Apple Cake Squares

With a bumper year for apples and fruit, there is an abundance of windfalls.  Apple cake is so good for desserts, served warm with clotted cream and the squares freeze like a dream. Or you can just eat them, as my husband does. Any apples can be used. I used a mix of Bramley and Worcester.

Prepare a suitable oblong or square tin, about 1 1/2 inches tall. Mine was 

8” x 14”. Lightly oil and put some baking parchment on the bottom and up the sides.

Turn your fan oven on to 170 Deg C.

8 fluid oz sunflower oil

12 oz castor sugar

3 eggs

14 oz Self Raising Flour

Cinnamon to taste - I used 1 teaspoon

a few drops of vanilla essence

4 oz roasted chopped hazelnuts [1 oz for the top]

3 peeled and roughly chopped apples + 1 extra, sliced unpeeled, for the top

Apricot Jam 

Whisk the sunflower oil, essence and sugar, then add the eggs, continuing to whisk, until pale and thick. Fold in the flour and spice, then the nuts and apples. Tip into the tin. Roughly level the top and spread with the sliced apples and sprinkle over the remaining hazelnuts. Bake for 55mins - 1 hour.  Leave in the tin. Heat the jam until hot and runny then brush over the top.  Allow to cool for a while in the tin, cut in 4 to lift out, onto a cooling rack, then when cold cut into smaller squares. It is pretty hard to cut through the apple and nuts perfectly neatly. Don’t worry, it tastes delicious and looks homebaked.