Let Her Eat Cake: Brandy Apple Streusel Cake

Do you like butter? Do you like booze? Do you like boozy, buttery cake? If you have answered YES! to any of those questions, read on! If no, then move along now, these are not the droids you are looking for.

I was eyeing up a pack of brandy snaps that had been in the cupboard forever, and a bottle of brandy, and a cooking apple, and before I knew what was happening, CAKE was happening. Boozy apple cake with a buttery, crunchy, biscuity streusel topping. Feel free to replace the brandy with the same quantity of milk, or calvados, but, listen carefully, this cake must be served warm with ice cream. I mean it.

Brandy Apple Streusel Cake
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 50-60 minutes

You will need:
For the cake:

• 150g butter, softened
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 35ml brandy
• 50ml milk
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks

For the streusel topping:

• 50g cold butter, cubed
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 50g plain flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 brandy snap baskets, crumbled (or large handful of crumbled brandy snap biscuits)
• 1 tbsp golden caster or demerera sugar
• Icing sugar (to decorate)

Make it!

The cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas mark 4. Lightly grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin).
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour with each to stop the mixture from splitting.
4. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, brandy and milk. 
5. Sift in half the flour, folding in with a metal spoon, then repeat with the rest, folding in gently until just combined. 
6. Carefully stir in the apple chunks until evenly distributed. 
7. Spoon into the prepared tin and set aside. 

The topping:

1. Place the cold butter, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Using a food processor or your fingertips rub together until the mixture is crumbly. Depending on whether you like larger or smaller crumbly pieces, you might want to add a little more / less flour. 
2. Stir in the crushed brandy snaps. 
3. Sprinkle the topping over the cake, spreading out evenly.
4. Dust with the remaining caster sugar and bake for 50-60 minutes, turning the oven down to 160C / 325 F / Gas Mark 3 halfway through, until a skewer comes out almost clean. Cover with foil if the top is browning too quickly.
5. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before carefully turning out onto a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and then SERVE WARM WITH ICE CREAM YOU HEARD ME THE FIRST TIME.