Gill Meller’s apple and blackberry cake with lemon and sage

GILL MELLER’S APPLE AND BLACKBERRY CAKE

Blackberries are only in season for a month of two, but you can always pick a few containers full and freeze them for later in the year. It’s a great way to preserve them, especially if you’re going to use them in a cake like this. The lemon and sage are such wonderful additions and go beautifully with the apple and blackberries.

Preparation time 10 minutes | Cook time 50 – 60 minutes | Serves 8 – 10

INGREDIENTS

100g of fresh blackberries

 4 dessert apples, peeled and sliced

225g unsalted organic butter, softened, plus a touch extra for greasing

100g light soft brown sugar

125 g caster sugar

3 Stonegate Estate eggs

Zest of 1 organic lemon

4 – 6 sage leaves, finely chopped

225g organic self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch of salt

2 tablespoons Demerara sugar

METHOD

  1. Preheat the oven to160.c fan
  1. Grease a deep 23 cm (9 inch) loose- bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment.
  1. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl, food processor or freestanding mixer until light and fluffy. With the machine running, add the eggs one by one.
  1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and fold into the batter along with the ½ the apple slices, blackberries and the finely chopped sage and lemon zest. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level of the top
  1. Lay the remaining sliced apples on top of the cake, pushing them in slightly. Sprinkle over the Demerara sugar.
  1. Bake on in the middle of the hot oven for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  1. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
  1. Serve in generous slices with a nice hot cup of tea.
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