Apple Crumble Cake

And cozy living. Spring lamb sightings too!

My morning walks are now a daily enjoyment that I hate to miss. I prefer going before breakfast, even when it's frosty outside!

I have my gloves on with cozy walking gear, sometimes a scarf and even a hat this day.

The crunchy grass reminds me of walking to school on a frosty morning 😊

I love that I get to see the progress of all the lambs in different paddocks in our street, and even a glimpse of the snow-capped mountains afar.

That's when you know it's cold!

Overnight it's below freezing, but on days like this the temperature gets up to 20C (68F), a day made for lunch outside and my feet up while I read a book.

And then, mid-afternoon, it starts cooling down again. The day is short but glorious 😍

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💛 Daffodil season 💛

I love that we get these 'spring' flowers right in the middle of winter. They are a nice surprise to see poking up through the grass. There are lots of green shoots on the bank outside my office, and two yellow daffodils so far.

This photo is from last winter, because you really need more than two daffodils in a vase to make a display 🤣

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Friday was another lovely day in my quiet writer-at-home life. My friend Tanya came for lunch and I made a Granny Smith apple crumble cake, with whipped cream to pair it with.

My mother-in-law said her mother always whipped a teaspoon of sugar in with the cream and it made all the difference. I tried it and it does! Sometimes I forget but I remembered today 😊

The recipe is for rhubarb crumble cake which I've made many times before, but you can use any fruit, which I did. We have rhubarb in the garden but not much, and I had some lovely Granny Smiths in the fridge. I love those tart apples in baking.

🍏 Apple Crumble Cake 🍏

Plated with softly whipped cream (and Daphne photobombing while Ninacat snoozes in her bed)

I went to the recipe I have saved and tried to find it online to give credit, but couldn't. Maybe I copied it out of a book or magazine?

:: rhubarb crumble cake ::

Ingredients

Cake Layer

100 g brown sugar

100 g butter

150 g oat flour

100 g almonds finely ground

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 teaspoon baking powder

125 ml milk

(100g is 3.5oz, 150g is 5.3oz, 125ml is 1/2C)

Fruit

300 g fresh rhubarb in 1-inch pieces (I peeled and diced two apples instead)

(300g is 2/3 lb)

Crumble

50 g oat flour

50 g almonds finely ground

50 g butter

50 g sugar cane or dates (I used brown sugar)

(50g is 1.7oz)

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). With a handmixer, whip the sugar and butter together. Add the rest of the batter ingredients and mix until well combined. Transfer to a 20-cm (8-inch) round springform cake tin and smooth the top with a spatula. (I line it with paper on the base before putting the tin together and spray the sides with oil spray.)

2. Add the rhubarb and press gently.

3. With your hands or the mixer, combine the crumble ingredients until the texture resembles wet sand. Spread evenly over the rhubarb.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for around 50 minutes. If using wheat flour, the baking time might be shorter. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Note:

• To make oat flour, simply process oats in the blender until you obtain a fine powder.

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I made it this time with Granny Smith apples instead of rhubarb as mentioned, and used plain (but gluten free) flour instead of oat flour in both cake and topping.

I cooked it for the full time but checked it ten minutes sooner (it was still a bit sticky).

Would recommend! Let me know if you try it!

Kitchen carnage 🤣 All cleaned up before Tanya arrived though 😊

Wishing you a wonderful week!

xx Fiona

PS. Working on my next book too. A few notes here and there and I’m ramping up the writing now. Chapters have been written!

If you need something to read, check out my newest books by clicking or tapping on the images below or go to fionaferris.com

Happy reading!

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