Spiced toffee apple cake recipe

Make the most of the harvest with this perfect combination of zingy apple tanginess cut through with a sticky toffee sauce. Local cream, butter and eggs are easy to find and will give your cake the ultimate velvety richness.

Cakes and bakes
Spiced toffee apple cake
  • Preparation time 30 mins (prep. time)
  • Cooking time 60 mins (cooking time)
  • Serves 12

Ingredients

  • 200g pitted dates
  • 200ml milk
  • ½​ lemon
  • 2 Bramley apples
  • 250g butter or margarine
  • 280g self-raising flour
  • 200g light soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 5 medium free range eggs
  • 10g ground mixed spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 10g icing sugar
  • For the toffee sauce:
  • 50g light soft brown sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 2 tbsp double cream

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180C (160C fan, 350°F, gas mark 4). Grease and line a 23cm (9”) spring form tin.
  2. Put the dates into a saucepan with the milk, place on a medium heat and bring to
    the boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook for 2–3 minutes until the dates are soft, then remove from the heat.
  3. Use a blender or processor to blend the dates and milk until smooth, then set aside.
  4. Juice half a lemon, then put the juice in a bowl. Peel and quarter the apples, remove the core, then finely slice. Put the apple slices in the bowl with the lemon juice and toss to coat.
  5. Place the butter or margarine, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, eggs, mixed spice and vanilla extract into a bowl.
  6. Add the pureed date mixture, and then beat until light and fluffy.
  7. Pour the mixture into your cake tin. Arrange the apple slices on top, neatly overlapping.
  8. Put the cake in the oven and cook for 60–70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  9. Remove and set aside to cool.
  10. Dust the cooled cake with icing sugar.
  11. Place the toffee sauce ingredients in a pan over a medium heat. Once melted, increase the heat and boil for around a minute, until the sauce thickens slightly.
  12. Drizzle the sauce over the cake, allowing some to run down the sides.
  13. Leave until cool and then cut into portions.

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