Sunday 1 December 2013

Recipe: Mum's apple cake

Mum's apple cake

I'm really not much of a cake baker. After all, if you make a cake you have to eat it and I really don't need the extra calories! But my cousin Jess (a keen cake baker) came to stay and as we had lots of apples to use up I thought it was a good opportunity to try out my mum's faithful apple cake recipe. 

And you know what, I could get used to this baking lark as this recipe was so easy and made such a lovely moist cake - even I couldn't go wrong with this recipe and there certainly isn't much of it left! And it was cheap as chips to make as the apples were from Mr Kate's parentals' garden. A great one to use up any late fallers.

Here's my mum's recipe:

8oz plain flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
4oz margarine
4oz sugar
1 egg
8oz peeled apple
Milk to mix
A sprinkling of brown sugar

1) Heat the oven to gas mark five, 190C or 375F. 
2) Sieve flour into mixing bowl. (Although I didn't bother sieving as I'm far too lazy for that lark!). 
3) Rub the margarine in with the flour until like breadcrumbs. 
4) Add the sugar and egg and stir well. 
5) Dice the apple, add to the bowl and mix well.
6) Stir in enough milk to give a slow dropping consistency until the spoon needs a hard shake before the mixture drops into the bowl.9
7) Put the mixture into a greased and lined seven inch cake tin. I actually used a silicone cake tin).
8) Sprinkle a few teaspoons of brown sugar over the top of the cake. 
9) Bake for one hour. 

This really is a deliciously moist cake. Lovely on its own but even better served with a dollop of custard. Would also be good adding in a little mixed spice, cinnamon or currants. 

I've always loved it when my mum makes this cake - now I've realised how easy it is to make I think I'll be making it more often myself now too! Thanks for the recipe, mum!

Cousin Jess gets her bake on!