This recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. C’s mum wasn’t feeling very well and so I thought some cake might help. She loves her cake but favours the simpler styles rather than the flamboyant. It was C who suggested the apple theme. I think he probably fancied a piece himself. I was quite surprised by this recipe as it says to leave the mixture for a few hours or over night before baking, I’m not too sure why this is. Anyhow, this came out very moist and wintery. I love the pieces of chocolate dotted through the cake. It’s also well worth the effort of toasting the nuts as it really brings the flavour out.

Ingredients

175g unsalted butter (room temperature)

140g soft brown sugar

2 tablespoons strawberry jam

2 large eggs

140g plain flour

1 tablespoon baking powder (I misread the recipe and only used 1 teaspoon, it turned out fine and looked just like the picture in the book.)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (if making again I would add 1 and 1/2teaspoons rather than just 1 teaspoon)

100g shelled mixed nuts, lightly toasted. (I used hazelnuts, almonds and pecans)

50g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

2 eating apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

1 eating apple thinly sliced for decoration

A 23 x 13 cm loaf tin, lined with parchment paper.

• Put the butter, sugar and strawberry jam in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl, then beat into the butter mixture.
• Stir in the nuts, chocolate and apples into the mixture with a spoon until evenly dispersed.
• Cover and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight if possible.
• Pre-heat oven to 170 °C/150°C fan/ gas 3
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over with a palette knife
• Arrange the thinly sliced apple on top of the loaf along the middle
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until brown and the sponge feels firm to the touch. A skewer inserted should come out clean, unless you hit the melted chocolate.