My Blackberry & Apple Cake Easy Recipe

This is the 2nd cake recipe I just made up as I went along that I promised to blog.  If you saw my Banana Cake recipe I said I would try to work out how much is actually in 1/3 of a Chinese Chow Mein carton to give a more accurate recipe.  Sorry, for those who didn’t read the other blog, my blackberry and apple was just stored in the take-away tub and I just tipped about 1/3 of it in the cake mix so had no idea how much I used at the time.  As this was discussed only a couple of hours after I made it, I took a quick photo before it all disappeared – not a good or thought-out photo as I had only expected to send it to my friend Julie but I have included it here anyway.

You can also use most other fruits instead I presume – and most definitely stewed apples on their own if you don’t like the blackberry pips.  I know I am probably lucky but I make lots of recipes up as I go along – especially for dinners so if it was a particularly tasty stir fry / casserole etc. I do try to write it down afterwards so I can try to replicate it, as I would never remember what I had put in by the time I came to make it again.  I also like to make things easy – some great tasty meals are just so quick and easy to make.  I love tasty meals rather than plain ones so I love to experiment and I just add things as I go, especially different herbs and spices.  Whenever I have ever looked at recipes, there are ingredients involved that I just don’t have so I have had to improvise anyway.  But if the recipe looks too complicated and long-winded I just can’t be bothered.   Anyway back to the cake recipe so here it is.  It is almost a sponge mix really so you could make it in 2 sponge tins if you wanted.  It couldn’t be any simpler so give it a try. 

SUZY’S  BLACKBERRY  &  APPLE  CAKE

Put oven on (fan 160 degrees) – medium heat
In a mixing bowl put in all the ingredients and mix together, then put in a tin and cook for about an hour. I put some castor sugar on the top for the last 10 mins and foil loosely over the top to stop it burning at that point. It's ready when the knife comes out clean. 

For the metric cooks – 8oz is about 250grams.

Ingredients:
6 oz castor sugar
6 oz soft butter
6 oz self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 XL eggs
1 dessert spoon Mixed Spice
1 dessert spoon Cinnamon
10oz (approx.) Stewed blackberry and apple

This is almost my foolproof sponge recipe really except I made it into a cake.  The sponge mix is just the same apart from I split it into 2 sponge tins and cook it a bit hotter but for only half an hour.  I vary the taste of the sponge by just adding different things - coconut, lemon juice, chocolate powder, ground almonds & almond essence, coffee, walnuts, mixed fruit, cherries etc.  Favourites seem to be coffee & walnut, cherry & coconut, lemon & coconut, almond.  Absolutely foolproof.   Just follow the 6/6/6/1/3 ingredients rule or for a thicker sponge 8/8/8/1.5/4.  Unless it is a Victoria Sponge I usually put flavoured butter icing in the middle and flavoured normal icing on top and basically decorate with whatever is in the cake – walnuts, cherries etc.  With lemon cake I often spread lemon curd in the middle as well.  Another popular recipe I have is for Date Loaf – I’ll post that another day.

If you try either of these recipes I hope you enjoy them – and remember if they don’t come out quite right just use them as a dessert with custardJ