Jane Dunn’s crowd-pleasing apple crumble cake

This cake is easy to make, and the end result looks remarkably impressive

This light, delicious and easy cake merges a lot of our favourite flavours into one (Ellis Parrinder)

“This light, delicious and easy cake merges a lot of my favourite flavours into one. A homemade crumble is so easy to make, it’s only three ingredients and it’s so worth it,” says baking whizz Jane Dunn, who you might know better as the brains behind Jane’s Patisserie.

“I always use cooking apples for this because by the time the sponges have baked, the apple has a wonderful texture and marrying that with the light spice of cinnamon and brown sugar is a dream. A spiced but sweet buttercream frosting sandwiching the two layers together finishes off this crowd-pleasing cake perfectly.

“Good to make for a crowd, so perfect for a relaxed dinner with friends or family.”

Apple crumble cake

Serves: 15

Ingredients:

For the crumble:

120g plain flour

60g caster sugar

60g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

For the cake:

500g cooking apples (peeled/chopped weight)

350g soft light brown sugar

300g unsalted butter, at room temperature

300g self-raising flour

6 eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the buttercream:

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature

500g icing sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Dunn’s fourth cookbook is full of sweet and savoury bakes (Ebury)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan and line two deep 20-centimetre cake tins with parchment paper.

2. Add the flour, caster sugar and butter to a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Set aside.

3. Cube the apples into two centimetre pieces and pour into a new bowl. Cover with 50 grams of the soft light brown sugar and mix.

4. In a new bowl, beat the butter and remaining light brown sugar together until combined. Add the flour, eggs and cinnamon and mix until smooth. Fold through the apples. Divide evenly between the two lined tins, then sprinkle a layer of crumble onto each cake (about half a centimetre deep). Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Leave to cool fully in the tins.

5. Sprinkle any spare crumble mixture onto a lined tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Leave to cool.

6. Beat the butter on its own for a few minutes, then add the icing sugar and cinnamon and mix until fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with the piping nozzle of your choice fitted and pipe half onto the first sponge. Top with the second sponge. Pipe on the rest of the buttercream and sprinkle with the baked crumble.

Recipe from ‘Jane’s Patisserie: Easy Favourites’ by Jane Dunn (Ebury Press, £22).