It’s September which means it is finally apple season and what could be better at this time of year than a slice or two of Dorset apple cake? If you fancy whipping up one of these traditional Dorset classics, why not take a look at this spin on it by turning it into a tray bake? All the easier for sharing out among the family and a few squares feels a lot less naughty than a few slices!
Ingredients:
225g butter
450g cooking apples
Juice of ½ a lemon
280g caster sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
350g self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
A sprinkling or demerara sugar.
You can of course find apples all over Dorset, so make sure to stop off at one of the region’s farmshops or delis to grab some. You can also find Dorset made butter and local eggs there too!
Method:
Start off by heating your oven to 180c or gas mark 4. While that’s warming up, grease your baking tray, or if you prefer, line with parchment and butter. Set this to the side and prepare your apples.
To prepare the apples, peel, core and slice them into thin strips, then squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and leave to soak.
In a large bowl, put the butter, caster sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, flour and baking powder and mix until combined and smooth. Spread half the mixture evenly into the tin, layer on apples and then repeat. Once all the apples and mixture is used, sprinkle demerara sugar on top and put in the oven.
Bake for around 45 minutes and check to see if it is golden and springy to the touch, you could always check it is cooked by inserting a knife into the top and seeing if it comes out clean. If it isn’t quite golden enough for you, pop back in for an extra five minutes keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
Once cooled, turn out of the tin and remove the paper if you used it, cut into squares and serve, we recommend eating it when it is still slightly warm with a good dollop of Dorset ice cream!
