Dorset apple cake
A moist, rustic cake packed with chunks of tart apple, barely sweetened, cut into thick slices. It keeps and travels as well as it is enjoyed warm at teatime.
A moist, rustic cake packed with chunks of tart apple, barely sweetened, cut into thick slices. It keeps and travels as well as it is enjoyed warm at teatime.
When the orchard was heavy with apples in the autumn, my mother would make this cake that everyone knows in Dorset. We wanted it dense and a bit sharp, not too sweet — sugar was expensive for folks like us. It kept for days in the tin box, and a corner of this cake with a cup of tea, come evening, was worth all the feasts of the gentlemen of the Geological Society who shut their doors to me.
- •Tart orchard apples — several (filling, moisture)
- •Wheat flour — as needed (base)
- •Butter — a good piece (moistness)
- •Sugar — moderately (expensive commodity) (measured sweetness)
- •Eggs — two (binder)
- •Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) — a pinch (flavor)
Dorset apple cake
A moist, rustic cake packed with chunks of tart apple, barely sweetened, cut into thick slices. It keeps and travels as well as it is enjoyed warm at teatime.
Why this dish? Dorset, Mary's county, is apple country. This dense apple cake, an authentic regional specialty, kept for several days in a tin box — perfect for a family that wasted nothing and to sweeten an evening tea after a hard day on the cliffs.
When the orchard was heavy with apples in the autumn, my mother would make this cake that everyone knows in Dorset. We wanted it dense and a bit sharp, not too sweet — sugar was expensive for folks like us. It kept for days in the tin box, and a corner of this cake with a cup of tea, come evening, was worth all the feasts of the gentlemen of the Geological Society who shut their doors to me.
Ingredients (period version)
- Tart orchard apples — several (filling, moisture)
- Wheat flour — as needed (base)
- Butter — a good piece (moistness)
- Sugar — moderately (expensive commodity) (measured sweetness)
- Eggs — two (binder)
- Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) — a pinch (flavor)
Ingredients
- Tart apples (reinette, Bramley) — 3 (approx. 400 g) (filling)
- Flour — 225 g (base)
- Baking powder — 1 tsp (leavening)
- Butter — 110 g (moistness)
- Sugar — 110 g (sweetness)
- Eggs — 2 (binder)
- Cinnamon — 1 tsp (flavor)
- Brown sugar for sprinkling — 1 tbsp (crust)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, butter a round cake tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs one by one.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, mix into a thick batter.
- Peel and dice the apples, gently fold them into the batter.
- Pour into the tin, sprinkle with brown sugar, bake for 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
- Let cool slightly; serve in thick slices, plain or with a little cream.
How it was made : Dorset apple cake varied from household to household: some made it rise, others preferred it denser and more compact, almost a pudding. They used apples from the orchard or market, and saved on sugar, a taxed and costly commodity in the early 19th century. Kept in an airtight tin, it accompanied tea for several days.
The contemporary twist : Serve warm with a spoonful of thick clotted cream and a drizzle of cider caramel.
Mary Anning · Charactorium