Apple crumble cake

Oh Mother Nature, you fickle woman. It was only a week ago that the shorts came out and the jerseys were put away, and now we’re back in merino. Luckily for me, I’m lazy and hadn’t put any of my woolies away. And luckily for me, the weather is also a good excuse to make one last winter (ish) dessert. I really love apple crumble, and I also really love cake, so squishing them together was the obvious choice.

This cake has so many things going for it. It’s everything you want from a cake, and everything you want from a crumble. Full of ground almonds and little chunks of apple, there’s also a sprinkling of thyme which adds the teeniest burst of freshness. But the best part is the crumb. OMG, the crumb. It is thick and dense and buttery and so delicious.

You can pull this cake together pretty quickly, although it takes a good hour to bake. Served with coconut yoghurt or whipped cream, it’s a divine afternoon tea treat.

For the crumble

Ingredients

150g brown sugar
50g sugar
150g butter, melted
150g flour
25g desiccated coconut
25g rolled oats
3-4 tablespoons chopped walnuts, optional

Method

Put all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
Add the melted butter and mix and toss together with a couple of forks. Don’t overmix it, you want an even split of biggish lumps and smaller crumbs. Set aside.

For the cake

Ingredients

2 medium apples (Granny Smith is good)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
300g almond meal
150g flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme (optional)
1 lemon
100g honey
150g sugar
180g butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
150g Greek yoghurt, at room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease and line a 26cm cake tin.
Peel the apples and cut them into little cubes, about 1cm. Put them in a bowl with the cinnamon and a good squeeze of the lemon juice (this will stop them turning brown.) Toss to coat, then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, flour, baking powder and thyme. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the honey, sugar and butter together for a good 8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
Add the eggs, yoghurt and vanilla extract and mix on medium speed until they are well combined.
With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, then gently fold in the chopped apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the top. Tip the crumble on top and gently poke it around until it’s distributed evenly.

Bake for around one hour, or until a skewer comes out clean. If your crumble begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover the cake with tinfoil and continue baking.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. I love a slice with a dollop of coconut yoghurt.

Notes

• The thyme is entirely optional, the cake will still be delicious without it.
• Make the crumble before you make the cake batter. The butter needs to absorb into the other ingredients, making it more crumbly.

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