Ingredients - serves 8

150g unsalted butter, softened
165g caster or granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
75ml whole (full fat) milk
140g plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
7g baking powder
110g eggs (2)
110g ground almonds
2-3 apples

Extra butter and flour for cake tin

1 tbsp apricot jam for glaze

Method

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract and the milk. Alternate by adding some of the flour and baking powder, then some of the eggs and stirring to combine. Finally, stir in the ground almonds.

Peel and core an apple and chop into pieces. Fold into the batter.

Butter and flour the loaf pan. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Peel and the core the remaining apples. Cut in half and thinly slice, laying the slices on the top of the cake batter. Overlap the apples to fit as many as possible on the top.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F (fan oven) or 200°C/390°F (conventional oven). Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 160°C/320°F (fan oven) or 180°C/355°F (conventional oven). Bake for a further 30-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack. Heat together the apricot jam with a dash of water until liquid. Strain into a small bowl and brush the apricot glaze over the top of the cake, covering the apples.

Your cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to a month.