Chris Haynes

Try this delicious dessert cake, luscious and moist with fruits and almonds. Frozen blueberries can be used as well. Serve with cream – another luxury for winter that can be walked off the next day or hidden under layers of clothing!

125g butter softened
125g (½ cup) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs beaten
100g (¾ cup) self-raising flour
50ml milk
125g ground almonds
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
100g blueberries (frozen ones are fine)

Topping:
125g butter melted
2 eggs
125g (½ cup) caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g flaked almonds

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease the base of a 20 cm spring-form cake tin.
2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy then gradually beat in eggs, one at a time. Add a little sifted flour if mixture looks as if it might separate.
3. Lightly fold in remaining flour, milk and half the almonds until combined.
4. Spread into base of cake tin. Sprinkle with remaining ground almonds and then top with apple and blueberries.
5. To make topping, put melted butter in a bowl and whisk in eggs, sugar and cinnamon. Pour over cake. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
6. Bake for about 60 minutes; when ready, it should be firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean.
7. Cool completely in the tin before turning out. Dust with a little icing sugar to serve if desired.