Nutty Apple and Blackberry Crumble Cake

This is a lovely autum cake, great with freshly picked blackberries!

Ingredients:

• 175g unsalted butter
• 150g golden caster sugar , plus 1tbsp
• 4 eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges
• 3 largeeggs, beaten
• 200g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 150g yoghurt
• 150g blackberries 
• 3-4 tbsp clear honey 
• crème fraîche or double cream, to serve

CRUMBLE TOPPING

• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 150g plain flour
• 100g blanched pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 20cm springform tin with baking parchment.
2. To make the crumble topping, melt the butter, then mix in the soft brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and chopped pecans. Heat 25g of butter in a large frying pan. Add 1 tbsp caster sugar and the apple wedges. Cook for about 10 minutes until the apples are tender and golden. Leave to cool.
3. Beat together the remaining butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the eggs. Then mix in the flour and baking powder. Add the yogurt and mix until smooth.
4. Spoon roughly two-thirds of the cake mixture into the tin, spread level and scatter over one-third of the crumble, covering the cake. Top with the remaining cake mixture and level again. Scatter on  the apple wedges and blackberries on top. Finally top with the remaining crumble.
5. Bake for about 1 hour. Loosely cover the top of the cake with a sheet of baking parchment or foil halfway through the cooking time if it is browning too quickly or to stop the pecans burning.
6. Cool the cake in the tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a serving plate. Warm the honey in a pan and drizzle over the cake. Serve warm with a bowl of crème fraîche or lightly whipped double cream.



Apple and Blackberry Cake