Apple Almond Sponge by Shane Smith
| Serves: 8 | Chef: Shane Smith | Category: Cakes | Recipe Course: Dessert | Machine: Mixer | Total time (min.): 65 |
Apple sponge is hands down one of life’s simple pleasures. Adding almonds and zesty lemon to the recipe knocks this sponge out of the park. It’s a gorgeous mid-week bake or an ideal Sunday Lunch sweet served with lashings of warm custard.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 185g granulated sugar
- 115ml vegetable oil
- 65g ground almonds
- 80ml milk
- 1 lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp almond essence
- 165g plain flour
- 1 level tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 red apples
- 35g flaked almonds
- Icing sugar to garnish
Tools
- kMix Stand Mixer
Method
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan.
- Line the base of a 9” round loose-bottomed tin with parchment, and grease and dust the base and sides with butter & flour.
- Place the eggs in your Kenwood kMix fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk for a few minutes at full speed.
- To this, add the sugar in stages while mixing.
Slowly drizzle in the oil and mix to combine. - Add the ground almonds, milk, almond essence and zest. Mix.
- Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder.
- Add this to the egg mixture and mix through.
- Spoon this batter into the prepared tin.
- Cut each apple around the core and take each quarter, and slice, leaving the skin on.
- Divide the slices into groups of 4-5 and fan out.
- Gently place these fans all around the top of the cake and sprinkle the flaked almonds around the apple slices.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Best served warm with custard or a scoop of ice-cream.