Dorset Apple Cake

Star and I discovered Dorset apple cake (with lashings of whipped cream) a couple of years ago when on holiday in ... yes, you guessed it ... Dorset. I found the recipe in this little book: Favourite Dorset Recipes.

I rarely buy cookery books as they usually have so few recipes I can use. Tevye doesn't eat non-Kosher foods (pork, bacon, ham, seafood), doesn't like anything spicy, and hates cheese in any shape or form, however well disguised. This rules out a lot! The Favourite Recipes books are cheap enough that even if we only like two or three of the recipes they are worth buying. They are also often sold at tourist spots, so I usually pick them up when we are on holiday. I have several, but as there are over sixty books in the series there is plenty of scope to collect more.

I digress ... back to the recipe. I hadn't made this for some time before today, and had forgotten just how much everyone likes it. The "cake" is something of a cross between an apple cake and an apple crumble. It can be eaten hot or cold, and is at its best with whipped double (heavy) cream.

Ingredients
8 oz self-raising flour
4 oz butter
4 oz caster sugar
8 oz cooking apples, peeled, cored and diced
Grated rind of one lemon (I don't bother with this as I often don't have a lemon to hand)
1 medium egg, beaten
2 oz sultanas (golden raisins) - optional

Method
Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Sir in sugar, apples, lemon rind and egg and mix well.
Add sultanas, if desired. (I skip these, as certain picky people in my household don't like them)
Put the mixture into a well greased 8 inch diameter cake tin
Bake at 375deg F or Gas Mark 5 for 30-40 minutes until golden in colour.