Apples, pears and a slice of cake

Tomorrow (1st June) is the start of winter down here in the southern hemisphere.  It’s the season for stews, pies and fruit puddings.   The shops are full of feijoas, citrus fruits, apples, pears, parsnips, pumpkins, kiwi fruit and new season yams.

Yams – lovely roasted

I’ve been particularly enjoying pears recently, quartered, and eaten just as they are, with blue cheese, or in a cake.  Pears are a lovely fruit, but must be eaten when just ripe, sometimes a hard thing to judge just right.

Comice pears

But it was to apples that I turned for Saturday’s baking project, an Apple Streusel Slice.  For this you need to begin by preheating oven to 180°C and grease and line a slab or slice pan with baking paper. Beat together (electric mixer or just your arm if you feel like a work out) 180g butter and 3/4 cup (NZ/Australian cup) of caster sugar until pale and creamy.  Add 2 eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.  Sift in 1.5 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon over butter mixture then fold through using a large metal spoon.  Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and top with 2 diced and chopped Granny Smith apples.  I think the more apple the better.

Then make the streusal topping, for which you need to combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  Rub in 30g of butter, as if you are making a crumble.  Spread this over the apples.  Pop in the oven for around 50 minutes (depending on your oven – always test with a skewer which should come out clean when the cake is ready).  The house will then smell of warm baking and cinnamon.

A piece of cake

Once the slice is cooked, cut into squares.  Eat on its own, with a cup of tea or coffee, or with what I think would be good, some Greek yoghurt.

Verdict: a moist slice, more of a cake, which actually would make a nice desert if topped with ice-cream or custard.  I had wanted to take another photograph in daylight, but someone had eaten all but two slices, both from the edge and not so photogenic.  Obviously the slice was a success….

You can find a conversion chart of cups to grams here.