Apple and Strawberry Cake

Apple and Strawberry Cake

Delicious!!

Actually, this is kind of a cross between a cake and pastry.Fairly simple to make and utterly delicious to eat.  I first came across a similar recipe here but wanted to add some kind of fruit mixture in there to make it more filling and take away the overly-sweetness of the original recipe.  Plus,  I like have different textures to play with in my mouth so with this recipe, you have the flaky softness of the pastry/cake, the stickyness of the jam/preserve filling, and the slight crunchiness of the apples.  Vary as much as you want. You could even omit the apples and replace them with another fruit of your choice such as peaches or pears. Or add some nuts if you want.  Just go crazy.

A warning though: You have to watch the juice from the apple and the strawberry preserve while it’s cooking in the oven so that they don’t end up burning. I learnt this the hard way.

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup softened butter

3 tbsp cream cheese

2 medium sized apples (granny smith if available, otherwise any apple will do), peeled and sliced thinly

1 jar of strawberry preserves (or Jam)

For the Syrup:

1/4 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder

2 tbs milk

Method:

1. In a saucepan, place a spoonful of the strawberry preserve /jam and the sliced apples over medium heat and cook until apples have softened. Leave to cool.

2. Meanwhile,  preheat oven to 230 degrees Celcius. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Mix, then add in softened butter and cream cheese.

3. Using your hands, work the butter/cream cheese into the flour until mixture starts to resemble large breadcrumbs.

4.  Mixture should be soft enough to form into a ball. If not, add a tiny bit of milk to soften it up and help bring the mixture together.

5. Knead dough lightly onto floured surface for about a minute.

6. Place dough onto lightly greased baking paper (long enough to cover the baking tray later) and using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out into a rectangular shape.

7. Spread the rest of the strawberry preserve/jam down the middle, making sure to leave the sides of the dough free to cover the top later.

8. Place the softened apple mixture on top of the strawberry preserve/jam.

9. Using a sharp knife, cut the sides of the dough diagonally (about 2-3 cms apart), making sure to stop just before hitting the preserve/apple mixture.

10. Fold strips over the preserver/apple mixture, alternating one side with the other, until all the strips have been folded over.

11. Carefully lift the baking paper that the pastry is on over onto a baking tray.

12. Place the baking tray in the preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until the pastry turns golden brown.

13. Take out, leave to cool before serving. If you like, serve warm with Vanilla ice cream, or drizzle with some White Syrup.

For the syrup: Combine icing sugar, vanilla powder in a small bowl. Slowly add in the milk until mixture is smooth and slightly runny (should not be too thin). Drizzle over the top of the cake.