This limoncello & apple cake is sweet and fragrant from the limoncello and slightly tart from the apples & lemon glaze, making it incredibly aromatic and delicious. This is such a simple recipe that works well with most firm and tart apples.
What makes this Limoncello & Apple cake so good?
This apple cake is incredibly easy to make and turns out super moist and fragrant because of the Lemons + Limoncello mixture. I love that this cake fills my house with the most amazing aroma of sweet fragrant lemons.
Limoncello is a sweet Italian Lemon liqueur, made by steeping lemon peels in alcohol before sweetening it with sugar syrup or other sweeteners. It is very sweet and aromatic with a strong lemon flavor. It is commonly served as a chilled after dinner drink but works so well in cocktails and even desserts like this one!
A few years ago, I tried making my own limoncello and I was amazed at how easy it was to make and how well it turned out! I will post a recipe sometime in the future when I get my hands on some amazing organic lemons.
I am a big fan of limoncello and I highly recommend you try to source it for this recipe as well as for enjoying it straight up! This is a good brand of limoncello that we've tried in the past and loved.
Tips to make this cake without limoncello
I understand that it might not be easy for everyone to get hold of limoncello. If you can’t find it or don’t consume alcohol, you can certainly make this cake and it will still taste amazing. Replace the limoncello with the following:
- Use the zest of 2 lemons instead of 1 in this recipe.
- Add an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar to step 5 of the recipe.
- Use ⅓ to ½ cup water instead of the limoncello to thin out the batter.
Best cake pan to use for this recipe
I find that this apple cake turns out really well if baked in a bundt cake pan. This is the bundt cake pan that I use. I find that the shape of pan and the hollow center makes the cake cook evenly and turn to a light golden brown color.
If you don't have a bundt cake pan, you can make this apple cake in any large (12 cup) baking pan. You could also either halve the recipe and bake it in a smaller pan or just make the entire recipe but bake it in 2 separate pans. The cooking time will vary for a smaller pan. Keep checking the cake after 35-40 minutes.
If you like this Italian apple cake recipe, you should also check out my recipe for Vanilla & nutella panna cotta. It is a simple recipe that takes very little effort but the end result is stunning.
I hope you like this recipe as. much as I do. Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think and subscribe to my social media if you would like to see more easy and delicious recipes.
Limoncello & Apple Bundt Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
To make the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large lemon (zested, save juice for glaze)
- ½ cup limoncello (see notes)
- ¾ cup buttermilk (see notes)
- 4 large apples (tart apples like granny smith work best in this recipe)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
To make the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered (confectioners') sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice (from the zested lemon)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Grease a large (12 cup capacity) bundt pan well with butter and set it aside (see notes).
- Combine the buttermilk and limoncello in a measuring jug and set aside.
- Peel and core the apples and chop then into ½" pieces. Sprinkle the apples with a few tablespoons of the measure out all-purpose flour and toss them to coat.
- Mix together the remaining flour along with the baking powder and baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with either a spatula or wooden spoon until very light and fluffy. When the mixture is light and fluffy, add the in lemon zest, eggs and vanilla extract and mix well to combine.
- Into this, add in a third of the flour mixture and mix lightly before adding in half of the buttermilk + limoncello mixture. Mix just until combined. Repeat this process again and finally add in the last ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix just until combined. Don't over mix this batter.
- Finally, add in the flour coated apples to the batter and fold them in.
- Pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for about 60-75 minutes or until fully cooked through. Insert a skewer into the center of the cake to check if it is fully done. When there is no wet batter on the skewer, it is fully cooked.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before inverting it onto a platter.
To make the glaze:
- Mix together the powdered sugar with the lemon juice in a bowl. Initially it will look like the lemon juice is too little for the amount of sugar, but keep mixing and the glaze will become nice and pourable in no time. If you find the glaze too thick, add an extra 0.5 tablespoon of lemon juice to thin it out.
- Pour the glaze over the completely cooled cake and let it drip along the sides fro a dramatic effect.
Notes
- If you don't have a large bundt pan, you could do the following:
- Bake this cake in any large cake pan/baking dish
- Halve the recipe and bake it in a smaller cake pan
- Make the entire amount of batter and bake the cake in 2 smaller baking pans.
The cooking time will vary for a smaller pan. Keep checking the cake after 35-40 minutes. - You can replace the buttermilk with the same amount of milk + 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in this recipe
- If you can't find limoncello or don't consume alcohol, you may replace it with the following:
- Use the zest of 2 lemons instead of 1 in this recipe.
- Add an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar to step 5 of the recipe.
- Use ⅓ to ½ cup water instead of the limoncello to thin out the batter.
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