Coronation apple cake
Ingredients:
340g self-raising flour.
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder.
1 teaspoon salt.
340g soft brown sugar.
170g butter, cubed.
100g dates, chopped.
30g walnuts (or Brazil nuts), shelled and chopped.
4-5 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped (650g prepared weight and didn’t bother to peel).
4 eggs, beaten.
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste.
Method:
Spray a silicon ring mould with oil and dust with flour.
Rub the butter into the dry ingredients.
Add the dates, walnut pieces and chopped apples and mix so that the apple is well covered with flour.
Beat the vanilla with the eggs and gradually stir into the mix.
Stir thoroughly then place in cake mould.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 165C, Gas 3 for 605-75 minutes, covering with a double layer of foil with a steam hole after 60 minutes if needed.
Allow to cool before turning out.
My Tips:
Once turned out, allow to cool before covering. This cake will be very moist due to the apple so it will keep for about a week but keep covered.
For the Coronation version, I decorated on the day by brushing edible gold powder over the cake, surrounding it with shortbread crowns, adding more decorations and flags to the turrets, speared through red glace cherries. A sight to behold, if only I could.
This is a big cake and will serve about 18 people and can also be gently heated in the microwave and served as a pudding with cream, custard or other naughtiness!