How to Make A Traditional Dorset Apple Cake

Name: Dorset Apple Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 225 g flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 115 g butter (unsalted); 115 g light brown sugar; 1 egg (beaten); 6-8 tbsp milk; 225 g apple (peeled, cored and diced); 100 g dried fruit

Published on May 4, 2016 by Helen Best-Shaw 74 Comments
Last Updated on May 13, 2021

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This easy Dorset apple cake is simple to make, delicious, packed with flavour with chunks of apple and dried fruit. No mixing machine needed! Add a dollop of cream for a real treat with this classic British bake.

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Dorset Apple Cake

This traditional Dorset apple cake is an easy recipe, with delicious results; the chunks of apple guarantee that it won’t be dry. It’s easy to make by hand, and there’s no need for a mixer. British baking at its best!

I love simple fuss-free cakes like this which are all about the flavour without the need to decorate. If you want to, you can sprinkle some sliced almonds on top just to finish it off!

It’s a great way of using up apples in an autumnal glut. A sharply flavoured eating apple is best for this recipe, to contrast with the sugar in the batter. Bramley apples go soft and fluffy when cooked, which means that the chunks would collapse inside the cake once it’s baked. This is why it’s best to use an eating apple.

Because of the chunks of fruit this cake won’t keep for that long, store in an airtight tin for 2 days, or wrapped in foil in the fridge for 4.

How to make this Dorset Apple Cake Recipe

Firstly heat the oven to 160°C (Fan)/320°F (Fan)/gas mark 4. Grease and line a 1 lb (15 cm) loaf tin with butter or cake release spray and baking parchment.

Step one – Gather your ingredients.

Step two – Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the cinnamon and baking powder and mix together.

Step three – Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour.

Step four – Rub in the butter using your finger tips, until the mixture is the consistency of fine breadcrumbs or damp sand. This will take a good few minutes.

Step five – Stir in the sugar.

Step six – Beat the egg lightly. Gently fold into the mixture.

Step seven – Add the milk and fold it in.

Step eight – By now, you should have a thick batter which you can dollop from the spatula. Add a little more milk if needed to achieve a dropping consistency.

Step nine & ten – Peel and chop the apple into 1cm / 1/3″ cubes. Add it to the batter along with the dried fruit, and fold in.

Step eleven – Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and level with a spatula. Sprinkle the top with demerara sugar or flaked almonds.

Step twelve – Bake for 40–45 minutes. Your Dorset apple cake is ready when golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Finally – Allow to cool for 5 minutes. If not using a fully lined tin, run a knife around to loosen the cake before turning out.

The Dorset apple cake will crumble if you slice it when warm, so its best to allow it to cool completely. Because of the chunks of fresh fruit you need to eat within 2 day, or keep in the fridge for up to 4.

How to Line a Loaf Pan Easily

My top tip when baking is to use re-usable non stick cooking and cake liners. Buy a roll and cut a piece to fit all your cake pans and you will ever have to cut a cake liner again.

They last for years and wash with dish soap under a running tap or go through a dishwasher.

When making a loaf cake you only need to line the long sides and base of the tin.

Cake release spray is far easier and more effective than butter, spray the tin, pop the liner in then spray the line, wiping off any excess with a piece of kitchen paper. If needed attach the liner or parchment to the tin with binder clips

Why the Rubbing In Method to Make this Apple Cake Recipe?

The rubbing in method (where the fat is rubbed into the flour) is traditionally used for cakes with a lower fat content – usually less half fat to flour.

Creaming methods (where the sugar is creamed into the fat) are generally used for high fat cakes which have more than half fat to flour.

One huge advantage of the rubbing in method is that it is far easier to do by hand without an electric mixer.

Traditional Dorset Apple Cake Variations

To make as a Dorset apple tray bake use a 6″ x 6″ tin and bake for 25 – 30 minutes
Make a gluten free Dorset apple cake by substituting your favourite gluten free flour
Vary the spices by using it up with a pinch of ground mixed spice or all spice
Vary the dried fruit, or leave it out. The first time we made this Dorset apple cake we used chopped dried apricots in place of the mixed fruit and topped with flaked almonds.
Swap up to a third of the flour with the same volume of ground almonds.
Make a boozy Dorset Apple cake with cider by using cider in place of the milk
Swap the butter for oil and leave the egg out to make an egg free Dorset apple cake.
If you love a loaf cake, why not try my Sticky Orange Marmalade Cake?

Dorset Apple Cake Recipe Hints & Tips

Baking time can vary – this depends on your oven, the shape, material and even the colour of your cake pan. I recommend using an oven thermometer to check the actual temperature unless you have a reasonably new oven with an accurate thermostat and even heat. Oven thermostats are notoriously unreliable. Loaf cakes can take an hour to bake in some ovens.
If you need to cook it for longer cover the top of the cake with some foil to stop it burning.
Freshly baked cakes are fragile and crumbly – Especially one like this with chunks of apple in it. It will be far easier to slice if you can wait a couple of hours, or at least until it is cool before enjoying it.

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A Dorset apple cake surrounded by quartered apples.

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4.85 from 26 votes

Dorset Apple Cake

Servings: cake

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time50 mins

Ingredients

225 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
115 g butter (unsalted)
115 g light brown sugar
1 egg (beaten)
6-8 tbsp milk
225 g apple (peeled, cored and diced)
100 g dried fruit

Instructions

Heat the oven to 160°C (Fan)/320°F (Fan)/gas mark 4. Grease and line a deep 15 cm (1lb) loaf tin with baking parchment.
Mix the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together in a large bowl.
Cube the butter and rub it into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Stir in the light brown sugar.
Break the egg into a small bowl, beat it briefly and then fold into the mixture.
Add the milk and fold it in. You want a smooth, thick batter, so if needed, add more milk.
Add the dried fruit to the batter. Peel the apple, and cut into 1cm cubes and add to the batter, and fold together.
Pour the batter into the loaf tin and level with a spatula. Sprinkle with demerara sugar or flaked almonds.
Bake for for 40-45 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further.

Notes

To make a Dorset apple tray bake use a 6" x 6" tin and bake for 25 - 30 minutes
Make a gluten free Dorset apple cake by substituting your favourite gluten free flour
Vary the spices by using it up with a pinch of ground mixed spice or all spice
Vary the dried fruit, or leave it out. The first time we made this Dorset apple cake we used chopped dried apricots in place of the mixed fruit and topped with flaked almonds.
Swap up to a third of the flour with the same volume of ground almonds.
Make a boozy Dorset Apple cake with cider by using cider in place of the milk
Swap the butter for oil and leave the egg out to make an egg free Dorset apple cake.
Because of the chunks of fruit this cake won't keep for that long, store in an airtight tin for 2 days, or wrapped in foil in the fridge for 4.

Nutritional information

This recipe is 10 Weight watchers Smart Points per portion

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition Facts

Dorset Apple Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 221 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 34mg11%

Sodium 88mg4%

Potassium 114mg3%

Carbohydrates 34g11%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 18g20%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 280IU6%

Vitamin C 0.8mg1%

Calcium 49mg5%

Iron 1.1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Cake

Cuisine: British

Keyword: apple, Cake, dorset apple cake

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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2015, but was rewritten and republished with new photos, step by step instructions and hints & tips in February 2019.

This flavourful Dorset apple cake is simple to make, delicious, and beautifully moist from chunks of apple. Add a dollop of cream for a real treat - British baking at its best!

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