Merelyn’s mother, Yolan, seemed to make an apple cake every week. This was her regular when Merelyn was young, but it was later superseded by her apple pie, featured in The Feast Goes On. Dairy free, rustic and easy to make, it works equally well with stone fruit in summer or firm pears in winter.

　　

Ingredients

About 10 servings

　　3 eggs

　　345 g (1½ cups or 12¼ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

　　250 ml (1 cup or 8½ fl oz) oil

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　300 g (2 cups or 10½ oz) self-rising flour, sifted

　　60 ml (¼ cup or 12 fl oz) strawberry jam or jelly

　　3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

　　1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (see note)

　　1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar, for sprinkling

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9½-inch round springform cake tin.

　　

Step 2

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add the oil and vanilla and beat until just combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in the flour.

　　

Step 3

Pour half of the batter into the prepared tin, then dot with the strawberry jam and cover with half of the sliced apple. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Top with the remaining batter then the remaining apple slices. Finally, sprinkle over the tablespoon of caster sugar.

　　

Step 4

Bake for 1 hour then reduce the temperature to 325°F and bake for a further 30 minutes or until deep golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

　　

Step 5

Note: To make cinnamon sugar, combine 230 g (1 cup or 8 oz) caster sugar with 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Store in an airtight jar and use as needed.

　　From Now for Something Sweet by Monday Morning Cooking Club, copyright © 2020. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins.Buy the full book from Amazon or HarperCollins.