Apple & Almond Cake

Photo © Anne-Marie Minhall

Growing up in a small village in Nottinghamshire I was blessed with having a family who loved to cook.

Sunday afternoons usually involved the baking of a cake.

That inclination came across me at the weekend.

Let's check the cupboard & the fruit bowl.

Apple & Almond Cake.

Time to improvise.

2 Dessert Apples, cored and sliced into thin wedges. skin on (I used Pink Lady, sweet & also kept some crunch during baking)
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
125g Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing 
140g Muscovado Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
175g Plain Flour
50g Ground Almonds
1 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
5 tbsp Milk

For the topping

1 tbsp Brown Sugar
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 170C/150C Fan/Gas 3. 

Butter & line a 23cm/9in round cake tin

Coat the apple wedges in the lemon juice and set aside to stop them browning

In a large bowl, beat together the butter & sugar

Add the eggs & beat until smooth before sifting in the flour, baking powder, ground ginger & salt & mix well

Slowly add the milk, mixing well after each addition, until you have a smooth batter

Pour the batter into the cake tin 

Arrange the apple slices, flat-side down, on the top in a spiral pattern

For the topping, mix together the demerara sugar & cinnamon & sprinkle 

Bake in the middle of the oven for 40–45 minutes

Leave to cool for 15 minutes in the tin

Thick cream over the top of the still warm cake? 

That's up to you.

The pleasure for me that afternoon was knowing that there was a cake in the oven & my nose confirmed that.

It was just as pleasing as all those years ago.

AMM