'The nights are fair drawing in,' as my grandmother would say, and it’s definitely time to break out the winter spices for some hearty bakes. Our fruit season isn’t quite over, however, as there are some fantastic apples in season at the moment and this cake makes the most of the sweet, eating varieties out there. I used Cox apples but I also noticed some vibrant-looking russets in Real Foods when I was in there the other day. Cooking apples could also be used, but they’re a bit more bitter than eating apples.
Because the cake is made using the 'all-in-one' method, it is also a surprisingly quick recipe to prepare so there’s no excuse for not giving it a try!
[img_assist|nid=2228|title=|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=640|height=427]Serves 10
Preparation time 20 minutes; baking time 1–1.25 hours
Ingredients for cake
350g apples, peeled, cored and diced (weight after peeling and coring)
1 tbsp lemon juice
125g butter
2 eggs
125g caster sugar
250g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
75ml milk or cider
Ingredients for Streusel topping
75g plain flour
50g demarara sugar
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Ingredients for the caramel
75ml water
150g caster sugar
good pinch sea salt flakes (e.g. Maldon)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180º C/160º C fan and grease and line a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin.
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In a large bowl, toss the apples in the lemon juice to stop them browning and set aside.
In another bowl, beat together all the other ingredients for the cake until smooth. Do not over-mix otherwise the cake will be dry and tough.
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Stir in the apples to distribute them evenly through the mixture before pouring into the tin. Level off the top of the cake using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
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For the Streusel topping, place all the ingredients in a bowl and rub between your finger tips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. This can also be done in a food processor but the crumbs will be smaller. Scatter the Streusel over the cake and bake for 1–1.25 hours or until the cake is firm and golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the caramel. Pour the water into a heavy-based saucepan and sprinkle in the sugar. Allow the sugar to dissolve before boiling the syrup for around 20–5 minutes. Do not stir the syrup or you will end up with a sugar-coated problem. (I know ... I couldn’t resist temptation and had to hack the sugar off my wooden spoon!)
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When the syrup starts to colour, add the salt and mix gently. Once the syrup reaches a deep, amber colour, remove it from the heat and place the base of the pan in a basin of cold water. This will stop the caramel cooking any further. Immediately pour the caramel onto a greased baking tray and allow it to set.
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Once set, break it into pieces (I used a rolling pin to crush it into smaller pieces) and sprinkle on top of the cake.
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