Apple and Almond Cake



Home-grown apples are abundant at this time of year and can be used in so many ways in both sweet and savoury dishes.

This cake is nicest served warm (not hot) from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream. It stands up as a cake in its own right, but is also lovely served as a dessert and is particularly delicious eaten with custard.


The apple and almond combination is lovely. I can’t remember where I first stumbled across this recipe, but it’s one that I bake again and again because it is so reliable, incredibly easy to make, but most importantly it is SO tasty! 

 

Ingredients:

225g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
225g caster sugar
2 large eggs
½ tsp almond extract
150g butter, melted
250g cooking apples, peeled and cored
25g flaked almonds

Method:

1.                  Preheat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Lightly grease a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
2.                  Measure the flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, almond extract and melted butter into a bowl. Mix well until blended, then beat for a minute.
3.                  Spread half this mixture in the prepared tin. Thickly slice the apples and lay on top of the mixture in the tin, piling mostly towards the centre. Using 2 dessert spoons, roughly spoon the remaining mixture over the apples. This is an awkward thing to do, but just make sure that the mixture covers the centre well as it will spread out in the oven.
4.                  Sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
5.                  Bake in the preheated oven for 1¼-1½ hours until golden and coming away from the sides of the tin.

Serves 8.