Toffee apple cake......

We had a load of apples to use up this week so I decided to make an apple cake. Mum used to make this all the time when we were little. I used to think it was a real treat when we had apple cake and loved finding small juicy bits of fruit inside. It's really easy to make and you can substitute the apples for pears if you prefer. Use equal quantities of flour, sugar, margarine and fruit, then bake and out pops a corker. It's lovely whilst it’s still a little warm.

Serves 8-10
250g self raising flour
250g margarine or butter
250g sugar
250g apples chopped
4 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs one at a time beating well between each addition. Add the apples and mix in well then add the flour and baking powder and fold in. Add the milk, if the mix is too dry add a little more milk. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch cake tin and bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

As I had lots of apples I made a few cakes and decided to turn two into a toffee apple gateaux.

The filling I used is condensed milk that has been boiled in the tin for a few hours, turning it into a luscious caramel, toffee. I layered this in the middle of the cake and then topped it with chantilly cream. After sandwiching the cakes together I covered the cake in chantilly cream and then dusted liberally with ground down caramel. A few strawberries added the finishing touches.