Apple and Flaxseed Cake

Back at last to a lovely, loaf cake recipe for this month's blog with refreshing apple and milled flaxseed added to the batter. The apple makes a wonderfully moist and not over sweet cake with a hint of cinnamon. Again, a very simple recipe, based on a tea loaf  with slightly more flour to fat ratio to soak up the apple juices. Adding the nutty tasting flaxseed on top it ; could almost be healthy... in moderation!

I love this flaxseed topping and use it in a variety of bakes but my favourite is the apple cake so far and, on my porridge with a teaspoon of honey in the morning. Flaxseed, also known as Linseed, is one of nature’s richest sources of the essential fatty acid Omega 3 (ALA). It's good to have a healthy ingredient and I really like the slightly nutty taste it imparts to the cake.

The recipe  uses two medium Bramley apples which melt into the batter, giving the cake a juicy apple centre. The apple pieces are quite large to stop them breaking down too fast ; about  2cm by 1cm. If you use eating apples, such as Granny Smith's, make them 1cm cubes but you will need to add 2-3 tbsp of milk to the batter to adjust for lost juice. You can adjust the cinnamon to taste if you prefer a more distinct cinnamon flavour.

This recipe bakes two loaf style cake.

Text Only Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

250g   Butter

250g   Demerara sugar 

       3  Large eggs

280g   Self raising flour

2 Medium Bramley Apples

1 tbsp Flaxseed for the batter
1 tsp   Cinnamon

Topping
1 tbsp Flaxseed mixed with
1 tbsp Demarara sugar 

Method:

Preheat oven 160c/140c Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3.

2lb Loaf Tin - lined x 2

Cream the sugar and butter together until light, slightly more trying with the larger demerara sugar crystals but just as important to give it a good beating!  Stir in the eggs one at a time. Mix in half the flour, cinnamon and the flaxseed.  Fold in the rest of the flour. Batter should a little stiffer than usual and not fall easily off the spoon - adjust with slightly more yoghurt or milk as needed if using eating apples.

Place a layer of the batter in the tin and start to add 1/4 of the apples ; evenly spaced out. Gently stir the rest of the apples in the batter and put in tin. 

Bake in the centre of the oven until risen and a skewer comes cleanly out. Check after 30 minutes and depending on the type of tin you have chosen lower the oven temperature to 120c if it looks like it is browning too quickly on top. 

Place skewer or cocktail stick through cake and check. This is much more difficult when using larger pieces of fruit in a cake which may get stuck on the skewer and obscure the cooked cake particles. However, retest in a different part of the cake near the centre and make sure cake springs back when touched. Brush the top lightly with boiled water and sprinkle on the flaxseed and sugar topping. Leave cake in tin to cool for 15 mins minimum.

Wrap cake in foil/film to maintain moistness. Wonderful for tea time or any time !

Tangy Cherry and Lemon Cake

Back to a lovely, large cake recipe for this month's blog with a tangy cherry and lemon cake made with yoghurt. This is a wonderfully moist and not oversweet classic for cherry lovers, doused with a lemon drizzle. Using less eggs than an standard Victoria or pound cake recipe and with more yoghurt to add to the tangy flavours. Wonderful for an afternoon tea and the secret to it's success; don't be mean with the cherries!

And when I say mean, I mean 'mean' ....! I had severely underestimated the amount I needed to purchase in a previous cake. I favour 'placing the cherries in the batter' as opposed to mixing them in which is meant to guarantee you getting a bite of the cherry; it was disappointing and you were lucky to get one in a slice. 

So this for friends who love cherries, especially the glacé kind and want a lot please and have been know to pick through fruit cake to hunt them out. I shall not be naming names but you know who you are and I'm glad  you enjoyed this one.

This recipe bakes two loaf style cakes or one large bundt/ring cake.

Text Only Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

250g   Butter

250g   Caster sugar 

2 Large eggs

180-200g  Plain yoghurt*

260g   Self raising flour

2 large lemons

1 tbsp caster sugar for the lemon drizzle

300 g glacé cherries** (about 1 and half large containers)

*I have used Yeo Valley Yogurt which has a reasonable thick consistency but other yogurts I have used are thinner so you may need to adjust by a few spoonfuls accordingly.

**Glacé cherries- I have tried to be generous with the cherries here and I would encourage you do to the same but again it is personal preference so please adjust if you would prefer.

Method:

Preheat oven 160c/140c Fan/325F/Gas Mark 3.

Cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.  Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Fold in half the flour . Gently stir in the yoghurt and zest of the two lemons. Fold in the rest of the flour. Batter should not be too runny but fall gently off the spoon - adjust with slightly more yoghurt or milk as needed.

Place a layer of the batter in the tin and start to add the cherries; evenly spaced out and repeat this with another layer of batter and more cherries. The batter will rise up over the last layer of cherries so don't worry about pushing them too far in.

Still not enough cherries , imagine a slice and see how many cherries you would get in it !

Bake in the centre of the oven until risen and a skewer comes cleanly out. Check after 20 minutes and depending on the type of tin you have chosen lower the oven temperature to 120c if it looks like it is browning too quickly on top. Check with a skewer again if necessary in the centre and leave to cool in tin for 15 mins. 

Make drizzle topping by juicing the 2 lemons- put juice in microwave with a tbsp of caster sugar and heat for a minute. Stir and heat for another minute. Cool slightly . Prick tip of cakes lightly with a fork and brush drizzle generously over cake. Wrap cake in foil/film to maintain moistness.