FOOD PORN THURSDAY // APPLE AND CINNAMON TEA CAKE

I don't know about you guys but when I think of tea cakes in general I seem to envision a gathering of high society ladies, chattering away by an antique mahogany dining table laden with high tea delicacies. I solely blame Hollywood and the BBC for this terribly outdated view and for my outlandish snobbery. So I'm not entirely sure why I went down the tea cake path the other day. Was it the pretty picture or was it through sheer laziness? Most probably the latter since the ease and transparency that this recipe seemingly provided, completely reassuring my lackadaisical demeanour was what won me over within moments.

Quick and easy; enough said.

Did I mention how straightforward this is? Child's play really and at times quite fun with the arranging of the apple slices and sprinkling of sugar. That said those parts also brought out that annoying, inner perfectionist who wasn't too thrilled when an apple refused to overlap daintily like his counterparts or when a small area saw too much of a dusting of cinnamon. He kicks up a fuss like that sometimes.

And though this cake may require little to no effort to produce, that isn't the most important factor at play here. Taste. It needs to be appetising no? Because what's the point otherwise? So you can imagine my mock horror when I discovered that this cake was exactly that. Not dull and super dry but utterly delectable; finger-licking good even. Yes that bloody good! It was also fairly moist and uber light and fluffy, like biting through golden gossamer clouds.

All preconceived notions now cast aside; I'm totally converted.

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 INGREDIENTS: 
65g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup self raising flour
1/3 cup milk
1 granny smith apple, thinly sliced

Cinnamon Top:
10g butter, melted
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp caster sugar

Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F and line a small round cake pan with baking paper.
Beat butter, sugar, egg and the vanilla together for around 2 minutes or until well combined.
Stir in half of the flour and half of the milk until incorporated then repeat with the remaining flour and milk.
Spoon into cake pan and level the top as best as you can.
Arrange sliced pieces of apple on the top and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Stand in pan for 5 minutes then remove onto a plate.
Stir the cinnamon, vanilla sugar and sugar together until well combined. Brush the cake with melted butter then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top of the cake.

[ Recipe slightly adapted from Taste by Kim Coverdale ]

Et voila.