{"id":1601,"date":"2015-03-23T16:08:31","date_gmt":"2015-03-23T16:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1601"},"modified":"2015-03-23T18:24:26","modified_gmt":"2015-03-23T18:24:26","slug":"apple-cakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=1601","title":{"rendered":"Apple Cakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s just as well I am a woman without much blogging ambition because this will not get pinned, Tumblred or tweeted. \u00a0Apple Cakes aren’t flashy to look at, but you will love me for sharing this recipe.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

And, I suppose, that’s where my ambition lies. \u00a0I’m imagining you giving these a go and smiling. \u00a0They are lovely. \u00a0I made these on Saturday morning and they were gone before lunch.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

Like my Mum’s Lemon Meringue Pie<\/a>, the recipe comes from my mum’s wonderfully be-splattered 1973 edition of Readers’ Digest ‘The Cookery Year’. \u00a0You can tweak it. \u00a0A few sultanas and sprinkle of cinnamon are all reasonable additions, but I like it best with the smooth apple sauce filling of the original.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

For me it all begins with Bramley Apples. \u00a0That’s a cooking apple. \u00a0The kind that turns to mush when cooked and is unpleasantly sharp if you try to eat one raw.<\/p>\n

Until I sacrificed my apple tree for an extension to our kitchen ten years ago I’ve always lived in a house with a Bramley apple tree in the garden. \u00a0It’s an old variety, first grown in Mary Ann Brailsford’s garden in Nottinghamshire. \u00a0 Matthew Bramley bought the cottage in 1846. \u00a0In 1856, Henry Merryweather asked if he could take cuttings from the tree and sell the apples. \u00a0Matthew obviously gave his permission and the apples still bear the name ‘Bramley’. \u00a0And that original tree ..? \u00a0Still bearing fruit.<\/p>\n

You’ll need about three.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

Peeled, cored and chopped. \u00a0Later in the year, windfall apples are fine. \u00a0You just cut out all the bruised bits.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

Two tablespoons of light brown muscovado sugar.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

Then, over a gentle heat, soften to a pur\u00e9e. \u00a0Once smooth, it needs to cool before you can use it to fill the Apple Cakes.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s an old fashioned recipe and asks for Plain Flour, Bicarbonate of Soda and Cream of Tartar instead of Self Raising Flour. \u00a0I rather like that about it. \u00a0Sift everything together, including the salt, to get it all evenly mixed.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, if you bake infrequently you might want to consider using Plain Flour and adding your own raising agent as a matter of course – just like Grandma did. \u00a0Baking Powder works well for anything that doesn’t need a ‘fluffy’ rise (like biscuits) but if you want an airy sponge it’s one part Bicarbonate of Soda to two parts Cream of Tartar.<\/p>\n

\"Apple<\/a><\/p>\n

The original recipe calls for margarine, but I can’t bring myself to do it. \u00a0Old fashioned, maybe, but I’m still a creature of my time.<\/p>\n

Unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes. \u00a0Then, rub in.<\/p>\n

What you’re actually doing by ‘rubbing in’ is coating tiny bits of flour with fat – before you add any liquid. \u00a0Think of it like a raincoat! \u00a0It’s to stop liquid penetrating the flour. \u00a0Liquid + flour = \u00a0gluten proteins. \u00a0And gluten proteins give you tough pastry. \u00a0Roughly!!<\/p>\n