Posted By Laura in Family Recipes, In the Home | 4 comments

I thought I’d better finally share, as I’ve been asked to so often, and now they’re fighting over the cyber-cakes on Twitter I thought it time they made their own. And as a bonus, it’s a recipe so easy you can make it with a 3 yr old.

You know how you have a zillion recipe books, but only a handful you constantly return to? Well, this is a recipe from one of mine – it’s the 1980 version of Readers Digest ‘The Cookery Year‘, first published in 1973, and inherited from the husbands Great Aunty Peg. And it’s a classic, and I. Love. It.
It has never failed me – but not for clever fancy-dancy dinner party recipes. I love it because it is laid out seasonally, and because I can rely on it to tell me which cut of meat to use, how to make marmalade, how to prepare Kohl Rabi… and Bake the Cakes Like Mummy Used To Make. More a kitchen reference than a recipe book, I wouldn’t be parted from mine.

There is a new, up-to-date  version available, but it’s nowhere near as good or comprehensive. Keep your eyes peeled and find yourself an original version that looks like this. They are for sale on Amazon (click the picture to see the Amazon reviews of lots of people agreeing with me), but I’m pretty sure they’d pop up regularly on eBay or your local charity shop or 2nd hand bookstall.

So. Courtesy of the Best Book In My Kitchen, here is the secret to happiness – Apple Cakes.

(and it’s an old book, so it’s all in Imperial – you’ll just have to convert yourself)

• Grease 16 patty tins thoroughly.
• Peel & core the apples and cook them, with brown sugar to taste, over low heat until they form a thick puree (I often add a dribble of water, and go easy on the sugar or they end up too sweet).
• Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder & salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub this into the flour until the the mix looks like breadcrumbs.
• Stir in the sugar, and then mix in the beaten egg. Use your hands to make into a soft dough.
• Knead lightly on a floured surface, and roll out 1/4in thick. Handle the dough carefully, it is fragile.
• Cut out 16 bases and 16 lids with a plain 2 1/2″ cutter.
• Lift the bases into the patty tins with a pallete knife. Cover with a tsp of the apple puree, and top with a lid – they self-seal during cooking. Sprinkle with caster sugar (optional).
• Bake just above centre, preheated to 400ºF, 200C (I use 180º in a fan) GM 6 for about 15 minutes.
• Leave to cool slightly in the tins, then ease out with a palette knife to cool completely in a rack.
• Serve while fresh (I defy you to have any left a day later to go stale) – delicious on their own, but ideally with a hot pot of tea and a dollop of clotted cream of course.
• See? Easy as apple cakes.