apple and marzipan crumble cake

This recipe is inspired by one of my Christmas presents, The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater. I’ve always had a soft spot for crumble topped cakes, I love the combination of textures. The inclusion of apples in a cake also reminds me of the kinds of cakes my gran used to make that would have large pieces of tart plums or apples nestling in the soft, sweet sponge.

Ingredients

250g apple, peeled, cored and cut in to small pieces

175g softened butter

175g caster sugar

2 eggs

255g plain flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder

pinch ground cinnamon

few drops vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of one lemon (optional)

100g marzipan broken into small pieces

Crumble topping

110g Plain flour

75g butter

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line the base of a 22cm round cake tin.

2. Beat the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.

3. Break the eggs into a separate bowl, beat them gently then add to the butter and egg mixture.

4. Fold in the flour, cinnamon, vanilla extract and half of the apples and marzipan pieces then transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon or spatula.

5. Scatter the remaining marzipan and apple pieces on top of the cake mixture.

6. Quickly blitz together the crumble ingredients in the food processor or bring together by hand in a large bowl. You want the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Add a couple of drops of water to the mixture so that the crumbs look more like gravel then scatter over the cake with a little extra cinnamon and demerara sugar if you like.

7. Bake for about an hour in the oven or until a skewer comes out clean.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool before cutting into slices and enjoying with your cuppa.

gooseberry and blackberry crumble

Feeling inspired following a visit to this great farm shop in Kent on the bank holiday weekend we came home and made an awesome, yet super simple gooseberry and blackberry crumble. This recipe is not too sweet so the sharpness of the fruit really shines through. Feel free to add more sugar if you have a sweeter tooth than me. It is particularly good enjoyed with some good quality vanilla ice cream. I had some assistance making this crumble so don't be concerned by the masculine hands appearing in the pictures!

Ingredients
Crumble topping:
280g Self Raising Flour
140g unsalted butter
140g sugar
60g rolled oats / ground almonds or other nuts (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Crumble filling:
1 punnet of blackberries, rinsed
500g gooseberries, rinsed
Generous sprinkle of sugar. (approx 50g)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted)
2. Place the fruit in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the sugar.
3. Place the flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl and rub together with your hands until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. You can also complete this step in a food processor. Use the pulse function so that you don't over mix it.
4. Stir through the oats or nuts if using them. 
5. Sprinkle to crumble topping over your fruit then place in the oven.
6. Depending on the size of dish and what your oven is like it will take about 30-40 minutes to cook. You want the topping to be golden brown and the fruity mixture below just bubbling through.
7. Serve with a generous scoop of ice cream or custard or cream.