Spiced Apple Cake

I adapted this loosely on Delia Smith's recipe in her How To Cook Book 1. This is probably my third try on the recipe with lots of changes from the original. For one, I reduced the baking time and temperature because at 190C for 1.25 hours it practically reduced the top to cinders. Then the sugar in the cake is increased to improve the blandness. I felt there was too much baking powder so that got reduced and I will try to reduce more of it in my next tries. Despite these, you can see it did come out quite well. A very nice tea-time treat to have with a hot cuppa of tea (coffee for some).


Spiced Apple Cake

350 g  peeled and chopped baking apples (Golden Delicious/Bramley/Braeburn/Cox)
275 g  [2 cups] plain flour
110 g  [scant 1/2 cup] butter - melted
2 eggs - slightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)
1/2 whole nutmeg - finely grated (about 1 tsp)
170 g  [3/4 cup] caster sugar
175 ml  [scant 2/3 cup] milk

*Topping:
75 g  [1/3 cup] demerara sugar
75 g  [heaping 1/2 cup] self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
25 g  [2 Tbsp] butter - softened
50 g  pecans or walnuts - roughly chopped
1 Tbsp cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4. Grease the bottom of a 23 cm (9-inch) springform round cake pan.
2. Mix the topping - combine the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour in a small bowl. Cut in the soft butter with two butter knives into the mixture. Then proceed to rub in it with your fingertips. Add in the nuts - mix well. Sprinkle the cold water and toss. Set aside.
3. Combine the flour, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
4. Put the eggs in a big bowl. Add in the milk, sugar, and melted butter.
5. Add the flour mixture into the egg mixture with a wooden spoon in as few stokes as possible just enough to combine.
6. Fold in the chopped apples.
7. Pour into the greased cake pan.
8. Sprinkle the topping on the surface of the batter.
9. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Cool for about 5 minutes, turn out from the pan then cool completely.