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Mary Berry Bramley Apple Cake Recipe

Mary Berry Bramley Apple Cake Recipe

Mary Berry's Bramley apple cake is a dense, moist, warmly spiced cake that uses the tartness of Bramleys to give a genuinely complex flavour.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Cooling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 12 Slices
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Calories: 340
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Bramley Apple Cake:
  • 225 g unsalted butter softened
  • 225 g soft light brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 250 g self-raising flour sifted
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 3 tbsp whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 500 g Bramley apples peeled, cored, and coarsely grated — all juice included
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Cinnamon Demerara Topping:
  • 3 tbsp demerara sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • Warm Spiced Glaze Optional:
  • 3 tbsp apricot jam warmed and sieved

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm springform tin. Mix demerara and cinnamon — set aside.
  2. Coarsely grate Bramley apples into a bowl — include all juice. Toss immediately with lemon juice.
  3. Beat butter and brown sugar 4–5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Sift in flour, baking powder, and spices. Add milk — fold gently.
  4. Add grated Bramley apple and all juice — fold through in 4–5 gentle strokes. Batter will be noticeably wetter than usual — this is correct.
  5. Spoon into tin. Scatter cinnamon demerara over entire surface.
  6. Bake 55–65 minutes until deep golden, top is crunchy, and skewer comes out clean. Cover after 40 minutes if browning too quickly.
  7. Cool in tin 20 minutes. Release springform. Brush apricot glaze over warm top if using.

Notes

Include all juice from grated Bramley — juice is both moisture and flavour.
Grate coarsely — fine grating gives no texture. Coarse gives visible apple threads.
Expect the batter to be wetter than usual — the apple juice makes it looser.
Expect a longer bake — 60–65 minutes is typical due to high moisture content.
Use a springform tin — the demerara top makes removal from a fixed tin difficult.
Stores exceptionally well for 4 days due to the high apple moisture.
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