A while back, I posted my recipe for Apple & Oatmeal biscuits. When buying the apples to make those cookies, I ended up purchasing a large bag of Granny Smith's, so even after making the cookies, I still had apples coming out my backside. Therefore I decided to make an apple crumble cake. This a bit of a mixed bag, a bit like a crumble but with a light sponge-like base. The addition of a little cinnamon to the crumble gives it a little lift.You can pile it up with apples, resulting in a juicy, moist cake that goes lovely with a dollop of cream or scoop of ice-cream. (The photo below shows a slice of cake with the delicious vanilla ice-cream from Green & Blacks.)
For the sponge base
60g butter
100g caster sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
140g plain flour
1 teaspsoon baking powder
pinch of salt
80ml milk
3 Granny Smith apples
For the crumble
70g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40g butter, chilled and diced
70g soft light brown sugar
Pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees Celsius, then grease and flour a 20cm springform cake tin.
Start by making the crumble topping. Sif the flour and cinnamon together, then, using your fingertips, rub in the butter until you reach the famous "breadcrumb" stage. Mix in the sugar and set aside.
The next step is to make the sponge. Cream together the butter and sugar until plae in colour and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla essence and mix well, making sure that all ingredients are incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and add half this mixture to the butter and sugar along with half the milk. Mix well and then repeat with the other half. Once everything is well mixed, pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
Peel, core and slice the apples and arrange them in circles on top of the batter. Be generous here, as the more apple you use, the moister and juicier the resulting cake will be. Finally, sprinkle the crumble topping on the apple slices, making sure to form an even layer.
Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown, and skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake. Set aside to cool in the tin and then remove. Serve with some ice-cream while still gently warm, or else perhaps some custard or cream.
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