Ingredients

• 330ml/11½fl oz good-quality cider
• 300g/10½ oz plain flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch grated nutmeg
• 150g/5oz soft dark brown sugar
• 150g/5oz melted butter
• 4 apples (Cox or Russet)
• peeled and grated
• 2 free-range eggs
• 200g/7oz golden sultanas
• 100g/3½oz chopped pecans
• 250g/9oz mascarpone
• splash cream
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
• In a saucepan
• boil the cider until it has reduced in volume by two-thirds. Leave to cool.
• Sift the flour
• baking soda
• mixed spice
• cinnamon and nutmeg into a mixing bowl.
• In a separate bowl
• cream together the sugar and butter and add the grated apple. Stir in the egg and reduced cider and mix well.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and fold in the sultanas and pecans.
• Spoon into a greased 20cm/8in spring-form cake tin and bake for 45-60 minutes until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool before carefully turning out onto a plate.
• For the mascarpone cream
• whisk together the mascarpone
• the cream and the ground cinnamon.
• Serve a slice of the cake with a spoonful of the cinnamon cream.