Apples are available all year round in the UK making them the perfect affordable fruit to add to the weekly shopping list.

Dessert apples, in particular, are ideal for baking, and taste delicious with cinnamon in a loaf cake.

Sharing a recipe from her book Mary Berry Cooks, Mary said: “This is is a lovely moist apple loaf cake which I love to serve sliced and buttered – and it’s very quick and simple to make.”

The cake doesn’t require any heavy buttercream sponges between but instead includes a sweet apricot glaze.

What’s more, seven of the eight ingredients are ones you probably already have at home.

Method

First, preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4, then make a start on the batter.

Take a large mixing bowl and rub the butter into the flour between your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs, or use a food processor to blitz the ingredients in seconds.

Next, stir in the sugar and cinnamon then set aside. Peel the apples, core and dice two and a half apples and stir into the cake mixture with the eggs, then beat until combined.

This recipe makes two loaves, so find two loaf tins, or simply reserve half the mixture for later if you only have one.

Grease the tins with butter to avoid sticking, then divide the mixture evenly.

Thinly slice the remaining half of the apple and arrange it in a row along the middle on top of each cake.

Sprinkle with demerara sugar and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

The loaves should be risen and firm to the touch in the centre, and just shrinking from the sides of the tin.

To finish, brush the top of the cakes with the apricot jam. Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out and leave to cool on a wire rack.