Somerset Apple Cake

I decided to make an apple cake using some Bramley apples from Edward Clifton-Brown's orchards at West Bradley. I googled for recipes and the following one looked good. The recipe worked quite well considering I don't often bake cakes. I gave it 55 minutes in a fan oven and found that it was still a bit undercooked in the centre so I would cook it for at least 60 minutes in future.

Somerset Apple Cake

Deliciously moist and lemony, this cake makes excellent picnic fodder
or can be served warm as a dessert

Servings: 6-8

Cooking Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

175g sultanas
150ml dry cider
280g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
225g unrefined caster sugar
180g unsalted butter
2 eggs
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large cooking apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

To serve:

crème fraîche
1 tbsp calvados or Somerset cider brandy, (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin
and line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper.

2. Soak the sultanas in the cider for about 30 minutes.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl.

4. Cream the sugar and butter for about 5 minutes until pale and
fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating as you go.

5. Fold in the dry ingredients, the lemon zest and the sliced apples.

6. Stir in the soaked sultanas, along with any remaining cider.

7. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until
a skewer comes out clean.

8. Cool in the tin, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

9. If you are serving the cake as a pudding, loosely cover it with
kitchen foil and reheat in a warm oven. Serve with crème fraîche
laced with a little Calvados or Somerset cider brandy if you fancy
it.

By JoyH Yorkshire