Jul 14 2026
RestaurantsThe Kitchen RestaurantBolzano Apple Cake Recipe

Bolzano Apple Cake Recipe

Time2h
Serves8

“Candied” Crab Apple, Hard Cider Ice Cream, and Caramel Mousse. Chef’s Notes: Part legend, part folk story, and part truth play into our thoughts for our apple dessert. With the abundance of amazing local apples this time of year, we’ve created a dish to celebrate them. Using a light, custardy batter to hold them together, we bake tart and crunch apples until just set. Served warm, we set this dessert off with a hard cider ice cream and a rich caramel mousse.

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Ingredients

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For the Bolzano Apple Cake

For the Hard Cider Ice Cream

For the Caramel Mousse

Method

For the Bolzano Apple Cake

  1. 1

    Prepare the cake batter

    Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, and eggs until well combined. Stir in the milk.

  2. 2

    Combine dry ingredients

    In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture until just combined.

  3. 3

    Fold in apples

    Gently fold the chopped crab apples into the batter. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.

  4. 4

    Bake

    Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the cake is set and lightly golden on top.

For the Hard Cider Ice Cream

  1. 5

    Make the custard base

    In a saucepan, combine hard cider, heavy cream, whole milk, and sugar. Heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.

  2. 6

    Prepare egg yolks

    In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly add the warm mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly to temper.

  3. 7

    Cook the custard

    Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract and cool.

  4. 8

    Chill and churn

    Chill the custard in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

For the Caramel Mousse

  1. 9

    Make the caramel

    In a saucepan, melt sugar over medium heat until it turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until smooth.

  2. 10

    Prepare the cream

    In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks.

  3. 11

    Combine and fold

    Allow the caramel to cool slightly, then fold it into the whipped cream. In another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the mixture.

  4. 12

    Chill

    Transfer the mousse to serving cups and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

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