Smoky Toffee Apple Cakes
Toffee apples, cinnamon, smoky caramel… these cakes are like a firework display for your tastebuds! Decorated with satisfyingly sour physalis, their fallen-leaf-like casings are ripped open to reveal the bright orange fruit inside. Truly, nothing says ‘autumn’ like these. As soon as bonfire season is over, we’re already counting down the months until we can start baking them again…
MAKES 12
115g cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
225g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fine salt
115g soft dark brown sugar
1 medium egg
100 ml whole milk
1 tbsp black treacle
200g eating apples (we use 2–3 Braeburns or Granny Smiths), peeled, cored and chopped into 1cm pieces
75g raisins or sultanas
12 physalis, to decorate (see tip)
For the caramel
50ml whole milk
1 lapsang souchong tea bag
35g unsalted butter
30g soft light brown sugar
200g condensed milk
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4. Grease the holes of a 12-hole muffin tin with butter, making sure to get into every corner and right up the sides, then dust with some flour, tipping it round the whole tin before shaking any excess out.
Sift the flour, ground cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and mix together. Tip in the cold cubed butter and, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it looks coarse and sandy, with no large lumps of butter visible. Stir in the dark brown sugar, breaking it up if it’s lumpy.
In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the egg, milk and treacle until combined.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and mix to form a stiff batter. Add the chopped apple and raisins or sultanas to the bowl and mix through until just combined.
Evenly distribute the batter between the holes of the prepared muffin tin and smooth flat with the back of a teaspoon. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the cakes spring back when lightly pressed and are golden brown.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn the tin upside down on a clean work surface and shake a little so the cakes fall from the tin. Place them bottoms up on a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the caramel, add the milk and tea bag to a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 minute, then remove and discard the tea bag. Add the butter and light brown sugar to the milk and stir over a medium heat until melted and combined. Stir in the condensed milk and bring back to the boil, stirring constantly to avoid it sticking and burning on the bottom of the pan. Keep heating and stirring until the caramel becomes a deep golden brown colour. Leave to cool slightly for 5 minutes.
Carefully spoon the warm caramel over the top of each cake, letting it drip down the sides of each one, then leave to cool.
Once the caramel has cooled, rip the paper-like cases of the physalis so that they’re fully open and press into the caramel on top of each cake.
TIP
Physalis are also known as cape gooseberries and are available in most supermarkets. They give a great sharp-sour contrast to the sweetness of the caramel. If you can’t find them, slices of fresh fig or blackberries are also lovely here.
