This cake combines the essential flavours of autumn’s harvest and is deeply comforting. Hazelnuts can be used if cobnuts are not available. Serve warm from the oven, with a bowl of crème fraîche. If you don’t want to make the crumble topping, simply sprinkle 2 tbsp of demerara sugar over the cake before baking.
Serves 8
For the cake:
200g unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the tin
280g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 dessert apples
juice and finely grated zest of
Half unwaxed lemon
250g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml whole milk
250g blackberries
For the crumble:
100g unsalted butter, chilled
and cut into pieces
150g plain flour, sifted
80g light muscovado sugar
Half tsp ground cinnamon
handful (about 50g) of roughly
chopped cobnuts or hazelnuts
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/350F/gas mark 4. Butter a 23cm round springform tin and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Make the crumble topping first: in a large bowl, rub the butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon together into fine crumbs with your fingertips (if this is over-mixed in a food mixer, it quickly turns to biscuit dough).
3. For the cake, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Peel, core and dice the apples finely and separately toss them in the lemon juice and zest. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, using a hand-held electric whisk, or in a food mixer, beat the sugar, cooled melted butter, eggs and vanilla until thick and creamy; this will take a few minutes on high speed. With a large spoon, fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Don’t over-mix.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin, then scatter the apples and blackberries over the surface and gently push them in. Sprinkle over the crumble, top with the nuts and bake in the preheated oven for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and serve. If making ahead, cool completely on a wire rack, then slightly warm through to serve.