Autumnal Apple Cake

Apple pear and almond cake

Tis' the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Trust Keats to sum it up so succinctly. Lots of lovely home grown varieties of apples and pears abound. These red purple skinned apples are so pretty. They are called Spartan. The pears are Conference. I love getting varieties of fruit and vegetables different than the bog standard offerings in supermarkets. Give me a knarly, knobbly, nicely coloured apple with flavour anyday over those green watery tasteless excuses for apples.

Spartan apples and Conference pears

Apple Pear and Almond Cake Recipe
250g butter
250g sugar
4 eggs
150g self raising flour
75g ground almonds
30g flaked almonds
light brown demerara sugar to sprinkle
300g red apples and pears not peeled just cored and sliced


Preheat oven to 160C fan. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs with a tablespoon of sieved flour if curdling. Fold in sieved flour and finally ground almonds. Using a lined roasting tin, spoon out half the cake mixture. Scatter half the apples and pears. Dollop the rest of the cake mixture on top. Spread the rest of the apples and pears and push some down into the cake mixture. Sprinkle with light brown granulated sugar and the flaked almonds.

Bake for one hour. Allow to cool in tin. Remove and cut into chunks. Stores well due to the ground almonds in an air tight tin.

fresh out of oven

 

Serve as is or with warmed with whipped cream or custard.