Apple Caramel Tea Cake

Kirsten Tibballs

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 8-10

Ingredients

1 tsp butter

1 tbsp light brown sugar

180g caster sugar

½ cup hot water

3 Granny smith apples

pinch cinnamon

165g unsalted butter, softened

1.5 vanilla beans, split, seeds scraped

200ml sour cream

3 large eggs

230g plain flour

220g granulated sugar

1 flat tsp baking powder

⅓ tsp baking soda

Pinch of sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter a cake tin with 1 teaspoon of butter and sprinkle the bottom with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Place the caster sugar in a saucepan and stir it slowly on medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved and caramelised. Immediately add in the hot water and whisk until combined.

Pour into the base of the cake tin.

Peel and core the apples. Take one quarter and slice. Fan the quarter slices out in the centre of the caramel. Slice remaining apples into 3mm thick rounds. Fan out over the rest of the caramel.

In a bowl, whisk half of the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla by hand. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the remaining softened butter and the remaining sour cream and beat at low speed until smooth, then beat at medium speed until fluffy. Add the sour cream and egg mixture and beat again until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.

Spoon the batter over the apple and spread it evenly. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the cake is golden brown. Reduce the temperature to 160C for 10-15 minutes until the skewer comes out clean.

Let cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Run a knife around the edge of the cake, turn it over onto a plate and remove the cake tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.