Apple and Blackberry Custard Crumble Cake

I made this recipe as a test for the recipe I was developing for the Sainsbury's 'apple and pear challenge'. I tweaked the recipe slightly for Sainsbury's but this is a pretty good recipe too. The inspiration for this cake came from Sunday lunch at a local pub where the crumble of the day was apple and blackberry. We didn't order dessert as we were too full but I decided to make my own apple and blackberry crumble in cake form. I added fruit to the sponge and a layer of blackberries on top. I also decided to add some hazelnuts to the crumble which gave it a lovely crunchy, nutty texture. The apples and blackberries paired beautifully and the hint of cinnamon really lifted the cake. The addition of custard and crumble appears to now be a signature bake for me but why mess with a good thing? 

 making the custard 

 adding apples and blackberries to the mix 

 more blackberries on top 

 crumble layer 

 

serve with vanilla ice cream 

For the cake

250g butter

250g caster sugar 

250g plain flour

4 eggs 

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces

100g blackberries + 50g blackberries to dot on top of the sponge pre baking

For the custard

250ml milk

1 vanilla pod 

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoon cornflour

60g caster sugar

For the crumble

90g butter

90g soft brown sugar

60g ground almonds

80g jumbo rolled oats

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

100g blanched, whole hazelnuts 

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Make the custard first by heating the milk and vanilla pod on a low heat to simmering point. 
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a separate bowl. 
• Pour the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture and continue whisking constantly. 
• Rinse out the pan.
• Return the mixture to the pan and heat gently until the custard thickens. You will need to stir frequently. 
• Make the cake mixture by creaming butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
• Add the eggs one at at a time and mix well.
• Fold in the flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon.
• Finally add in the apples and 100g blackberries and stir by hand.  
• To make the crumble, place all ingredients except for the oats and hazelnuts in a food processor and blitz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the oats and pulse gently. Stir in the hazelnuts by hand.
• To assemble the cake, pour the sponge mixture into a lined tin and smooth with a palette knife.
• Sprinkle 50g blackberries on top, pushing them in slightly. 
• Pour the custard layer on top. 
• Then add the crumble layer. 
• Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 40- 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.