I made this delicious cake on bright and hot Sunday morning.

It was a joy to make and even nicer to give part of it away to an old friend.

Serves 8 – 10

Ingredients

3 very small or 2 medium apples (Braeburn), quartered

3 eggs

175g caster sugar

Finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

½ teaspoon almond extract

175g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

150g unsalted butter, melted

1 heaped tablespoon poppy seeds, plus a little extra for sprinkling over the top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180oC (160OC), Gas Mark 4. Line a 900g loaf tine with a nonstick paper liner or baking paper.

Core the apples, keeping the skins on, then finely dice.

Put the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla bean paste and almond extract into a mixing bowl and beat together until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder and melted butter and mix again. Gently fold in the apples, without crushing them too much, and the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tine and sprinkle the top with extra poppy seeds. Bake the cake for 50 minutes – 1 hours, or until cooked through and a skewer or knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, turn the cake out of the tin on to a wire rack and leave to cool before serving.

Reference: Simply, Sabrina, Page 218