Apple & Cinnamon Tea Cake

 

 We have two young Missionary Sisters here now in our Ward area and they were coming over the other day to spend some time sharing with us and so I decided to bake them a little treat.  We don't very often get girl missionaries here and so it was really fun.



Not that the guys aren't fun.   They are.   But I can hug the girls, and do fun things for them like give them cakes of Cath Kidston soap, just because they are so sweet and I admire the service they are doing for the Lord.   I have never had a guy get ecstatic about a bar of soap.



And to be honest I've never had them get ecstatic about a cake either.  Although their lack of enthusiasm has never stopped them from enjoying my cakes or having more than one piece!  That makes me happy, even if they aren't jumping up and down.



The girls are different . . . they only had one piece each . . . but they were definitely ecstatic about it.  Makes me smile.

 

And really, no wonder they were thrilled.   This is a really  fabulous cake, really.   It's moist and warmly flavoured with lovely ground cinnamon . . . mmm . . . I do love Cinnamon, don't you?



Oh, and it has cute little apples nestled in amongst that lovely moist batter . . . apples that are slivered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar . . . and baked in the oven along with the cake.  Then the whole thing is glazed with apricot jam.



I love it when that happens.  Dust with icing sugar or not . . . as you wish.  Do serve with lashings of softly whipped cream.   You won't regret it.  You hips might, but you won't . . . I dare say . . . you may even get a little bit ecstatic!

 

*Apple and Cinnamon Tea Cake*
Makes one 9 inch cake, serving 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

A deliciously moist cake, filled with lovely apples and cinnamon flavours.   Serve warm with softly whipped double cream for a real treat!

185g of unsalted butter, softened (3/4 cup)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
126g of golden caster sugar (2/3 cup)
3 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
150g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
78ml of whole milk (1/3 cup)

To top:
4 small Granny Smith Apples, peeled, halved and cored
1 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

To finish:
a heaped dessertspoon of apricot jam, gently warmed (about 1/4 cup)

To serve:
Softly whipped double cream



Preheat the oven to 170*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Butter a 9 inch round spring form cake tin.   Line the bottom with baking paper.  Butter the paper.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter, cinnamon and sugar until light and fluffy.   Beat in the eggs, a bit at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.   Add to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk.  Spread the batter in the prepared pan.  Cut little slits in the apples almost all the way through working from the rounded top down, taking care to leave them intact on the flat side.  Place the apple halves evenly spaced around the cake on top of the batter.  Stir together the sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle evenly over top.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven.  Gently brush with the apricot jam.   Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until the cake tests done when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Serve warm, cut into wedges along with some softly whipped double cream.

Be sure to check out the Interview I did on Piggy Fair.   I really enjoyed doing it!  It's nice sometimes to be able to slow down and reflect on things, on the whys and wherefores.   Thanks Miss Piggy!