As part of the forthcoming community Apple Day at the Sidings Orchard, Heaton Mersey we are putting out a call to arms to any local and enthusiastic cake makers to ask for help in feeding the community with homemade fruit themed cakes.

To make this easy we are sharing a couple of lovely but easy apple cake recipes.    If you can help bake some apple cake please email us to let us know and if you have any questions just ask.

DORSET APPLE CAKE

Ingredients

• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 115g unsalted butter, diced and chilled, plus extra for greasing
• 125g light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 6-8 tbsp. milk
• 225g Bramley or Granny Smiths peeled, cored and diced
• 100g sultana
• 2 tbsp. Demerara sugar (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Mix the flour and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar. Beat in the egg followed by 6 – 8 tbsp. of milk – you want to achieve a smooth, thick batter.
3. Add the apples and sultanas and mix to combine. Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and gently level out. Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool further.  The cake can be frozen

PLEASE NOTE: This cake is meant to be quite a dense, rich, heavy cake. You may wish to add a teaspoon of baking powder to make it a bit lighter.

SPICED APPLE CAKE (by the hairy bikers)

When you’re in need of a nice piece of cake with a cup of tea this will do the trick.  Serves 12, 229 cals per serving. Bet you didn’t think you could enjoy something like this on a diet!

INGREDIENTS

• Oil, for spraying
• 750g Bramley cooking apples
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 250g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 2 large eggs
• 100g demerara sugar, plus 2 tbsp
• 200ml semi-skimmed milk
• 100ml sunflower oil
• ½ tsp sifted icing sugar, for dusting

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5. Line a 23cm springclip cake tin with baking parchment. Mist the base and sides with oil.
2. Peel the apples and cut them into quarters. Remove the cores and cut the apples into thin slices – you’ll need about 500g prepared weight. Put the apple slices in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice and zest.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and spice in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs with the 100g of sugar, the milk and sunflower oil in a separate medium bowl using a large metal whisk. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring lightly until combined – use the whisk to break up any stubborn lumps. Toss the lemony apples through the cake batter until evenly mixed and pour the mixture into the prepared tin.
4. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the top and bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour until it is well risen and golden on top. Test the cake by inserting a skewer into the centre – it should slide easily through the apples in the middle and come out clean.
5. Leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the tin and carefully peeling off the baking parchment. Dust with sifted icing sugar and serve warm or cold with a little single cream or half-fat crème fraiche.
6. This cake is deliciously moist, so it’s best to keep it wrapped in foil and eat it within a couple of days. It is quite large, so if you want to keep yourself from being tempted to eat too much, you could cut the cake into quarters and freeze some for another time. Wrapped tightly, it will freeze well for 3 months. Defrost the cake fully before serving and warm it through in a low oven or a microwave if you like.