Have you ever infused rosemary into a dessert? I’ve tried it before with these Strawberry Rosemary Scones years ago and then later in a Charlotte but have since completely forgotten about it. I’m slightly kicking myself too because wow is it a great combo. The trick, of course, is subtlety. Overpowering with any flower or herb flavor in a baked good is never a good thing. Have you tried something rose and like so many people said wow I think I just ate a bar of soap? Well, that is not what we’re going for. Never!

Here’s a great little intro to working with rosemary in baked treats. No fail- can’t over do it. You’ve got this! And you’ll feel like the coolest magician ever! Why’s that you ask? You’ll be making up your own recipe! No really! Grab a scale and let’s get to it!

Pound cake got its name because the four ingredients (flour, sugar, eggs, butter) were all added in pound increments but who’s to say you can’t do a measurement other than a pound? No one that’s who!

ROSEMARY APPLE LOAF CAKE

Here are the ingredients you need: 4 eggs, granulated sugar, unsalted butter, all-purpose flour (T55 if you’re in France), baking soda, and two small apples.

Grab a bowl, set it on the scale, and hit Tare to bring it to zero.

Crack in 4 eggs and write down this number. It’ll probably be between 200g and 225g (eggs on average weigh 50g).

Hit Tare again and add in the same weight of sugar to the bowl with the eggs. Whisk together.

In a small saucepan, add the same weight in butter. Melt. Let cool slightly then add this to your eggs/sugar.

Tare.

Next, add the weight equivalent in flour and 1 teaspoon of baking soda and a pinch of salt.

That my friends is your cake base for this creation and you’ve done it all yourself! Now you can bake this off as is in a loaf pan at 180C/350F for about an hour or jazz it up.

Peel and cube two small apples. Put into a saucepan (I used the same one I used earlier to melt the butter) with 15g each of butter and sugar and a sprig of rosemary. Cook until apples are soft. If they get a bit brown that’s cool. Be careful not to overcook them to where they are falling apart.

Prepare your loaf pan lining with parchment and pour in 1/3 of your batter. Dot in about 1/3 of your apples. Repeat until you’ve added all your apples/batter to the pan.

Bake at 180C/350F for about an hour- testing with a toothpick before you take it out. It’s ready if the toothpick just has crumbs attached or is clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.

And there you have it – the apple loaf cake recipe of your dreams!