Cinnamon Crumble Apple Cake

I'm having a great time baking with apples recently as it's delicious, versatile and in season! So I'm pleased that this month's pink whisk challenge is apples.
I chose a cinnamon crumble apple cake from Waitrose (yes not BBC Good Food for a change!).  Initially, I thought it was a disaster but it tasted good so it wasn't a complete disaster! I burnt the cake slightly and was very disappointed that the middle had sunk. I then realised that I put quite a lot of apples on top (more than the recipe suggested) which probably weighed the cake down. The crumble didn't quite work out as expected, probably because my butter was not cold.  I actually contemplated not bringing it in to work (as planned) but I'm glad I did in the end as it tasted much better than it looked. The sponge was moist and light and the apple crumble with the cinnamon was divine. 

 I added a bit more cinnamon as I love the flavour and smell 

 

Recipe from waitrose.com 

• 3 small eating apples
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g pack Lurpak Butter Slightly Salted
• 250g self-raising flour
• 4 medium eggs

• Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. 
• Grease and line the base of a 23cm round, deep cake tin. 
• Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, toss in 1 tsp of the cinnamon and set aside. 
• To make the crumble topping, measure 50g each of the caster sugar, butter and flour into a bowl. Add the remaining cinnamon and rub everything together with your fingertips until it forms a rough crumble. Set aside.
• Put the remaining sugar and the eggs in a large bowl and use an electric whisk to mix together. Whisk for about 10 minutes until the mixture is pale and thick, and leaves a trail on the surface when the whisk blades are lifted.
• Melt the remaining butter in a pan, cool slightly, then drizzle into the whisked mixture, folding it in carefully to preserve as much air as possible. 
• Sieve the flour over the top and fold in. 
• Turn the mixture into the cake tin and scatter the apple slices evenly over the top. 
• Sprinkle the crumble over and bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cake is firm to the touch and golden brown. 
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin.