How To Make Baked Apple Cake

Step 1: You will need

Step 2: Preheat the oven

Set the oven to 200ºC (400ºF/gas mark 6).

Step 3: Prepare the apples

Cut the apples along their length into pieces, avoiding any of the core. Cut the pieces into thin slices. Repeat until all of the apples are neatly sliced.

Step 4: Prepare the vanilla

Carefully slit the vanilla pod, making sure not to cut it all the way through. Open it and scrape away the pulp from the sides. Put both the pod and the pulp into the saucepan.

Step 5: Heat the butter, cream and vanilla

Put the butter, cream and vanilla in the pan over a medium heat and let them blend together. Give it a stir every now and then to release the vanilla essence.

Step 6: Cream the sugar and eggs

Next, put the sugar into the bowl and add the eggs. Whisk until it becomes a white, fluffy mixture.

Step 7: Mix the flour, baking powder and cinnamon

Into the flour, add the baking powder and cinnamon. Mix them together well and set aside.

Step 8: Make the apple cake

Add the apples and using a strainer pour in the cream mixture, discarding the vanilla pod. Add the flour mix and combine all the ingredients together gently, taking extra care not to break the apples.

Step 9: Bake

Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, place it in the lower part of the oven and bake for about 50 minutes. While cooking, don't be alarmed when the top of the cake becomes a little bit over-brown.

It won't be important since the cake will be served inverted and we need the underside to be brown.

Have a pan or a little aluminium foil in the oven underneath the apple cake to catch any overflow. The cake will rise and some batter is sure to make a mess of your oven if you don't!

Step 10: Remove the apple cake

Remove the cake from the oven and using a knife, carefully separate the sides of the pie from the sides of the baking dish. This will help the cake to shrink in a uniform manner from the pan while cooling. Allow the cake to cool for one hour or more if possible.

Next, loosen the foil from the sides of the pan. Now turn the cake over and very carefully separate the foil from the cake. Use a knife to make the job a little easier.

Step 11: Slice, present and serve

Just before serving, cut the pie into slices and sprinkle with icing sugar. Place the slices on a serving plate with whipped cream. Garnish with mint leaves and your apple cake is ready to serve.