Pretty Apple Cake with Cider

Serves 8

• 150 g butter ( or margarine)
• 2/3 cups of sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 2/3 cups of plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 150 gm ( 1/2 cup) Old Mout Boysencider
• 3 smallish cooking apples

Start with brushing a deep 8-inch (20cm) loose-based cake tin with butter. Line the base and sides with baking paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light, white and fluffy, before adding the eggs a little at a time, beating well between each addition. Now sieve the flour, baking powder and nutmeg into a medium bowl. Fold half of this into the creamed mixture, using a large spoon, followed by half the cider, then fold in the rest of the flour etc and, finally, the last of the cider.

Peel, core and chop one of the apples and fold this carefully into the cake mix. Spoon it into the prepared tin then level the top with the back of a spoon.

Quarter, core and peel the remaining two apples. Slice them thinly and arrange the slices, slightly overlapping, in three circles on top of the cake. Bake the cake for 1 1/2-1 3/4 hours or until the cake shows signs of shrinking away from the side of the tin.

Leave it to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin. Remove and sprinkle generously with icing sugar ( or cinnamon). Serve with a cup of hot tea or icy Old Mout Cider.

Nice one.