Spiced Apple and Oaty Crumble Christmas Cake
If you're looking for a standout Christmas cake, this is your ticket to impress friends and family.
Nuggets of apple in a spiced batter get topped with a fabulous crunchy oaty crumble topped with rich caramel sauce.
CRUMBLE TOPPING
80 grams soft butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbs maple syrup
CAKE
170 grams soft nbutter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice 1 orange
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2½ cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp each ground ginger and mixed spice
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 cup sultanas
EOUIPMENT
Grease and line a 26cm cake tin
Preheat the oven to 170°C regular bake
OATY CRUMBLE TOPPING
Use your fingers to mix all the crumble ingredients together. Set aside.
CAKE
Beat the butter, sugars, orange zest and vanilla together until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one by one, then beat in the sour cream and orange juice.
Add flour, baking soda and spices.
Coat the apple and sultanas with some flour then add to the mixture.
Gently stir together, making sure there are no pockets of flour in the batter.
Spoon into the tin. Squish the crumble topping into crumbly lumps and scatter over the top of the cake.
Bake for about 75 minutes. Cover the top loosely with foil after 50 minutes to prevent over-browning. Leave to cool in the tin. Serve with caramel sauce.
Salted Caramel Sauce (gf)
1½ cups caster sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1¼ cups cream
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
Place the caster sugar in a clean saucepan with ⅓ cup water and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, whisking to dissolve the sugar, then stop stirring.
Continue heating the sugar mixture, using a small pastry brush to brush down any excess sugar from the sides of the pot, until the sugar first becomes white and crystallised, then starts to turn a light amber. To combine the sugar and encourage even caramelisation, give the pot a gentle swirl.
As soon as it is an even golden colour, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the hot cream, ¼ cup at a time. It will froth up madly, but keep whisking and it will settle down.
Add the butter and sea salt and whisk until smooth. Pour into a clean jar and store in the fridge until ready to use. Reheat by microwaving briefly or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
