It’s getting cooler and darker and it feels like time to snuggle up with a spicy, gingery and slightly sticky apple cake. This cake has lots of dried fruits in it plus stem ginger which is one of my favourite things in the world!

This recipe makes a 20cm round cake.

Ingredients

• 125g self-raising flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ⅓ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 85g butter, softened
• 65g soft brown sugar
• 75g golden syrup
• 45g stem ginger, finely chopped
• 65–70g dried fruit — dates, chopped apricots etc.
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and diced — about 200–225g prepared weight
• 1 large egg

Method

1. Heat oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional.
2. Grease and line a 20cm round tin.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger.
4. Beat the butter and brown sugar together, then beat in the golden syrup.
5. Gradually beat in the egg.
6. Fold in the dry ingredients.
7. Fold through the diced apple, dried fruit and stem ginger.
8. Spoon into the tin and level the top.
9. Bake for approximately 35–45 minutes, checking from 35 minutes. A skewer should come out without wet cake mixture.