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Apple and walnut cake

Some spices have their favourite accompaniments: cinnamon, for example, seems to prefer apple to almost anything else. The two are combined here with crunchy walnuts and muscovado (soft brown) sugar for its unrefined, caramel flavour. I’ve used some wholemeal flour in this recipe as I like the difference it makes, adding a little weightiness in both texture and taste. The cake makes a delicious dessert, eaten warm with whipped cream, or you could serve it in the afternoon with tea.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 55 minutes

Ready in: 1 hour 45 minutes

Serves: 10–12

300g (11oz) plain flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

175g (6oz) wholemeal flour

225g (8oz) soft light brown sugar

175ml (6fl oz) sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

3 eggs

150ml (5fl oz) milk

3 eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm (½in) dice

75g (3oz) walnuts, roughly chopped

For the glaze

150g (5oz) soft light brown sugar

75g (3oz) butter

25cm (10in) diameter cake tin with 6cm (2½in) sides

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3, then grease the sides of the cake tin with sunflower oil and line the base with a disc of baking parchment.

Sift the plain flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl, then add the wholemeal flour and sugar and mix together.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sunflower oil, eggs and milk, then tip these into the flour and whisk until you have a smooth batter, and stir in the apples and walnuts. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

About 5 minutes before the cake is due to come out, make the glaze. Put the sugar, butter and 1 tablespoon of water into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat.

When the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and let it sit in the tin for 10 minutes. Using a small, sharp knife, loosen around the edges and carefully remove the cake from the tin before transferring to a serving plate.

Reheat the glaze and brush all over the cake, then allow to cool before serving. The glaze means this cake will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.