Apple Cake with Hotel Collingwood

As the restrictions imposed upon daily life remain, there has never been a better time to hone those baking skills. With thanks to Hotel Collingwood we are able to share a couple of fantastic cake recipes with a local twist, starting with the ever-popular Dorset Apple Cake. Find the recipe below and then give it a go yourself. Don't forget to send through your efforts to the #LoveBournemouth, #LoveChristchurch and #LovePoole social channels and maybe we will share some of the best efforts on a later blog!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Grease a deep 23-24cm spring form cake tin and line with baking paper. Peel, core and cut the apples into 1cm pieces, and toss with the lemon juice.
2. Using an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, adding a little flour with each addition to keep the mixture smooth.
3. Sift the remaining flour and the baking powder into the bowl and fold in with the ground almonds. Drain the apple pieces well, then stir into the mixture.
4. Spoon into the prepared cake tin, lightly level the top and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until well-risen, brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the cake starts to look a little too brown, cover with a sheet of baking paper after about 45 minutes.
5. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin and place on a serving plate. Dredge heavily with the extra caster sugar. Cut the cake into generous wedges and serve warm with a spoonful of clotted cream, if you like.