Apple Crumble Cake {Sponge Cake Meets Apple Crumble}

I made this Apple Crumble Cake for my dad's birthday last week. He's not much of a chocolate cake man but he loves crumbles and fruit cakes, so I thought a combination of the two in the form of an apple crumble cake would make a perfect birthday cake for him.

It looks really impressive but it's actually a really easy recipe. I made a simple sponge cake mix (with a little extra flour as the apples add moisture), stirred though some chopped apples and sprinkled over a crumble mixture before baking. There's no need to pre-cook the apples.

Apple crumble cake is really delicious served slightly warm with some custard, cream or crème fraîche. It also tastes really delicious cold the following day as the flavours come together. If you want to make your apple crumble cake look pretty, decorate with caramelised apple wedges and dredge with icing sugar.

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Apple Crumble Cake {Sponge Cake Meets Apple Crumble}

• Time: 20 mins prep + 60 mins baking
• Cost: 30p per serving
• Calories: 349 per serving
• Makes: 16 slices

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 225g butter at room temperature
• 225g golden caster sugar
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 275g self-raising white flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• Good teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
• 4 eating apples, peeled and sliced

For the crumble topping:

• 45g butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 35g caster sugar
• 70g white flour
• Good pinch of cinnamon (optional)

To decorate (optional):

• Half apple cut into 3mm wedges, skin on
• Tablespoon caster sugar
• Icing sugar to dredge

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C / 160 fan / gas mark 4. Grease a 26cm round springform tin (or other sized tin of your choice) or line with baking paper.
2. Start by making the crumble topping. Mix all the ingredients for the crumble topping in a bowl with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set to one side.
3. To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the eggs gradually using the electric whisk to incorporate. Don't worry if it's curdles a little. Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl and use a spatula or metal spoon to fold it into the mixture until well incorporated. Finally fold in the chopped apples.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use the spatula to press the apple crumble cake mixture into the edges of the tin and spread it flat. Bake for around 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake has a slight springy texture. Check it halfway through baking and if the cake is browning before it's cooked through then loosely cover the top of the cake with a layer of foil.
5. To make the caramelised apples to decorate the apple crumble cake, coat the apple wedges generously with the sugar and bake in the oven on a baking sheet, along with the cake, for 10 - 15 minutes turning once halfway through. Leave to cool and arrange on top of the apple crumble cake after dredging with icing sugar.