APPLE AND CINNAMON CAKE

I love cakes made with apple. This is another cake from one of my clippings folders, collected many years ago. It really is a lovely cake and is very good eaten warm, as a dessert, if you wish, with lots of clotted cream! Custard is good too. It is a good keeper and stays soft and moist for several days.

Preheat your fan oven to 160C and lightly grease and line the base of an 8” cake tin. You can use a 7” and the cake will be a little deeper. Just increase the timing.

You will need about 6 oz of grated apple - this is about one very large Bramley cooker.

So 2 smaller ones, but always a cooker type. When grating, use a small bowl with a little lemon juice, plus you do release a fair amount of apple juice, so give it a little squeeze before adding to the cake mixture. 

6 oz butter, softened

6  oz golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

6 oz self raising flour

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

a little milk, if necessary

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - you all know this routine! Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, along with a little flour with each addition to stop it curdling. Add your grated apple, then the flour and cinnamon and mix well. If you think it is too stiff add a drop or two of milk. I think this often depends on the size of your eggs. I didn’t need to.

Tip the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for about 50-55 mins, until just firm to the touch. Lovely. Such an amazing cinnamon smell as you take it out of the oven! Comforting and homely.

Leave in the tin for ten to fifteen minutes, then cool on a rack. Just dust with icing sugar, it needs nothing else.

I do hope you enjoy this wonderfully soft cake.