An Apple Cake for the Afternoon

There's nothing quite like settling down to a cup of tea at 3 in the afternoon with a wee slice of cake. Afternoon tea is an incredibly English institution (nothing wrong with that) which I've taken into my own hands. Here is a recipe adapted from The Real Food Companion by Matthew Evans a.k.a. The Gourmet Farmer. The result is a deliciously moist cake with a fine crumb that you don't have to do the hard yards for i.e. my kind of recipe. Enjoy this one, especially as the days get cooler.

"Just a small slice": the best thing about this cake is certainly the apples. Cut into generous cubes, they are the star of the show here. Land yourself some apples from you local farmer's markets, the growers can advise you on which are best to use

Ingredientsss

1kg cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1.5cm dice

200g raw sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

A few drops of vanilla extract

125ml extra virgin olive oil

200g walnuts, roughly chopped

250g self-raising flour

1.5 tspn ground cinnamon

A pinch of salt

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, grease and line a round 28cm cake tin (I've used a loaf tin out of convenience)

2. Mix apples in a bowl with sugar, egg, vanilla, oils and walnuts

3. Sift in flour, cinnamon and salt and stir

4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for ~45 minutes

5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes until turning onto a wire rack to continue cooling

6. Serve that baby up!

Don't be alarmed by the apple to cake batter ratio, it does seem like an awful lot of fruit to be baking in there. Miraculously though, it just works with beautiful results!

This cake is just one of those recipes that are handy to have around, when friends drop by or you're craving something to tie you over until lunch time. It will keep for a good 3 days in a container  too. Can't go wrong with this one!

Thanks for reading and happy baking!

xGourmand