Autumn Apple Cake

Last weekend (unlike this one) was a lazy weekend.  I had it in my head to make apple cake.  There were a few contenders.  The oats and spices of Lucy's Spicy Autumn Apple Cake won me over in the end.  Sylvia now jumps on a chair to help whenever I am cooking.  She loved making the apple cake with lots of interesting ingredients, lots of stirring and lots of pouring.

Cooking with children is a joy though it brings its own problems.  Little hands are quick to shove apple and uncooked oats in the mouth.  I might get distracted and tip a bit of coconut into the cake mixture before remembering it is destined for the streusel topping, or confuse half cup with third cup measures as we made the streusel topping.  A fork was plunged into the unbaked cake as we were spreading the streusel mixture on the cake, and handfuls of mixture were thrown onto the cake rather than evenly scattered.  All worthwhile when the little voice says "I like apple cake". 

This is a cake with dried fruit that becomes plump when infused with hot tea.  There is no eggs or butter or oil in the cake.  The only butter or oil is in the streusel.  Lucy used butter but suggested oil as an alternative.  I used the latter.  It was a lazy weekend.  Not a day for the hassle of melting butter.  The streusel was crumbly and fell off the cake easily.  The cake was dense with the dried fruit being more prominent than the apple.  Not the cake I had expected.  Great comfort food, nevertheless.  Maybe next time I will try it as muffins or even make this apple cake that also tempted me.

Sylvia's favourite bit was the crumble.  In fact, she loved to reduce a whole piece of cake to crumble.  E was looking after her on Monday.  While he turned his back to do the dishes, little hands dug into the crumble.  Behind the cake below you can see Sylvia's new Bagpuss annual that arrived in the mail the same day.  Unfortunately the pages fell out upon inspection.  Not as much fun as making cake!

I am sending this cake to Anh of A Food Lover's Journey for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging #279, the event coordinated by Haalo and founded by Kalyn.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Fruits of Autumn: figs, rhubarb and walnuts
This time two years ago: Curried Cauli, Spinach and Peanut Soup
This time three years ago: Family Favourite: Chocolate Pudding

Apple fruit cake
slightly adapted from The Kitchen Maid

• 1 1/2 cups hot tea
• 1 1/2 cups dried fruit (I used about 1/2 cup raisins, 1 cup chopped prunes)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup (or use maple, or date syrup)
• 1 cup peeled, diced apple (about 2 medium apples)
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (preferably a good grinding of a whole nutmeg)
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Crumble topping:

• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 cup each rolled oats
• 1/3 cup coconut
• 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
• 1/3 cup walnuts, crushed with a fork
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Put the raisins, rolled oats, golden syrup and brown sugar in a large bowl and cover with hot tea.  Stir and cool to room temperature.  Or not quite cooled if you are impatient like me.  Add in apple and lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 170 C and grease and line a 24cm springform cake tin.  (I only have a 22cm tin so I used that and a little ramekin).

Make the streusel topping by mixing all ingredients together.

Add remaining ingredients to apple mixture. Stir gently until all is combined.  Tip into prepared tin.  Evenly scatter streusel mixture over the top.

Bake for about 40 minutes until a skewer comes out cleanly (I think it took me longer).  Cool in the tin at least 10 minutes before releasing the springform sides.  Ours lasted about 4 days and was better when completely cooled to room temperature.

On the stereo:
The BBC Sessions: Belle and Sebastian