honey apple cakes

Dear readers,
Let this be a lesson to you:

That's what you call muffin tops.

When the recipe says 'makes eight cakes', it means eight cakes. Not six. Even if you can spoon all the batter easily into six holes of your muffin tin, the recipe says eight, so get out the second tin. Yes, you'll have to wash another tin, but isn't that better than this?:

Of course, this was the day mum and dad were coming over. How wonderful to serve them exploded cakes. But dad is lovely; it has to be pretty ghastly for him to turn his nose up at cake. He even said the depression where the apples sunk down in the middle made a perfect repository for ice cream (which I didn't have). Graciously, mum agreed with me that the thin edges were like chewy biscuits; kind of toffeed from the honey.

You may think I'm crazy giving you the recipe for such an epic fail, but this was operator error! Trust me, the recipe was not at fault this time. This cake was sweet but not cloyingly so (I'm usually not a fan of honeyed cakes). A very straightforward cake too make too, which can be a blessing on busy weekends.

If you were to ask me to describe my baking style, it would be exemplified by these little honey apple cakes: old-fashioned, gently flavoured; moist and fluffy. And a bit prone to freewheeling it; not always with the desired outcomes.

Please do have a go at making these ... correctly.

Honey apple cakes
From one of the supermarket magazines. I'm not snobby about those free monthly mags - I've found some great recipes in them.

• Prep your muffin tin (eight hole, 3/4 cup capacity) and preheat your oven to 180.
• First prep a couple of apples for the topping. Halve each apple, then core (I used my melon baller again for a beautifully clean circle), then cut into thin slices; I cut some of the bigger slices in half (see pic below). Set aside (don't worry if they brown a little).
• Cream 180 gms softened butter with 2/3 cup sugar.
• Add 3 eggs, beating well after each egg.
• Add 1/4 cup of honey (do you know the trick of lightly oiling your measuring cup first?).
• Once well combined, fold thru 1 1/2 cups SR flour.
• Spoon into the muffin tin, smoothing the tops a little.
• Now arrange a line of the apple slices on the cakes; as little or as much as you like (hence one or two apples; you can eat any leftovers).
• If you wish, sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon or that lovely chunky 'coffee crystal' sugar. Or both!
• Pop in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until done. Enjoy.