Labour Day Baking

I was flicking through the pages of a Taste  magazine, looking for inspiration for dinner tonight, when this recipe caught my eye.

CINNAMON APPLE CAKE
1/2 cup caster sugar
90 grams butter softened
2 small eggs, lightly beaten together
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1 /4 cups  self raising flour
100 ml milk
4 large apples
1/4 teaspoon finely ground cinnamon
Icing sugar for dusting

Set aside 1 tablespoon caster sugar for dusting over cake.
Beat butter in bowl until light and loose.
Add sugar and beat until light in colour.
Beat in eggs a little at a time, adding 1 -2 tablespoons flour to stabilise the mixture.
Add lemon zest.
Sift rest of flour over and fold in along with the milk.
Transfer mixture to a 23 cm baking tin lined with baking paper and carefully spread mixture level with a flat bladed knife.
Peel, quarter and core apples and place in water and lemon juice mixture to stop the apples browning.
Partially slice the pieces of apple, about three quarters of a way through each piece, open them up like a fan and press them deeply into the cake batter.
Mix the reserved tablespoon of caster sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the cake.
Bake in  a preheated to 180C (regular bake) for 1 hour or until cooked through and golden brown.
Cool in tin for 15 minutes, then turn onto a plate.
Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.

The cake has a wonderful lemon flavour and the apples will be meltingly soft.

Here's how the top will look.