157 Apple and Peach Cake with a touch of Woodruff

It’s almost autumn (if you weren’t yet told by every food blogger already). Autumn is my favourite season, especially when it’s golden: like this year in Poland. The leaves are gradually turning all shades of yellow, orange and red, the forest smells of mushrooms (but there are none so far!), apples are abundant and it’s excusable to have a fireplace going due to the evening chill (as if the ambience and the delightful wood cracking sound were not a reason enough!).

And here it is, an apple cake to start the season. The soft pastry on the bottom, apples and peaches cooked with brown sugar and infused with wild woodruff that I foraged for and dried a while ago, covered with a light buttery crumble. I had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the day it was baked. No regrets.

Apple and Peach Cake with a touch of Woodruff

INGREDIENTS
for the pastry
2 cups flour
150g butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1,5tsp baking powder
5 tbsp sugar
2tbsp yoghurt

for the filling
3 apples
3 peaches
4tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1/3 lemon
peel of 1/2 lemon
2tsp dried woodruff

for the crumble
80g brown sugar
150g flour
80g butter
pinch of salt
50g oats
peel of 1/2 lemon

HOW TO MAKE?
1. Make the pastry. Sieve the flour onto a pastry board, add chunks of cold butter, baking powder and sugar and work everything with a big knife until just combined. When it starts looking like a crumble, add egg, egg yolk and yoghurt and knead with your hands quickly. Form into a ball, wrap in a kitchen towel and place to chill in the fridge for at least 30min.
2. Peel the apples and peaches and chop them into small pieces. Add to a saucepan. Add brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and a bit of water (1/2 cup should be okay). Cook on low heat for about 10, stirring from time to time. Add more water if the sauce appears too thick.
3. Fill the tea infuser with dried woodruff. Submerge it in the apple&peach liquid and continue cooking the sauce for another 5-10minutes. The apples should be fairly soft. When done cooking, cover with a lid and set aside to infuse further.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line with baking parchment round (23cm) baking tin Set aside.
5. Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll it out on a lightly flour-dusted pastry board. Add to the previously prepared baking tin.
6. Make the crumble. Add flour, sugar, oats and zest into a bowl, mix together. Pour in melted (but just melted, not hot!) butter while working with your hand to combine it with the dry ingredients. You should get small lumps of pastry.
7. Remove the tea infuser from the apple and peach sauce. Add the sauce onto the pastry in the tin. Add crumble on top of the apples.
8. Bake for about 35-40min (or until golden brown). Serve warm with a sprinkle of icing sugar.