It's tradition in our house to have this Toffee Apple Traybake for Bonfire Night. The combination of mixed spice, dates and apples just makes a beautiful combination... and it's practically 2 of your 5 a day!
Serves 16
Preparation & Baking time: 1 hour
Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm baking tin and pre-heat your oven to 160c Fan.
Ingredients
200g Dates, chopped
200ml Milk + a splash
250g Unsalted Butter
280g Self Raising Flour
200g Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
4 Large Eggs
1 Tbsp Mixed Spice
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Small Apples
Splash of Lemon Juice
Handful of Toffees
How I made the Spiced Toffee Apple Traybake
Put the dates and the milk into a small pan and warm through until the dates start to break down and the mixture starts to thicken and simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for 15 minutes to cool.
While the mixture cools, prepare the apples. Put the juice of half a lemon into a bowl. Core and then slices the apples - no need to remove the skins. Toss the sliced apples into the lemon as you go (this stops them from going brown).
The date mixture should now be cool. Using a hand mixer, whizz it to a smooth puree and then put the mixture into a large bowl.
Using the all-in-one method, add the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, mixed spice and vanilla extract to the bowl with the date puree.
Beat the ingredients together until smooth and combined. Pour into the prepared tin which should be 20cm x 30cm and lined.
Arrange the apple slices on top of the cake mixture. You should be able to get three columns/rows.
Bake at 160ºC for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the baking tray.
Put a handful of toffees into a small pan with a splash of milk and stir until all the toffees and melted and the mixture is simmering and thick.
To finish, when the cake is cool, drizzle over the toffee sauce.
You can also sprinkle with icing sugar for an extra special finish.
Goes well with a really nice cup of tea!