The cake batter is made with whole wheat flour and wheat germ both for a nutty flavor and for a firmer texture. A nice treat for a sunny and crisp fall afternoon and perfect for a picnic outdoors.
The cakes are baked in 4-ounce ramekins and if you want to, you can serve them in the ramekins, which makes it easy to transport them and bring to a picnic or on a camping trip.
Rather than mixing small apple chunks into the batter, you stick whole apple slices into the cakes for juicy and intense apple flavor in almost every bite.
For more fall apple dessert favorites, check out this Stovetop Apple Crisp and this Apple Tart with Chai-Spiced Custard Sauce.
How to make the cakes:
Step 1. Gather your ingredients.
- 1 tablespoon wheat germ*
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Honeycrisp apple
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- vegetable shortening to grease the ramekins
*RECIPE NOTE: Wheat germ is one of the three components that make up the edible part of a wheat kernel. It has a rich and nutty flavor and also a lot of health benefits.
Step 2.
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease four 4-ounce ramekins with vegetable shortening, sprinkle all-purpose flour into them, then shake out the excess. Set the ramekins on a small baking sheet and set aside.
Step 3. Add wheat germ, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
Step 4. Peel, core, quarter and slice the apple (try to slice each quarter into 12 slices). Set aside.
Step 5. With an electric mixer or a standing mixer, whip butter and sugar together until creamy.
Step 6. Whip in the eggs.
Step 7. Whip in the dry ingredients and keep whipping until you have a smooth batter.
Step 8. Distribute the batter among the ramekins,* then stick 6 apple slices into each ramekin vertically.
*RECIPE NOTE: If it looks like not enough batter, don’t worry, the cakes will rise a lot in the oven.
Step 9. Bake the cakes on the baking sheet until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean (about 30 minutes).
Step 9. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins.
How to serve the cakes:
Make the cinnamon whipped cream and serve the fresh cakes with it. You can either leave the cakes in the ramekins or run a knife around the edge of each one and unmold.
Variations on this recipe:
If you don’t like the idea of whipped cream, you can make this pecan praline icing instead and drizzle it on the baked and cooled cakes. The icing will add quite a bit of sweetness and a mild butterscotch flavor. Let the icing dry, then serve the cakes.
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Recipe Card
Mini Apple Cakes with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
For the cakes:
- vegetable shortening, to grease the ramekins
- 1 tablespoon wheat germ*
- 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ honeycrisp apple
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
For the whipped cream:
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions:
For the cakes:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease four 4-ounce ramekins with vegetable shortening, then sprinkle with all-purpose flour and shake out the excess. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet set aside.
- Whisk wheat germ, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Peel, core and quarter the apple.
- Slice the apple quarters into thin slices. (Try to slice each quarter into 12 slices).
- Whip butter and brown sugar together until creamy.
- Whip in the eggs.
- Whip in the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Keep whipping until you have a smooth batter.
- Distribute the batter among the four ramekins.**
- Stick the slices into the batter vertically (about 6 apple slices for each ramekin).
- Transfer the baking tray into the oven and bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean (about 30 minutes).
For the whipped cream:
- Add cream, sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and whip to stiff peaks.
- Keep the whipped cream refrigerated.
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