Where we stay in Sweden the gardens are filled with apple trees heavy with fruit every Autumn. Although I love the summer in Sweden, the Autumn is quite unique and equally special. This apple and almond cake is a wonderful way to celebrate the seasons fruit and is heavily spiced with comforting cinnamon and cardamom.
Ingredients
- 110 grams butter - plus extra for greasing, 3.88 ounces, about ½ stick
- 150 grams soft light brown sugar
- 2 large free range eggs
- 210 grams plain flour - sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 300 grams peeled cored and sliced cooking apple - About one large apple
- 50 grams sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons apple jam - or apricot jam
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4.
- Grease and line a 8-inch/20cm cake tin with a removable base.
- With an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until they are incorporated.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until you have a thick cake batter.
- Fold the apples into the batter.
- Scrape the batter into the cake tin. The batter will be thick, so use a spatula to spread across the base of the tin.
- Spread the almonds of top of the cake.
- Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Cover with tin foil if the almonds brown too much.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
- As the cake is cooling, heat the jam in a saucepan until runny and brush over top of the cake.