November 28, 2013

teacake time.


i've had a small obsession with apple crumble since i won a homemakers badge as a brownie (aged 9) for stewing apples. back then i had little understanding of the potential behind such a fruit and it's sweetened state. fast forward a few years and this girl's heart skips a beat at the thought of sweet apples stewing on the stove. it's my no fail dessert so when the opportunity arose to combine both crumble and custard in a teacake, i jumped at the chance. here, my friends, is the recipe/result...






apple crumble teacake with custard buttercream

2 apples
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tsp ground cinnamon
250g caster sugar
250g unsalted butter
1 2/3 cup (250g) self-raising flour
4 eggs

custard buttercream

150ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
125g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
175g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (not fan-forced). Grease and line base of a 23cm springform cake pan. (I made mine in 3 x 16cm tins)
  2. Peel and core the apples, and cut into segments. Toss the apples in lemon juice and half the cinnamon, then set aside.
  3. Take 50g each of the sugar, butter and flour, place in a bowl with the remaining cinnamon and rub together with your fingertips.
  4. Place eggs and remaining sugar in an electric beater and beat until very light and fluffy. Melt remaining butter and pour into egg mixture. Sift in remaining flour, then fold in carefully until combined.
  5. Pour into the pan, and carefully lay the apple slices over top. Sprinkle with the crumble mixture and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  6. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

custard buttercream

Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Whisk the egg yolks and then pour the milk and sugar mix over them, whisking all the time. Return the custard mixture to the saucepan and cook over a medium heat stirring all the time. After approximately 10 minutes, the custard will coat the back of your spoon. Remove it from the heat and leave to cool. Place the butter in a bowl and whisk until it is soft and looks almost whipped.Gradually whisk in the cooled (but not cold) custard until combined. Finally, whisk in the vanilla.