'Cheer Me Up' Apple Cake (Apple Brownies)

I made this cake for 2 reasons. Number 1, I needed to use up some apples. Number 2, I needed cheering up.

This cake contains everything you need to cheer you up (except chocolate): brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and soft apples. It tastes like apple pie and custard, with a hint of hot cross buns. Its delicious warm, and I imagine it would be lovely with custard if I hadn't eaten all the cake before I got the chance to make any.

This recipe used a 12"x9" tin and made between 9 and 12 slices, depending on how big you want your slices. You can use any apples, I used Pink Lady because that's what I had. Leave the skin on them.

Ingrediants
200g self raising flour
180g light brown sugar (plus extra to sprinkle)
180g Stork
3 eggs
3 apples (1 apple per egg used) chopped in cm cubes.
150g - 200g sultanas (depending on taste)
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinamon

1. Set oven to gas mark 3/4  and grease and line tine
2. Put sultanas in a bowl with vanilla extract and honey, add a dash of hot water and cover with clingfilm. Put to one side.
3. Add butter, sugar (sifted), flour (double sifted), cinnamon and eggs to a bowl and mix.
4. Fold in the apples with a metal spoon
5. Fold in sultanas and any remaining juice in the bowl.
6. Spoon batter into tin and smooth. Sprinkle some brown sugar on top.
7. Cook on gas mark 3 - 4 for 40 minutes. The cake will be softer in the middle like brownies.
8. Allow to cool, then turn out to remove paper. Either return to tin or place on board to cut up.
9. Enjoy - and try it warm!

Thank you for reading!

I'm linking to: Food Trip Friday and  Food on Fridays

Orange and Amaretto Cupcakes

Warm orangey sponge with chewy amaretto biscuit chunks. Swirls of Dissarano buttercream and a sprinkling of crunchy amaretto.

Ingredients (to make 8 large cupcakes)
For the sponge:
125g  self raising flour (double sieved)
125g  light brown sugar (sieved to remove any 'rocks')
125g  Stork or margarine
2  eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
Zest and juice of 1 orange
12 medium sized crunchy amaretto biscuits ( plus 3-4 extra for decoration)

For the buttercream:
75g unsalted butter (softened)
150g icing sugar
2-3 tbsp Dissarono or any amaretto liquor (to taste)

Instructions
1. Line a cupcake tin with cases, or use a muffin tin if you want to create really large cupcakes.
2. Make basic cake batter by mixing the flour, sugar, eggs, Stork and baking powder together using a mixer. If you don't have a mixer cream the sugar and butter, then add the flour and baking powder, followed by the eggs.
3. Add the orange zest and juice.
4. Crush the biscuits (I like to use a rolling pin!) and fold into the batter.
5. Fill the cupcake cases to 2/3 full
6. Bake at gas mark 4 (180c / 350f) for 15 - 20 minutes. In my gas oven they were done after 18 minutes.

Topping
1. Sift icing sugar into a bowl and add the softened butter
2. Whisk until creamy
3. Add Dissarono to taste (don't taste too much of it!)
4. Pipe buttercream on to cooled cakes. Less is more with this buttercream, or you may not be able to taste the orange in the sponge. If you want lots of buttercream, consider adding a little orange zest before piping.
5. Finish with a sprinkling of crumbled amaretto biscuits.

Thanks for reading xx


I'm linking to Sweet Tooth Friday, Food Trip Friday, Food on Fridays, Muffin Monday