Lemaire Restaurant's Apple Spice Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

Jan 6, 2016 Entertaining Recipes

Regardless of how one feels about cold weather, we can all appreciate how a chill in the air makes a cozy afternoon treat of cake and coffee feel oh so appropriate. Combining two of our favorite winter flavors, apple and currant, the following spice cake recipe, courtesy of Richmond’s Lemaire Restaurant, is the perfect seasonal dessert (or mid-day pick-me-up, depending on your mood). Lemaire follows a farm-to-table philosophy, highlighting Virginia-sourced ingredients in delicious and inspired New American cuisine. (They also boast a killer cocktail menu.) Adding to the experience, the restaurant is housed in the beautiful Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond, making it a perfect destination for a romantic weekend getaway filled with memorable meals. Still, if a trip to Richmond isn’t in the cards anytime soon, we can still get a taste via the following dessert:

Apple Currant Spice Cake

Yield: 7 individual cakes

8 ounces Apple Sauce
¼ cup Walnuts, chopped
¼ cup Currants, dried
¼ cup Raisins

5 Tbsp. Butter, softened
2/3 cup Sugar
1 Egg

1 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking Soda
1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Baking Powder
¼ tsp. Nutmeg
¼ tsp. Cloves

• DIRECTIONS •
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Sift the dry ingredients
Cream butter and sugar till fluffy, add egg
Add apple sauce, walnuts, and dried fruit to butter mixture
Slowly incorporate dry ingredients into butter mixture
Bake for 12-15 minutes

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

1 qt. heavy cream
¾ cup yolks
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla beans, split and scraped

• DIRECTIONS •
Boil cream and vanilla bean
Whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined
Slowly add hot cream into egg yolks, stirring constantly
Strain and chill overnight
Churn in ice cream machine the following day

Lemaire // Richmond, VA // 804.649.4629

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