Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake

Despite this cake being packed full of fruit, its definitely a little more naughty than my usual bakes. It has quickly become a family favourite, enjoyed as much for a dessert with some ice cream or a slice or two for brunch with a coffee.

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Ingredients

Crumble - Makes a big batch you may not need to use it all for the cake

120g Unsalted butter melted

150g Soft Light Brown Sugar

190g Plain Flour

30g Rolled Oats

1/4 tsp Salt

Cake

1 cup Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

113g Unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup Caster Sugar

2 Eggs

3 tbsp Rum or Cointreau

2 Cooking apples chopped into 1cm chunks (about 3 cups)

1/2 to 1 cup Blackberries. Reserve a few to scatter on the top.

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Method

For the crumble

1. Make the crumble first and this can even be made a few days ahead and kept in a zip lock bag in the fridge or freezer.

2. Melt the butter for the crumble.

3. Whilst it is melting. Whisk together all the dry crumble ingredients in a mixing bowl.

4. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. It should be a damp pebbly consistency.

5. Allow to cool if not cooled already. Tip into a zip lock back and place in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use.

For the Cake

1. Preheat the oven 180 degrees C and line a 9-inch springform cake pan, or I have also used a tart case for this and reduced the cooking time.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. You can do this by hand with a whisk or wooden spoon. Or you can also used an electric handheld mixer or stand mixer.

4. Once fluffy, add the eggs, 1 egg at a time.

5. Then add the rum or cointreau and whisk until combined. Don’t worry if it looks a little grainy at this stage.

6. Add the flour in 2 additions, mixing until just combined each time.

7. Fold in the chopped apples and blackberries. Don’t worry too much if you squash some of the blackberries.

8. Take your crumble mixture out of the fridge/freezer, you may need to break up some of the bigger chunks. Using your hand sprinkle an even layer over the top. You may not need to use all of the crumble you’ve made, but it will last for about a week in the fridge or longer in the freezer, so you can use it for another cake or crumble.

9. Gently push down the crumble a little into the cake batter.

10. Pour/spoon the batter into your prepare cake tin or tart case.

11. If using a 9-inch springform cake tin, bake for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown. If using a tart case, bake for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown.