Apple Shortbread Cake

I saw a few videos for something known as Gateau Breton.  That is a French shortbread cake.  I then saw one recipe from Eric Lanlard that put apple inside the cake.  I thought that looked very interesting but I decided to do a slight variation on that, with caramelised apple.

I love caramelised apples, particularly with cooking apples such as Bramley.  They are very tart and the caramelisation works so well with them.

The recipe itself is simple and easy to do, it is just a case of making the shortbread batter and then caramelising the apples and putting the two together in a cake tin.

I am happy to say that I am very pleased with the result of mine, the taste is fantastic and the texture is just perfect.

• 350g plain flour
• 250g golden caster sugar
• 250g softened unsalted butter
• 5 medium egg yolks(large in USA)
• 1 medium egg yolk to wash the top of the cake
• 2 tbsp dark rum

for the apples:

• 25g butter
• 100g soft light brown sugar
• 1 cooking apple(you could use a dessert apple such as Braeburn if you prefer).

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F
2. Line the base of an 8 inch springform cake tin with parchment paper.
3. Core and peel the apple and cut in half and then into slices.
4. Place the 25g butter and the light brown sugar into a large frying pan and heat until the butter as melted and the sugar begins to dissolve.
5. Place the slices of apple into the pan and stir around, turning the apple over.  The juice will come out of the apple and help to dissolve the sugar and create the caramel.
6. Pour onto a large plate and allow to cool.
7. In a large bowl place the butter and sugar and beat to a soft, fluffy consistency.
8. Add the eggs and beat to combine.
9. Add the rum and a little flour and beat to mix in.
10. Add the remaining flour and beat slowly until just combined.
11. Place half the batter into the cake tin and spread all over the base.
12. Place slices of apple over that batter, leaving a gap all around the edge.
13. Place the remaining batter on the top and spread evenly until all the apple is covered.
14. Brush all over with the remaining egg yolk and use a fork to created a criss-cross pattern on the top.
15. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top has gone quite a dark brown colour (I let mine bake for 60 minutes which was just about right). Bake for longer rather than shorter to ensure the batter is cooked through.
16. Allow to cool in the tin for about ten minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.