Apple Cake Recipe

I like the idea of baking and always enjoy it when I get started, but never seem to get the time to do it as often as I'd like, especially as there are so many other things that I like to fill my time with too.

On Sunday I made time to do a spot of baking.  We had some apples that needed using up so an apple cake it was.

My Grandad used to make a mean apple cake, it's something my Mum inherited too, I must get the recipe from my Mum because it's a good one.  I'll share it with you some time.  For this particular bake though I turned to BBC Good Food and used this.

Ingredients:

• 225g self-raising flour

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 115g unsalted butter, diced and chilled, plus extra for greasing
• 115g light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 6-8 tbsp milk
• 225g Bramley or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 100g sultanas (optional)
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Mix the flour and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the light brown sugar. Beat in the egg followed by 6 - 8 tbsp of milk – you want to achieve a smooth, thick batter.
3. Add the apples and sultanas and mix to combine. Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and gently level out. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. Best served still warm with a little custard.

After devouring this bake it really makes me think I should do it more often.  Do you have a favourite bake that you could recommend?

~ Gem x