Weekend baking - Blackberry and Apple Crumble Cake

For the cake:

♠ 225g butter or margarine at room temperature

♠ 250g golden caster sugar

♠ 3 eggs, whisked

♠ 250g self-raising white flour

♠ 1 teaspoon of baking powder

♠ Good teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

♠ 3 windfall apples, peeled and finely sliced

♠ 120g blackberries (preferably frozen)

♠ Icing sugar to dredge (optional)

For the crumble topping:  

♠45g butter, cubed, at room temperature

♠35g caster sugar

♠70g white flour

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4. Grease medium sized roasting tin, around 35cm long (or other sized tin of your choice) or line with baking paper.
2. Start by making the crumble topping. Mix all the ingredients for the crumble topping in a bowl with your fingertips until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set to one side.
3. To make the cake, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric hand whisk until smooth. Add the eggs gradually using the electric whisk to incorporate. Don't worry if it's curdles a little. Sieve the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl and use a spatula or metal spoon to fold it into the mixture until well incorporated. Finally fold in the chopped apples and blackberries.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and use the spatula to press blackberry and apple crumble cake mixture into the edges of the tin and spread it flat. Bake for around 60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the cake has a slight springy texture. Check it halfway through baking and if the cake is browning before it's cooked through then loosely cover the top of the cake with a layer of foil.
5. Leave for around 10 minutes to cool and dredge with icing sugar before serving if you like.