Andrew McCall’s Famous Apple Cake
It's been a bumper year for apples everywhere around here. Even our own recalcitrant tree yielded a record crop - at least seven whoppers. Wander around my leafy suburb and there are many help yourself baskets on garden walls. What to do with such bounty? Over the past few years I've made rather more chutney than we ever consume. Much of it is going into a vintage phase. While L and I are obviously improving with age, I'm not sure if the same can be said for the jars in the upstairs cupboard.
Stewed apples and yoghurt, with or without cinnamon, are always a fine start to the day. And yes, I know there are umpteen pud possibilities. The only trouble is that we tend not to eat such things. Until now that is.
Andrew McCall
Enter nephew Andrew, bearing not only a bushel (whatever that be) but also a recipe. I have a tiny sneaky suspicion that he may have found it on the internet (not that he's saying anything different), but as it's so good I think he deserves full credit. Thank you, sir.
NB Andrew's were quite sharp eating apples. If using Bramleys, add an extra 50g of sugar. And do remember that cooking apples will go to mush. One of the many fine things about this cake is the definite layer of apple pieces.
Ingredients
225g butter softened, plus extra for the tin; 450g apples; juice of ½ lemon; 230g golden caster sugar; 4 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 350g self-raising flour; 2 tsp baking powder; demerara sugar, to sprinkle
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Heat the oven to 180˚C fan/Mark 4. Butter and line a rectangular baking tin (approx 27 x 20cm) Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, then squeeze the lemon juice over them, cover and set to one side.
Put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix well until smooth. Spread half the mixture into the prepared tin. Arrange half the apples over the top of the mixture, then repeat the layers. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar. (Lesley's version of this was terrific, but I felt it could have done with a more sugary topping. Be generous.
Bake for 45-50 mins until golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool for 10 mins, then turn out of the tin and remove the paper. Cut into bars or squares. (Why do recipes include such patronising instructions? It's your cake. Cut it into triangles, or circles if you must. Or eat it whole if you're a pig. Like I give a ****.)
Tom Cooks! will be back in a fortnight
Does it matter if they are cookers e.g. Bramley, or eaters? I suspect eaters would be better. Cookers go squishy. Though ,frankly, it’s going to taste scrummy whichever way. It’s similar to an apple cake recipe I have made. Most important, can you freeze it? I suppose you can if, when you thaw it later, you eat it with lashings of custard or cream as a hot pudding. And then, of course, there’s the toasted walnuts in and on the cake / bake ( I’ve got ten tons of them from 2 trees!)
I think you’re answering your own question. One recipe which I found specifically called for cooking apples; however, I particularly liked the apple pieces in the end product which you wouldn’t get if you used Bramleys. I’m not much of a cake person, but this is very good.