This is a lovely moist cake. Serve it with some ice cream or a dollop of sweetened yoghurt on the side. I have used the NordicWare Jubilee bundt tin here.

Chocolate Apple Cake

INGREDIENTS

• A little melted butter for greasing the tin plus some flour
• 500g green apples
• 4 tbsp dark rum
• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g caster sugar
• 4 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 25g cocoa powder
• 120g ground roasted hazelnuts
• 2 tsp icing sugar
• 2 – 3 roasted chopped hazelnuts

METHOD

1. Brush a 22cm bundt tin with some melted butter and lightly dust with flour.
2. Peel and cube the apples and drizzle over the rum. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan.
4. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs one at a time and beating well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla essence.
6. Sift over the flour, cinnamon and cocoa powder, then add the hazelnuts. Stir everything together until incorporated but do not over mix.
7. Drain and then fold in the apple pieces. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until well risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Let the cake cool in the tin for 5 – 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack.
9. When cool dust with icing sugar and sprinkle over the chopped nuts.

Tip: If you have trouble turning out your cake, drape a moist tea towel over it for a few minutes.