Spiced Pecan, Apple & Cranberry Cake

What could be more Christmassy than a Spiced Pecan, Apple and Cranberry Cake? This is completely delicious and it tasted great straight out of the oven whilst still warm. It is easy to make and is great to serve to visitors dropping off cards and presents... it will definitely put you in the Christmas spirit. I have therefore decided to use this as my entry to English Mum's Big Christmas Bake Off . Why not try it for yourself!

• 175g unsalted butter
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 braeburn apples, cut in to 1cm chunks
• 50g fresh cranberries (I used the other 200g in the packet to make a Apple & Cranberry sauce for Christmas Day)
• 75g pecan nuts, roughly chopped
• 2-3 tbsp apricot jam

Heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and line an 8inch loose bottom tin with baking parchment. Then using an electric whisk, mix up 150g of the butter along with the flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, baking powder and milk. Mix for about 5 minutes until fluffy and pale. Put the mixture into the tin and bake for 10 minutes.

Before the cake goes in the oven ensure all your apples have been peeled and chopped, as well as the pecan nuts roughly chopped. It is important this is all ready to go before your cake goes in. Then heat the remain 25g of butter in a frying pan until melted and then add the chopped apples and cinnamon and cook for 3 minutes until they start to soften. Take off the heat and add the pecans and cranberries and stir thoroughly.

At this stage take the cake out of the oven after 10 minutes* and gently spread the apple mixture ofver the top. Return to the oven and bake for around 40-50 minutes. Finally, once done the cake should cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing it and brushing over the top with the apricot jam which has been gently heated. This cake is delicious served warm immediately or it can be served later when cooled.

* I made the mistake of not preparing my apples and pecans in advance so I didn't add them on the top until the cake had been in the oven for 20 minutes... however, this seemed to work as instead of sinking in to the cake, most of the topping remained on top and it gave it a really impressive finish, with just the right amount of apple and cranberry in the cake!

* Adapted from Good Housekeeping - The Baking Book