Apple Crumble Loaf

Whenever I'm really missing my Mum (who lives in Malaysia), I get the urge to make this cake. I blogged about my Mum's Apple Crumble Cake in the early days of my blog, and it will always have a special place in my heart. It's one of the few cakes my Mum still bakes these days, and was one I would constantly ask her to make for us. There's so much nostalgia associated with it.  Being in the kitchen with my Mum preparing the cake mixture, licking the beaters, arranging slices of Granny Smith Apples, getting my hands covered in flour while we made the crumble, and the wonderful smells and anticipation as I hovered in front of the oven waiting for the cake to be done. This cake gives me the warm and fuzzies.

As I mentioned in the original post, it's a cross between an apple tea cake and an apple crumble. The best of both worlds. I decided to change up the presentation a bit this time, increasing the amounts and baking it in a loaf tin, to make it easier to slice up into portions and smother with copious amounts of brown sugar vanilla bean custard. I think I didn't quite get the ratio of apple to crumble right this time around, so I've increased the amounts in the recipe below. You want a buttery, moist cake, a decent layer of apple slices baked golden brown in brown sugar and cinnamon, and a gloriously crunchy crumble top.

This is one of those cakes that smells so great while it's baking, you will get all twitchy and impatient waiting to taste it. I had to stop myself from tucking right into the cake while it was still in the pan straight after it came out of the oven. But it was worth the time to stop and make a batch of fresh homemade custard (the carton stuff is never good enough), this cake really benefits from a topping like a custard or a good slathering of butter or cream, or even a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. I think that's why it made a lot more sense for me to bake it in as loaf rather than a round cake. And then I drowned a piece of cake in custard and went to my happy place.

Apple Crumble Loaf with Brown Sugar Custard

(makes one medium loaf cake, serves about 8-10) 

For the cake:

225g self-raising flour (about 1 & 3/4 cups)

125g butter, softened

120g sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp milk

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 tbsp brown sugar + 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the crumble:

125g self raising flour (approx. 1 cup)

90g sugar

45g butter

1.5-2 tbsp water for mixing

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the custard:

3 large egg yolks

75g brown sugar (about 1/3 cup packed, can replace with 75g golden syrup)

300ml pouring cream (about 1 & 1/4 cups)

150ml milk (about 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp)

1 vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Grease and line a 20cm x 10cm (8x4inch) loaf tin with baking paper. Prepare the cake batter; preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla and beating until combined. Reduce mixer speed to slow and gradually add flour and and milk and mix until just combined. Pour batter into prepared tin and smooth surface with a spatula. Layer apples slices over the top of the batter, there should be enough for two layers of slices. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the apple slices.

Prepare the crumble; place butter, flour, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and rub the mixture gently between the tips of your fingers to combine them, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add a 1/2 tablespoon of water at a time, while still combining with your fingertips until the mixture starts to form fairly bit clumps of around 0.5 cm diameter, rather than fine breadcrumbs. I added about 2 tbps water.

Bake in oven for 50-60mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean and the crumble on top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely in tin. Serve while still warm (and should be heated before serving always).

Prepare the custard; place milk, cream and vanilla (pod split and seeds scraped) in a medium saucepan and bring just to the boil. Set aside to cool for a minute. Place egg yolks and sugar in a medium mixing bowl and whisk until pale and sugar has dissolved. While still whisking, gradually add hot mixture to the bowl until completely combined. Return mixture to the saucepan and place on low heat, stirring continuously. (And I mean continuously, unless you want to end up with scrambled eggs.) Stir until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and transfer mixture to a bowl. Cover surface of mixture with clingfilm to prevent a skin forming. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Cut cake into slices and serve warm with custard or cream or ice cream. Trust me, it's not even half as good at room temperature. Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for several days.