The best apple cake

Name: The best apple cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 125 g butter, softened, plus a little for greasing; 125 g light brown soft sugar; 3 British Blacktail Free Range Large Eggs; 200 g plain flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 small Bramley Apple; 3 Pink Lady Apples (see tips); 2 tbsp demerara sugar; Crème fraîche, to serve (optional)

Martha Collison's recipe is loosely based around versunkener apfelkuchen, or sunken apple cake – thinly sliced apples pressed into a buttery batter and enveloped as they cook and soften. Grated cooking apple is added to the base, so the orchard flavour is even more pronounced.

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Vegetarian

Serves8
CourseCake
Prepare20 mins
Cook55 mins
Total time1 hr 15 mins

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125g butter, softened, plus a little for greasing
125g light brown soft sugar
3 British Blacktail Free Range Large Eggs
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 small Bramley Apple
3 Pink Lady Apples (see tips)
2 tbsp demerara sugar
Crème fraîche, to serve (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Grease a deep, 20cm round cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Cream the softened butter and soft sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl and electric hand mixer. Beat for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled, it will come back together by the end.
Stir together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder in a small bowl, then add to the wet ingredients. Beat briefly until just combined.
Peel, then coarsely grate, the Bramley apple, stopping short of the core. Collect the gratings and juice in a small container (you’ll need about 160g). Add to the cake batter and fold through until evenly distributed. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top using a spatula to create an even layer.
Cut each Pink Lady in half and, using a teaspoon or small knife, scoop out the core. Remove the stem and woody part from the bottom and discard. With the apple skin-side up, finely slice, keeping each half together on the chopping board. Nestle the apple halves into the batter, and press them in so they are half submerged.
Sprinkle the cake with demerara sugar, then bake for 50-55 minutes, or until golden, a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, and the cake no longer wobbles when gently shaken. Allow to cool completely in the tin, then slice generous wedges with a serrated knife and serve with crème fraîche, if liked.

Cook’s tip

Which apples?
There are 2,500 varieties of apple cultivated in the UK – so deciding which is best in a cake is a tall order! I opted for a tart cooking apple, the Bramley, in the cake itself, which balances the sweetness of the batter and keeps the sponge moist. For the top, I chose Pink Lady apples, known for their crisp sweetness and pink skin. You don’t have to use these varieties – just choose a cooking apple for the sponge and an eating apple for the top.

Skin on or off?
I opted to leave the skin on the apples that sit on the top of this cake, as their rosy skin creates a pretty appearance. Because of this, the cake is harder to slice through, so use a serrated knife. If you’d rather peel the apples, rub them with a little lemon juice once sliced to avoid them turning brown.

Layer it up
This is a simple kaffee und kuchen-style cake – easy to make and great to sit alongside your coffee. If you’d like to (literally) layer it up, try doubling the batter recipe to make two sponges, then sandwich them together with Cooks’ Ingredients Salted Caramel Icing. Only decorate the top sponge with the sunken apple slices.

Typical values per (without crème fraîche) when made using specific products in recipe