Apple pepper pot cake
This sticky, spongy, gorgeous pudding is my homage to Bristol. I perfected it there by taking most of the spices that the lovely Guyanese family I met put into their incredible pepper pot meat stew, and using them to add mega flavour to this otherwise classic apple sponge. These spices would have been introduced during the colonial era via Bristol's ports, and now they're in so many of the foods we love. Feel free to use pears, quinces or peaches in this sponge. It's a flexible recipe. And if you don't have any molasses handy, a tablespoon of black treacle plus a tablespoon of golden syrup will do the same job.
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 11 of 12 ingredients — the other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 11 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Apple | 1 medium (182g) | 95 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Molasses | 1 tbsp (20g) | 58 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cloves | 1 tsp ground (2g) | 7 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Ginger | 1 tsp grated fresh (2g) | 2 |
| Cider | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
- 200 g golden caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 level teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons clotted cream or single cream
- 6-7 small/medium eating apples, quartered and cored
- 125 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 125 g golden caster sugar
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 225 g self-raising flour, sifted
- ½ level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 200 ml good-quality dry cider
- 2 oranges