Mary Berry’s apple and cinnamon loaf cake is a moist sponge made with diced dessert apples, muscovado sugar and cinnamon, brushed with warm apricot jam. It bakes in two 450g loaf tins at 180°C (160°C fan/Gas 4) for 40-45 minutes.
Berry says in Mary Berry Cooks (2014) “this is a lovely moist loaf, which I love to serve sliced and buttered.” She uses the rubbed-in method here, which is unusual for her cakes. That gives a crumblier texture closer to a scone than a sponge.
The apricot jam glaze brushed over the top while still warm seals the surface to lock in moisture. It also gives a glossy finish that makes the sliced apple decoration look professional. Skip it and the top dries out within hours.
Mary Berry Apple and Cinnamon Loaf Cake
Course: BreakfastCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy16
servings15
minutes45
minutes130
kcalA quick rubbed-in loaf from Mary Berry Cooks (2014), baked in two small tins and glazed with apricot jam. Berry serves it sliced and buttered, more like a tea bread than a sponge cake.
Ingredients
200g (7 oz) self-raising flour
75g (3 oz) butter
100g (4 oz) light muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 dessert apples, about 350g (12 oz) before peeling, peeled and cored
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons warmed, sieved apricot jam, to finish
Directions
- Grease two 450g (1 lb) deep loaf tins and line their bases with a strip of baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 (350°F).
- Place the flour and butter in a bowl and rub the butter in with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (this can also be done in a food processor). Stir in the sugar and cinnamon.
- Dice 2½ apples and stir into the cake mixture along with the eggs. Beat until combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins. Thinly slice the remaining apple half and arrange in a row along the middle of each cake top. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until golden, risen, firm to the touch in the centre and just shrinking from the sides of the tins.
- 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.
FAQs
Why does Berry use the rubbed-in method here?
Most of Berry’s cakes use her all-in-one method where everything goes into one bowl. Here she rubs the butter into the flour first, which coats the flour particles in fat before the liquid is added. This limits gluten development and creates a shorter, crumblier texture.
That texture is deliberate because Berry positions this as a loaf you slice and butter, not a cake you eat with a fork. The crumb needs to hold together when cut thinly but crumble when you bite it. Her Apple and Cinnamon Cake uses the all-in-one method for a softer, more cake-like result.
Why dessert apples and not cooking apples?
Berry specifies dessert apples because they hold their shape when diced and baked for 40-45 minutes. The sliced half-apple decorating the top also stays intact and attractive. Bramleys would collapse, which works for her Apple and Cinnamon Cake where the apple is grated into a hidden layer, but not here where you want visible fruit.
Dessert apples also add sweetness without extra sugar. Berry uses only 100g of muscovado for the whole recipe, which is light compared to most cake batters. The natural sugar from three apples does some of the work, keeping the loaf from tasting too sweet when you add butter.
What size loaf tin should I use?
Berry’s Wise Words note for this recipe says “450g (1 lb) loaf tins can vary in size. Ours measures 15 × 10 × 7.5cm (6 × 4 × 3 in).” She adds that if you want to make a larger cake in a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin, “double the mixture and bake for about 1 hour.”
That size note matters because a tin that’s too wide will give you a flat, dry loaf, while one that’s too narrow might overflow. If your tins are slightly different from Berry’s measurements, check the cakes at 35 minutes and add time if the centre is still soft.
How long does this keep?
Berry’s own note says it keeps for 3-4 days in a cake tin. That’s longer than most sponge cakes because the rubbed-in method and apple moisture keep it fresh. It freezes for up to 3 months either as a whole cake or in slices layered between strips of baking paper.
Freezing in slices is the more practical option because you can pull out what you need without defrosting the whole loaf. Berry clearly thinks ahead with this recipe, since she makes two loaves and suggests freezing one for another time.
Can I skip the apricot jam glaze?
You can, but the top will dry out noticeably faster. The warm sieved jam forms a thin, sticky layer that seals in moisture and gives the loaf a professional-looking shine. It also lightly sweetens the sliced apple decoration on top, which otherwise tastes quite plain.
Berry says to warm and sieve the jam before brushing, which removes any fruit lumps and makes it smooth enough to spread without dragging the surface. I sieve it through a small tea strainer directly into a bowl, which is faster than using a full sieve.
How is this different from Berry’s round apple and cinnamon cake?
Berry’s Apple and Cinnamon Cake from the Ultimate Cake Book (2003) is a bigger, richer bake. It uses 225g of margarine to this recipe’s 75g of butter. It adds walnuts and sultanas, grates the apple rather than dicing it, and bakes for up to 1½ hours.
This loaf version is lighter, quicker and more restrained. It’s the kind of cake you slice for tea on a Tuesday, while the round version is an occasion cake you serve warm with cream. Berry designed them for different moments, which is why the techniques, tin shapes and ingredient ratios all differ.
