It is hard not to love a spiced apple cake, but let’s be honest, these aren’t always the fanciest looking cakes. No one will object to a slice next to a cup of tea, but they just aren’t as showy as other desserts.

Until now.

The only limit for how pretty this cake will look is your own skill at arranging apple slices. Don’t worry if your artistic abilities are limited though, a few quick circles of apple pieces are all you really need.

Makes: 1 8 inch cake (about 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 apples peeled and cored (I used gala, but granny smith also works here if you like a sharper taste)
• 1 1/2 cups AP flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/3 cup softened unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/3 cup milk (room temperature)
• Vanilla (1 tsp)
• 1/4 cup jam/jelly (I suggest apple jelly or apricot jam, but just use what you have)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees f
2. Grease the sides of an 8″ baking pan and line the bottom with parchment
3. Cut one of the apples into 1/2 inch / 1 cm cubes, and slice the other two apples into slices about 1/4 inch / 1/2 cm slices, try to make them as even as possible
4. In a medium bowl, stir together flour (1 1/2 cups), baking powder (1 1/2 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp), cinnamon (1/2 tsp), nutmeg (1/4 tsp) and ginger (1/4 tsp)
5. Cream together butter (1/3 cup) and sugar (3/4 cup)
6. Add eggs (2), milk (1/3 cup) and vanilla (1 tsp) to the butter mixture and mix well
7. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing just until combined
8. Pour batter into prepared cake pan, it will be a bit thick
9. Arrange the apples as artfully as you want on top of the cake batter
10. Heat the jam or jelly until it is runny, and then brush it over the apples
11. Bake 35-40 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean
12. Let cool for at least 30 minutes, ideally an hour, before slicing

Notes:

• Do the pictures in this post look a little better than my usual? Many thanks to my friend G who helped photograph this cake as well as providing taste-testing services.