Rachel Khoo's Apple Crumble Cake

It was one of the best cakes I have ever baked and I can't NOT share with people around me. This cake is highly rated by my family and friends. I got at least 10 people tried the cake and their comments, including mine are:

Friend A: MMMMMM....I like the two layers of the cake.
(Apparently this friend is a total foodie AND she knows about cakes!)

Mum and Dad: Where's the cake gone? (ten minutes later...) Did you really finish the cake or you just threw it away? (They never actually TELL me what they think about the cake but their actions probably say it all)

Friend E: Why don't you serve with custard? Why apple crumble without custard? (BLAH BLAH BLAH...This friend is a total English and he thanked me in the end and told me it's yum)

and so many more comments!

Hence, you don't need any reason to hesitate! JUST! BAKE! AWAY! This cake is quite fool-proof and what you need is some music to dance to when you are whipping up the batter. And love. I like to talk to the cake the moment it goes into the oven. (Be good won't you cake?)

The recipe is exactly from Rachel Khoo's Apple Crumble Cake and there are only two things I adjusted myself.
1) I made the dulce de leche from scratch myself. It is a cheat version but here in Hong Kong I really can't find any equivalent.
2) I added crushed walnuts. Talking about apple and walnut come on...


Notes and some comments about the cake:
-Don't freak out about the sugar and butter amount. Go with it.
-The cake comes out quite crumbly. I cooked it in the cake pan for hours but still it crumbles quite a bit when I tried to cut it into nice and neat squares. What I can conclude is you need to bake this cake Not Too Thin and Not Too Thick. Make sure you line the pan with baking paper. Always let it cool completely IN the pan.
-Best to warm it up  in the oven before serving to crisp up the crumbles again. Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard. Anyway you want. 

Looking good already in the pan.

Apple crumble cake

250g sugar
250g butter, softenend
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
300g self raising flour
5 tbsp milk
2 large apples
250g dulce de leche
A handful of crushed walnuts

Crumble topping

200g flour
120g butter, well chilled
100g sugar

Large rectangle tin (30cm x 20cm) lined with baking paper

Preheat oven to 160°c. Cream together the sugar with the butter and vanilla essence until fluffy. Beat in one egg in at the time. Sift in the flour and then add the milk. Pour mixture into the tin. Spread out evenly. Peel, core and chop up the apples, mix with dulce de leche. Pour on top of the cake mixture. Sprinkle the crushed walnuts on top.

For the crumble mixture, either process the ingredients in a food processor until it resembles breadcrumbs. Or cut the butter into small pieces, mix the dry ingredients together and rub the butter into them with your fingers until you have a crumbly texture.

Sprinkle the mixture over the apples. Bake for 35-40mins or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake.