Although I hate to say goodbye to summer, Autumn is definitely in the air here in England. The first of the Autumn apples have begun to appear and there are blackberries in the hedgerow lined country lanes near where I live.

Unfortunately, Autumn in England often means copious amounts of rain and sogginess interspersed with mere minutes of glorious sunshine, but this cake is perfect for that sort of weather. Served alongside a steaming cup of tea, this is a casual, comforting cake which I normally serve directly from its baking pan. It does dress up nicely for fancier occasions though - simply bake without the topping. Remove the cake from its pan after it has cooled and frost it with your favourite frosting, perhaps sprinkling a few toasted flaked almonds on top, or garnishing with some extra blackberries. 

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar (lightly packed)

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

(you can use plain milk but the flavour is not quite the same - it’s still yummy though!)

2½ cups white flour, unbleached if possible

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon allspice

a couple of generous pinches of nutmeg (I like to use freshly ground, but the ground variety is fine)

1 sweet eating apple, peeled, cored and grated at the last minute so it doesn’t go brown

1 cup blackberries

Topping

2 tablespoons light brown sugar mixed with ¼ cup toasted flaked almonds

Cream the butter and sugar together (in an electric mixer if you prefer). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift the flour, baking soda and spices into a separate bowl. Gently fold in the grated apple and blackberries.

Gently fold the flour and fruit mixture to the butter, sugar and egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk using a wooden spoon. Fold very gently here or the blackberries will break up (which isn’t a total disaster, but the cake looks nicer if they don’t!).

Transfer the mixture to the baking pan. Smooth the top as much as possible and sprinkle with the topping mixture. Bake at about 350℉ (170℃ or 160℃ if you have a fan assisted oven) for 30 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. (It may be streaked with blackberry which is fine; what you don’t want is any batter sticking to it.)

Cool in the pan on a wire rack and serve with tea and sympathy.

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