This Bramley Apple and Custard Cake is simple but so delicious. Light, fluffy vanilla sponge with a layer of custard baked in the middle of the cake for a tasty surprise.Β
It’s a perfect cake to make in the Autumn when apples are at their very best. If you love apple pie with custard, then you’ll definitely enjoy this cake.

This apple and custard cake is one of those bakes that doesn’t look all that exciting, but the taste absolutely makes up for it.
The vanilla-scented cake is light and fluffy, topped with sliced apples and topped with crunchy demerara sugar.Β But my favourite thing about this cake is the layer of custard in the middle.
Just thinking about it makes me want to immediately drop what I’m doing, head to the kitchen and make it….
Β ingredients
Ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
The first thing you need to do is make the custard.Β you will need:
- Custard Powder – I used Birds
- Milk
- caster sugar
- softened butterΒ
- Vanilla extract (not essence)
Once you’ve made the custard, leave it to cool slightly while you make the cake batter. Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make the cake:
- Soft Butter or baking spread, such as Stork
- Caster Sugar
- Eggs
- Plain Flour
- Baking Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Bramley Apples, peeled cored and sliced
- Demerara Sugar, for sprinkling over the top of the cake
how to make this bramley apple and custard cake
- Place half of the cake batter (please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for instructions) in a greased and lined 20cm round cake tin, then spoon the cooled custard on top of the cake batter.Β Using a spoon, spread the custard out.
- Top with the rest of the cake batter.Β The batter is quite thick, so you will need to be quite careful not to disturb the custard layer.Β I tend to dollop the batter over in spoonfuls, then spread it out as evenly as I can.
- Top with the sliced apples and sprinkle with demerara sugar.Β Place in the oven and bake at 180C/160Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 50-60 minutes or until the cake is shrinking back from the sides of the tin and springs back when lightly pressed.Β
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack.Β If you don’t serve this cake while it’s still slightly warm, you’re doing yourself a disservice!
how to serve this apple cake
This cake is best served warm, when the custard is still a little gooey.Β It’s also lovely served with double cream or ice cream! It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to have it with even more custard! It will be easier to cut into slices if it’s left for about one hour after removing it from the oven.
faqs
Yes, you can use any variety of eating apples instead of cooking apples. It’s actually a great cake to use up slightly soft, wrinkly apples that are past their best.
Yes, you can use tinned custard to save time – as long as it’s not too runny. I’ve used Ambrosia Devon custard before and it was gorgeous.
did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below and if you would rate the recipe out of 5 by clicking on the stars in the recipe card, I would be thankful!
Bramley Apple & Custard Tea Cake
This gorgeous Bramley Apple and Custard Cake has a layer of custard baked in the middle of the cake. It's perfect for an afternoon tea or for a comforting pudding.
Ingredients
- For the Custard
- 2 Tablespoons custard powder
- 50g Caster Sugar
- 250ML Milk
- 20G Butter
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
- For the Cake:
- 200g Soft Butter
- 120g Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
- 200G Plain Flour
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 40g Custard Powder
- 1-2 Tbsp Milk
- 1-2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
- Demerara Sugar for sprinkling over the top of the cake
Instructions
- Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm round cake tin.
- Make the custard. In a saucepan, stir together the custard powder and sugar. Whisk in the milk a little at a time, stirring until smooth. Place on a low to medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the custard has thickened. Remove from the heat, pour into a heatproof bowl and let it cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm round cake tin.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and custard powder.
- Slow add the beaten egg, a little at a time to prevent the mixture from curdling.
- Sift over the dry ingredients and fold in lightly. Fold in 1 tablespoon of milk. The batter should be soft and fall easily from a spoon. If it seems a little stiff, add 1 more tablespoon of milk.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the lined tin. Spoon over the cold custard, making sure you have an even covering. Carefully spoon the rest of the cake batter on top of the custard layer.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the cake batter. Sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake emerges clean.
Notes
If you wanted to make this cake even easier, you could use a tin of custard instead of making it. I use Ambrosia tinned custard.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 332Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 264mgCarbohydrates: 38gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 4g
This looks wonderful!!
My kind of cake: easy and delicious! I’m thinking bananas… π
Lovely – custard in a cake works so well. Hard to think of a fruit this wouldn’t work with!
Tasty looking cake!
[…] Bramley Apple & Custard Tea Cake (cookiescakesandbakes.wordpress.com) […]
Thank you π It really was! I’m getting requests to make it again asap π
Thanks CC π This was the first cake I have ever tried with custard. I want to experiment with all kinds of fruit!
I think most fruits would work well in this cake Erika, bananas and custard sounds amazing…takes me back to my childhood!
Thank you :- ) It’s a lovely recipe!
Making you’re recipe, and just when i went to the step to put it into the oven, there become’s a big questionmark above my head hahaha how hot would te oven be? 180 Celcius? Greetings from the netherlands!
Hi Verona, it’s 180C π
This looks so nice, I will have to try making it soon.
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