Darren’s Diatribe

My Grandmother used to make this apple cake. The recipe she gave us was lacking in details, so we needed to use a bit of trial and error to get it right.

Stewed Apple
3 large green apples, peeled and thinly sliced
¾ cup water
1/8 tsp ground clove (or 4 cloves to be removed later)
½ tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar

Combine in saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft (not mushy). Drain off excess liquid and allow to cool.

Cake
1 heaped cup plain flour
1 cup corn flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
90 g butter
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup milk (not all will be needed)

Sift flour, corn flour and baking powder into mixing bowl. Add cinnamon. Rub in butter. Mix in sugar and enough milk to make a very soft dough, but not sticky.

Press ½ dough into bottom of greased 20cm square baking tin. Add the stewed apple on top. Roll out the rest of the dough and place on top, pressing firmly.

Bake for 30 minutes at 160°C. Remove and allow to cool.

Icing
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp butter at room temperature
1 tbsp milk

Place ingredients in a mixing bowl sitting in hot water. Mix until smooth. Spread on cake and sprinkle desiccated coconut on top.