The dish that changed Kate's life

Unless you have been living under a rock, we are sure that you would share our excitment for Kate Bracks -Orange's first and only Masterchef.  For those of you who followed her journey on the show, the recipe below will be very familiar.  Kate was asked to cook a dish that changed her life, and impressed even the most fussy judges with her delicious coffee cake.  Try it at home - it's delicious!

Ingredients

Cake
250g butter, softened
1 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
4 eggs
2 cups self raising flour
2/3 cups milk, at room temperature
1/3 cup espresso coffee

Coffee butter cream
250g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons liquid espresso coffee
1 tablespoon kahlua

Sticky cinnamon apples
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 star anise
1 granny smith apple, cored, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons kahlua
3 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted

Method 

Preparation and cooking time: 70 minutes
Serves: 2

1. Preheat oven to 180⁰C. Grease and baking paper-line a 2x20cm spring form cake tins.

2. For cake, cream butter, sugar and vanilla paste in a small bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

3. Sift in flour, pour in milk and coffee and gently mix until combined and smooth. Pour into prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Cool in tin for 2-3 minutes and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. For coffee butter cream, beat butter until pale, add icing sugar, espresso and kahlua and beat until light and fluffy.

5. For apples, place water, sugar, cinnamon, and star anise in a saucepan and place over a low heat until sugar dissolves. Add apple, increase heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until apples are tender, liquid has reduced and is syrupy and caramel coloured. Add kahlua and flaked almonds.

6. To serve, cut completely cooled cake into rounds and slice rounds in half lengthways. Layer rounds with butter cream and stack 3 layers high. Transfer to a serving plate and completely cover cake with
butter cream. Arrange a spoonful of apples next to cake and drizzle syrup over cake and apples.