This is my favourite autumnal cake. Full of delicious, moist seasonal apples and plump, juicy sultanas which are perfectly complemented by delicious mixed spice. It’s the perfect weekend bake and makes the whole house smell so warming and comforting. I love to serve big slabs of this with a warm cup of tea for a wonderful afternoon treat! The crunchy sugary topping is the perfect finishing touch and makes the whole thing completely irresistible. This is one of my most popular recipes and I’m sure that it will become of yours too!
Before making this cake, prepare your apples. You want to peel, core and slice them into small, thin pieces. If I can, I always try to use bramley apples. I find that the tartness of the apples perfectly complements the sweetness of the cake. However, I have used other apples before, and the cake has still turned out delicious!
Start by creaming the butter and sugar together. For this recipe, we’re using light brown soft sugar. This helps to add to the autumnal feel of the cake by adding a sweeter, treacly flavour. Add the eggs a bit at a time until mixed in. The mixture might look a little strange at this point, but don’t worry, as soon as we add the flour the mixture will look a lot more like cake batter. Add all the dry ingredients and give everything a good stir.
Next, fold in the raisins/sultanas, cranberries and apples. In the recipe, I use ½ cup raisins/sultanas (whatever I have to hand that day), and ½ cup cranberries. That’s 1 cup of dried fruit altogether. You can alter the ratio of dried fruit depending on your preference – but always keep the amount as close to one cup as possible. Stir through the milk and you should have a wet cake-like consistency. Once you’ve poured everything into your prepared tin, add the demerara sugar to the top of the batter. You don’t want to miss this point. This creates a delicious chunky, crunchy layer on top of your cake.
My top tip for this cake is to make sure that it’s completely cool before you eat it. This might involve eating it the next day or a few hours after you have cooked it. As the apples have added a lot of moisture to the cake, it tends to take a while to fully absorb all the liquid. If you cut into it straight away it will still be wet and seem uncooked. It is not, it just needs time for all the moisture to be absorbed. But trust me, it’s worth the wait.
This is a slightly heavier bake, but the mix of apple, mixed spice and crunchy sugar top means it’s perfect on a cold day with a warm cup of tea.
Ingredients
- o 6 oz / 170 g Softened Butter, plus extra for greasing
- o 3 oz / 85 g Soft Light Brown Sugar
- o 3 Eggs
- o 8 oz / 226 g Self Raising Flour
- o 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- o 2 Teaspoons Mixed Spiced
- o 12 oz / 340 g Cooking Apples – Peeled, Cored and Diced
- o 1/2 Cup / 3 oz Sultanas / Raisins
- o 1/2 Cup / 3 oz Cranberries
- o 75 ml / 5 Tablespoons Milk
- o 2 Tablespoons Demerara Sugar, for the top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 *c / 160 *c Fan / Gas Mark 4. Line a 8 inch deep round cake tin with baking parchment.
- Place butter and the light brown sugar into a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs a bit at a time, and fully incorporate into the mixture.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice, and mix in until thoroughly combined.
- Fold in the apples, sultanas / raisins and cranberries, along with the milk to form a soft, wet consistency.
- Once all the ingredients are combined, pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin.
- Flatten the mixture in the tin and sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar, ensuring the whole cake is covered.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until risen, golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Cool in the tin for around 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and allow to cool down completely before serving.
*Make sure that it’s completely cool before you eat it. This might involve eating it the next day or a few hours after you have cooked it. As the apples have added a lot of moisture to the cake, it tends to take a while to fully absorb all the liquid. If you cut into it straight away it will still be wet and seem uncooked. It is not, it just needs time for all the moisture to be absorbed. But trust me, it’s worth the wait.
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