Baking for Beginners: Boozy Toffee Apple Cake

It's halloween on Monday, so if you're looking for something sweet to give the trick-or-treaters (or just something comforting to scoff yourself while you're upstairs hiding under the bed and pretending not to be in), why not give this toffee apple upside-down cake a whirl.

It's delightfully sticky, with a good slug of brandy and a sweet toffee sauce. It also looks very pretty if you can be bothered to arrange the apple pieces nicely.

Boozy Toffee Apple Upside-Down Cake (serves 6-8)

You'll need:
For the cake

• 150g unsalted butter, at room temp
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 300g plain flour, sieved
• 50ml brandy
• 1tbsp golden syrup
• 1tsp cinnamon

For the apple topping (bottoming)

• 2 dessert apples (ones with red skins look pretty), sliced finely (I cut quarters and then quartered those)
• 50g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 50g caster sugar

Make it!

• Start with the cake. Beat together the butter and sugar until they're smooth.
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Stir in the flour, brandy, syrup and cinnamon.
• Let the cake mix rest in the fridge while you make the toffee apple mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 180c / Gas 4 and line a 20cm round tin. Don't use a loose bottomed tin as the toffee sauce will drip out!
• Put the butter and sugar in a frying pan and heat until it forms a dark brown caramel. Don't let it turn black! And be very careful, don't get it on you and definitely don't be tempted to lick the spoon as this stuff gets very hot.
• Take the pan off the heat. Add the apple slices. Be careful, it might spit. Stir them around in the toffee sauce to coat them.
• Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the tin and pour the caramel over.
• Top with the cake mix. It's easiest if you put dollops evenly all over and then smooth it very gently to cover all the apple mixture.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the cake is risen, golden and cooked through.
• Leave it to cool in the tin before turning out upside down onto a plate, so the apples are on the top.