Anna Louise The all-in-one method is Mary Berry’s great gift to home bakers who feel intimidated by the traditional creaming method. Everything goes into the bowl at once — butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, spices, and milk — beaten together for two minutes with an electric hand whisk.
No softening the butter first. No adding eggs one at a time. No risk of curdling. The result is a perfectly good cake made in a fraction of the time.
I make this version specifically for weekday baking — when I want something for the cake tin by the time the children come home from school and cannot spend an hour on the process.
The diced apple folded through the batter at the end gives moisture, flavour, and a slight freshness. The demerara and cinnamon scattered over the top gives a crunchy, fragrant crust.
It is not the most complex apple cake in this collection. It is the most reliable, the quickest, and the one I reach for when time is short and a good cake is still required.
Ingredients for Mary Berry All-in-One Apple Cake
For the Cake
- 225g self-raising flour, sifted
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 225g unsalted butter, softened — must be genuinely soft for the all-in-one method
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 300g eating apples — Cox or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and cut into 1cm dice — tossed in juice of ½ lemon
For the Cinnamon Demerara Topping
- 3 tbsp demerara sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
For the Lemon Glaze (Optional)
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Drizzled over the completely cooled cake
How to Make Mary Berry All-in-One Apple Cake
Step 1 — Preheat and Prepare
Preheat your oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease a deep 20cm round springform tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Mix the demerara sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 2 — Make the All-in-One Batter
Place the sifted flour, baking powder, golden caster sugar, softened butter, eggs, cinnamon, mixed spice, milk, and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl.
Beat with an electric hand whisk on medium speed for exactly two minutes — no less, no more. The batter should be smooth, pale, and holding its shape gently when the whisk is lifted. Do not overbeat — two minutes is the right time for a properly mixed all-in-one batter.
The most important thing about the all-in-one method is the butter — it must be genuinely soft. Not warm, not melted, but properly soft — leaving a clear indent when pressed with a finger. Cold butter in an all-in-one batter does not incorporate smoothly and gives a slightly lumpy, uneven result.
Step 3 — Fold in the Apple
Fold the diced apple through the batter with four to five gentle strokes until evenly distributed.
Step 4 — Fill and Top
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin. Spread evenly. Scatter the cinnamon demerara generously over the entire surface.
Step 5 — Bake
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the cake is deep golden, the demerara top is crunchy and set, and a skewer inserted into the very centre comes out clean. The apple releases moisture during baking and the centre can take slightly longer than expected. Check at 50 minutes and every five minutes thereafter.
Cover loosely with baking parchment after 35 minutes if the top is browning too quickly before the centre is done.
Cool in the tin for twenty minutes. Release the springform. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 6 — Apply the Lemon Glaze (Optional)
Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth and flowing. Drizzle over the completely cooled cake in thin, irregular lines. Leave to set for fifteen minutes before slicing.
Top Tips For Best Mary Berry All-in-One Apple Cake
The butter must be genuinely soft for the all-in-one method. This is the one instruction that I emphasise above all others for this recipe. The all-in-one method relies on the softened butter incorporating instantly with the other ingredients rather than being gradually creamed.
Cold or even cool butter gives an uneven, slightly lumpy batter. Leave the butter at room temperature for at least an hour before starting — or warm it very briefly in the microwave at ten-second intervals until it yields completely to gentle pressure.
Two minutes of beating — no more and no less. Underbeating gives a batter that is not properly combined and can give an uneven crumb. Overbeating develops gluten and gives a slightly tough texture. Set a timer — two minutes gives the smooth, pale, perfectly combined batter the all-in-one method is designed to produce.
Use eating apples — not Bramleys. Bramleys collapse almost completely during the baking time and give moisture but no distinct apple pieces. Eating apples — Cox or Braeburn — give soft, identifiable 1cm dice throughout the crumb that are one of the pleasures of this cake.
The demerara cinnamon topping is not decoration — it is essential character. It gives the crunchy, slightly caramelised top that makes this cake distinctive. Do not substitute with caster sugar.
This is the apple cake for when time is short. It does not have the complexity or the depth of the Bramley apple cake or the upside-down apple cake in this collection. It is reliably, consistently good and made in fifteen minutes of active work. That is exactly what it is designed to be.
Serving Suggestions
At room temperature as an afternoon tea cake. Warm with custard as a pudding. In a lunchbox — it keeps well and travels without falling apart.
How to Store Mary Berry All-in-One Apple Cake
At room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The apple keeps the cake moist throughout.
In the freezer: Freeze in slices for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.
Mary Berry All-in-One Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm springform tin. Mix demerara and cinnamon — set aside.
- Place all cake ingredients except the apple into a large bowl. Beat with electric hand whisk for exactly 2 minutes until smooth and pale.
- Fold in diced apple with 4–5 gentle strokes.
- Spoon into tin — spread evenly. Scatter cinnamon demerara generously over entire surface.
- Bake 50–60 minutes until golden, crunchy on top, and skewer comes out clean. Cover loosely after 35 minutes if browning too quickly. Cool in tin 20 minutes — cool completely.
- Mix icing sugar and lemon juice — drizzle over cooled cake if using. Set 15 minutes. Slice.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in a traybake tin?
Yes — pour the batter into a greased and lined 30x23cm traybake tin. Bake at the same temperature for 30 to 35 minutes. Scatter the demerara topping as directed and drizzle the optional lemon glaze after cooling.
Can I use oil instead of butter?
The all-in-one method specifically uses soft butter — it gives the right flavour and texture. Oil gives a different result and the all-in-one technique does not work as well with liquid fat.
Can I add walnuts?
Yes — 75g of roughly chopped walnuts folded in with the apple give a pleasant crunch and a slight bitterness that suits the warm spices and sweet apple beautifully.
Why is my all-in-one cake dense?
Either the butter was not sufficiently soft, the batter was overbeaten, or the baking powder was past its use-by date. All three are equally likely causes — check each one before making the cake again.
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