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Mary Berry Best Apple Cake Recipe

Mary Berry Best Apple Cake Recipe

Mary Berry's best apple cake is deeply moist, generously spiced, and crowned with a caramelised apple and demerara top.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Cooling Time 50 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 12 Slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 390
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Apple Sponge:
  • 250 ml sunflower oil
  • 300 g golden caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs beaten
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 300 g plain flour sifted
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 200 ml soured cream
  • 300 g eating apples coarsely grated — include all the juice
  • Apple Top:
  • 2 eating apples cored and thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp demerara sugar
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 15 g unsalted butter melted

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C / 150°C fan / Gas 3. Grease and line a deep 23cm springform tin.
  2. Whisk oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla 2 minutes. Sift in flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices, and salt — fold gently. Add soured cream — fold. Add grated apple and all its juice — fold until evenly distributed.
  3. Pour into tin. Spread evenly.
  4. Arrange thinly sliced apple in overlapping circles over the top. Mix demerara and cinnamon — scatter generously over apple. Drizzle with melted butter.
  5. Bake 55–65 minutes until golden, caramelised on top, and skewer comes out clean. Cover loosely if browning too quickly.
  6. Cool in tin 20 minutes. Release springform. Cool 30 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Use coarsely grated apple — fine grating gives no texture.
Include all the apple juice — do not drain it.
Soured cream gives a richer, more tender crumb than yoghurt.
Be generous with the demerara top — it caramelises to something extraordinary.
Use a springform tin — the caramelised top makes removal from a fixed tin very difficult.
Stores in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freezes for up to 3 months.
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