With Samhain (or Halloween as it’s more commonly known) just around the corner, I though this delicious apple cake recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine would make the perfect start to my new recipe blog.  I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients
100g butter, plus 1tbsp
175g light brown muscovado sugar, plus 1tbsp
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled & cut into 1.5cm pieces
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1tsp baking powder
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
100ml milk
For the topping:
25g flour
85g Demerara sugar, plus 1tbsp
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
50g cold butter
3tbsp toasted, chopped hazelnuts

They also make great muffins!

Method

• Heat 1tbsp butter and 1tbsp sugar in a large frying pan over a medium heat until the sugar starts to melt.  Add the apples and cook for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned and the sauce is a rich caramel.  Leave to cool.
• While the apples cool, make the topping.  Rub together the flour, 85g sugar, cinnamon and cold butter until crumbly.  Stir in 2tbsp hazelnuts.  Set aside in a cool place.
• Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4.  To make the cake, put the remaining butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.  Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk in two goes, alternating between dry and wet ingredients.  When well combined, stir in the apples.
• Grease a 20cm cake tin with removable base and line the base with a circle of baking paper.  Spoon in the cake mix, smooth over the top with a spoon, then sprinkle over the streusel topping.  Scatter over the remaining sugar and hazelnuts.  Cook for 50 minutes – 1 hour, or until done.  Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire baking rack, remove the paper and cool.

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