Recipes Apple, Cinnamon & Cider Cake This Apple, Cinnamon and Cider Cake makes a perfect companion to the Wild Hunt Punch - both celebrate the warmth and spice of winter, with the cake’s buttery apple layers and cider glaze pairing perfectly with the punch’s cider infused with the deep, foraged flavours of sloe, bay and cinnamon.
Ingredients: 3 large dessert apples, such as Braeburn or Cox’s 3 tbsp cider ½ tsp ground cinnamon 40g caster sugar, plus 1 teaspoon 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract 3 tbsp double cream Serves 8–10 For the sponge: 175g butter, at room temperature 75g light soft brown sugar 75g caster sugar 3 medium free-range eggs, lightly beaten 150g plain flour ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp baking powder 50g ground almonds 1–2 tbsp cider For the glaze: 300ml cider 6 tbsp icing sugar
Method: Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Grease and line the base of a round 23cm loose- bottomed or clip-sided cake tin with greaseproof paper. Quarter, core and peel the apples and slice them thinly into a bowl. Stir in the cider, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla extract and cream. For the sponge, cream the butter and both sugars together in a mixing bowl using an electric hand whisk for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a tablespoon of flour with the last couple of additions to prevent curdling. Strain off any liquid from the apples and beat it into the mixture, then sift over the flour, cinnamon and baking powder and gently fold in. Stir in the ground almonds and enough cider to give a dropping consistency. Spoon half the sponge mixture into the prepared tin and scatter over half the apples in a thin even layer. Spoon over the remainder of the sponge mixture, then scatter over the remaining apple slices. Sprinkle lightly with the teaspoon of sugar. Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until a deep golden brown and cooked through. (A skewer pushed into the centre of the cake should come away clean.) Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and leave to cool. For the glaze, put the cider into a small pan and boil rapidly until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Tip into a small bowl and leave to cool. Beat in the icing sugar, drizzle over the cake and leave for a few minutes to set. Serve cut into wedges.