Mary Berry Cooks: Apple and cinnamon loaf cake

By MARY BERRY

Published: | Updated:


This is a lovely moist loaf (above, alongside the Banana Cake from my book), which I love to serve sliced and buttered. It’s very quick and simple to make

Apple and cinnamon loaf cake

MAKES TWO 450G (1LB) LOAVES

  • 200g (7oz) self-raising flour
  • 75g (3oz) butter
  • 100g (4oz) light muscovado sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 dessert apples, about 350g (12oz) before peeling, peeled and cored
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons warmed, sieved apricot jam, to finish
  1. Grease two 450g (1lb) deep loaf tins and line their bases with a strip of baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4.
  2. Place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub the butter in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (this can also be done in a food processor). Stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
  3. Dice 2½ apples and stir into the cake mixture along with the eggs. Beat until combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins. Thinly slice the remaining apple half and arrange in a row along the middle of each cake top. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until golden, risen, firm to the touch in the centre and just shrinking from the sides of the tins.
  4. Brush the tops of the cakes with the apricot jam. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack.

PREPARE AHEAD This cake will keep for 3-4 days in a cake tin.

FREEZE This will freeze for up to 3 months either as a whole cake or in slices layered between strips of baking paper.

Mary’s wise words 450g (1lb) loaf tins vary in size. Ours is 15cm x 10cm x 7.5cm (6in x 4in x 3in). If you wish to make a larger cake, in a 900g (2lb) loaf tin, double the mixture and bake for about 1 hour.


Apple
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