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Mary Berry Apple Sponge Cake Recipe

Mary Berry Apple Sponge Cake Recipe

Mary Berry's apple sponge cake is a light, golden sponge with a layer of warm spiced apple and a vanilla sponge top — a beautifully simple classic British cake.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 10 Slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 330
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Apple Layer:
  • 600 g Bramley apples peeled, cored, and sliced 5mm — tossed in juice of ½ lemon
  • 75 g golden caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 30 g unsalted butter
  • Vanilla Sponge:
  • 200 g unsalted butter softened
  • 200 g golden caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 200 g self-raising flour sifted
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • To Serve:
  • Warm custard or clotted cream
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease a deep 23cm fixed-base tin generously. Line base with parchment.
  2. Toss apple slices in lemon juice immediately. Melt 30g butter in a pan — add apple, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook 4–5 minutes until beginning to soften. Spread apple and all juices evenly over the base of the prepared tin.
  3. Beat butter and sugar 4–5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Sift in flour and baking powder. Add milk — fold gently.
  4. Drop small spoonfuls of batter over the apple layer — distribute evenly from outside inwards. Spread gently to cover completely without disturbing apple.
  5. Bake 40–45 minutes until sponge top is golden and skewer comes out clean.
  6. Cool in tin exactly 5 minutes — set a timer. Place serving plate on top — invert confidently. Lift tin. Peel back parchment. Serve warm with custard.

Notes

Use a fixed-base tin not loose-bottomed — apple juice leaks through a loose base.
Par-cook the apple before putting in the tin — ensures it is properly softened in the finished cake.
Invert after exactly 5 minutes — set a timer. Too early it collapses, too late it sticks.
Spread sponge batter gently — large blobs displace the apple layer beneath.
Serve warm with custard — the finest pudding combination.
Freeze in slices for up to 3 months.
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