Labour Day Baking
I was flicking through the pages of a Taste magazine, looking for inspiration for dinner tonight, when this recipe caught my eye.
CINNAMON APPLE CAKE
1/2 cup caster sugar
90 grams butter softened
2 small eggs, lightly beaten together
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1 /4 cups self raising flour
100 ml milk
4 large apples
1/4 teaspoon finely ground cinnamon
Icing sugar for dusting
Set aside 1 tablespoon caster sugar for dusting over cake.
Beat butter in bowl until light and loose.
Add sugar and beat until light in colour.
Beat in eggs a little at a time, adding 1 -2 tablespoons flour to stabilise the mixture.
Add lemon zest.
Sift rest of flour over and fold in along with the milk.
Transfer mixture to a 23 cm baking tin lined with baking paper and carefully spread mixture level with a flat bladed knife.
Peel, quarter and core apples and place in water and lemon juice mixture to stop the apples browning.
Partially slice the pieces of apple, about three quarters of a way through each piece, open them up like a fan and press them deeply into the cake batter.
Mix the reserved tablespoon of caster sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the cake.
Bake in a preheated to 180C (regular bake) for 1 hour or until cooked through and golden brown.
Cool in tin for 15 minutes, then turn onto a plate.
Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.
The cake has a wonderful lemon flavour and the apples will be meltingly soft.
Here's how the top will look.
Looks wonderful, the beautiful golden hue of the cake and I can only imagine how wonderful the softness and slight citrusy cake would taste next to the baked apple! Yum!
Posted by: Ellie | October 23, 2006 at 02:38 PM
Beautiful picture Barbara!
Posted by: Bron | October 23, 2006 at 04:00 PM
The cake looks delicious! May I know what is the amount of flour to put into the cake?
Posted by: Sharm | October 23, 2006 at 04:44 PM
Ellie - yes the two flavours go well together.
Bron - thanks:).
Sharm - well spotted. I typed up the post and then lost it and had to retype (in a hurry).
Posted by: barbara | October 23, 2006 at 05:27 PM
Lovely looking cake!
Posted by: Emma | October 23, 2006 at 07:01 PM
This cake looks and sounds lovely!
Posted by: Kat | October 23, 2006 at 07:27 PM
Oh, Barbara!
It's beautiful!
Posted by: Ivonne | October 23, 2006 at 08:35 PM
When I logged on I was drooling over the picture of your cake and as I had all the ingredients I decided to make it. Well to cut a long story short it was a disaster! I've just shown Dillon what it was meant to look like, which made him laugh as he dissed my attempt. I shall not be perturbed and will try again as I think I know some of the reasons I failed (all my own fault)!
PS it still tasted good!
Posted by: beccy | October 24, 2006 at 04:02 AM
Emma, Kate, Ivonne - Thank you :)
Beccy - what a pity but I'm glad it still tasted okay. I've added a picture so you can see the top. The fanning of the apples isn't easy so I didn't get too involved in making them perfect.
Posted by: barbara | October 24, 2006 at 05:28 AM
Perfect timing, Barbara. The Boyfriend and I have just bought a wee cottage in the Irish countryside - complete with a couple of fruit trees! The damsons are already gone but we still have lots of apples and, as this is only going to be our second weekend there, will be having lots of visitors. What better thing to produce than a cake made with our own produce!
Posted by: Caroline@Bibliocook | October 24, 2006 at 07:18 PM
That cake looks fabulous! Beautiful...
Posted by: Rosa | October 24, 2006 at 11:12 PM
My husband would fly over mountains for something like this! It looks and sounds so wonderful!
Posted by: ml | October 26, 2006 at 12:14 AM
That looks fantastic.
Posted by: peabody | October 26, 2006 at 03:58 AM
Caroline - how exciting. Sounds like you'll be making your home in Ireland then and not NZ.
Rosa - thankyou:)
ml -I'm sure you'll make it for him then.
Peabody - thankyou :)
Posted by: barbara | October 26, 2006 at 07:08 AM
That first picture is just outstanding! Your cake looks delicious. Apple and cinnamon are a winning combo anyday!
Posted by: Helen | October 26, 2006 at 09:30 PM
Well, you never can tell, Barbara! We'll be here in Ireland for the moment, anyhow, and see how it goes. I would still love a chance to live longer than twelve months in NZ - I was not altogether happy with having to come home after just a year. At least I've our visit in January to look forward to!
Posted by: Caroline@Bibliocook | October 31, 2006 at 08:24 AM