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Cake

110g caster sugar
110g unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225g self-raising flour
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
175ml Armagh apple cider
2 large Armagh eating apples, sliced
1-2 tbsp caster or icing sugar to finish

Custard

200ml milk
½ tsp vanilla or ¼ vanilla pod, seeds removed
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 egg yolks
3-4 tbsp cordial

Method

Line a 23cm/9inch square cake tin with baking parchment. Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and pale. In a separate bowl sift together the bicarb, flour, nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one at a time until well mixed.

Sift in half of the flour and fold in gently to combine. Add all of the cider and orchard syrup and mix in. The batter may look like it has curdled, but don’t worry it’s just the carbonation from the cider reacting with the bicarb.

Mix in the rest of the flour until you have a smooth even mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and tap a few times to knock out any large air bubbles.

Slice your apples into even sized wedges. Arrange on the cake in 3-4 lines depending on how big your slices are.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven until the top is golden and the cake has shrunk away from the side of the tin slightly.

Cool on a wire rack in the tin for a few minutes then remove from the tin to cool completely. When the cake is still a bit hot sprinkle over the sugar.

For the custard; place the milk and vanilla in a pan over a medium heat until it just comes to the boil. Meanwhile place the sugar and egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and whisk until pale and very thick.

When the milk is ready treacle ¼ of it over the egg mix whilst stirring to temper the eggs.

Pour this back into the pan and place over the heat stirring with a wooden spoon (not a whisk!) until the mixture starts to thicken. Remove from the pan and add your elderflower cordial remembering the more you add the stronger the taste.