Try this Dorset Apple Cake recipe and let it transport you to a simpler time and place, where every bite tells a story of comfort, community and the simple joys of baking. The process of peeling, coring and dicing the apples, the aroma of cinnamon and baking filling your kitchen, and the first bite of warm, moist cake with its bursts of sweet fruit and sultanas – all these elements come together to create an experience that’s as rewarding as it is delicious.
Ingredients:
- 115g unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled, plus extra to grease the tin
- 225g self raising flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 115g light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 6-8 tbsp milk
- 225g Bramley or Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
- 100g sultanas
- 2tbsp demerara sugar (optional for topping)
Method of preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm deep cake tin with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and cinnamon. Add the diced butter and work it into the flour with your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
Whisk in the egg, then 6-8 tbsp of the milk – adding it gradually until you have a smooth, thick batter.
Add the diced apples and sultanas to the batter and mix to combine.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and gently smooth it down. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar if you’re using it.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further.
