blackberry and apple cake
rating:
by Nigel Slater, from Sainsburys magazine
serves 8-10
for cake:
150g softened butter
150g caster sugar
3 large eggs
75g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
110g ground almonds
1 large dessert apple
150g blackberries
for crumble:
100g cold butter
100g plain flour
110g demerara sugar
2 tbsps whole rolled oats
a knifepoint(!) of ground cinnamon
icing sugar for dusting
20cm loose-bottomed springform cake tin, 6cm deep, lined with baking parchment
preheat oven to 180/gas 5.
to make cake, cream butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, then add them bit by bit to the butter and sugar. If it appears to curdle, add a little flour. Mix the flour and baking powder together, and fold the flour into the butter mixture with a metal spoon, followed by the ground almonds. Spoon the mix into the cake tin and smooth the top.
cor and quarter the apple, then cut it into thin slices. Push the slices gently into the top of the cake. Tip the blackberries over the top.
for crumble, rub the butter into the flour, then stir in the sugar, oats and cinnamon. Scatter the mixture over the top of the cake. Bake for 1 hour, then push a skewer into the centre. It will come out slightly wet from the fruit, but should have no cake mixture on it.
leave to cool, then dust with icing sugar.
