Tea with Mrs Simkins

Warmly Spiced and Wholesome Apple Cake 

Although there is no getting away from the fact that this is a cake, it is a good and wholesome one (and extremely delicious too) made with fresh eggs and butter, wholemeal flour and plenty of apple. Even the cinnamon is good for you: apparently, it may improve digestion, help relieve a blocked nose, ease muscle and joint pain, improve the circulation, help prevent gum disease and tooth decay, and kill certain types of bacteria! 

• 225g (8oz) wholemeal flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 110g (4oz) butter
• 110g (4oz) soft brown sugar, plus a little more for the top 250g 
• 3 eggs beaten
• (9oz) peeled, cored, apples (cooking, eating or a mixture of both)

You will need a greased loose bottomed 20cm (8 inch) cake tin

Preheat oven to 160C (fan ovens) or equivalent

Put the flour into a bowl, sieve the baking powder and spices over the top and give it all a good stir to ensure an even distribution.

Cut the butter into small dice and rub into the flour mixture and stir in the sugar. Blend in the eggs with a wooden spoon so that all the dry ingredients are moist and coated with egg: it will still look quite rough and crumbly.

Slice the apples in half and place flat side down on a board. Cut into slices of about ½ to ¾ of a centimetre. Save some of the neatest slices for the top of the cake and stir the rest into the cake mixture: some slices will break up but that’s fine. (You may find it easier to mix the apple in with your hands: if you wear any rings set with stones and have forgotten to take them off, now could be a very good time to remember!)

Smooth the top of the cake with the back of a metal spoon: wet the spoon to make it easier. Arrange the last of the apple slices over the top and sprinkle with about a teaspoon of sugar.

Cover loosely with greaseproof paper, tucking it underneath the tin to secure and bake in a preheated oven for approximately 1¼ hours, until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave in the tin for a few moments, then remove and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight tin.

Eat warm or cold. 


http://www.mrssimkins.co.uk