- 2 1/2 cups (280g) self raising flour
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk
- 2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 1/2 TBS (60g) soft light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (105 g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (20g) old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 TBS butter, cut into bits
- Icing sugar to dust
- warm custard to serve or a scoop of ice cream
- Pre-heat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a deep flan tin, with a loose bottom, roughly 9 inches in diameter. Set aside. (Mine has fluted sides. A spring form pan also works very well.)
- Make the Streusel. Measure the flour and oats and sugar into a bowl. Stir in the cinnamon. Drop in the butter. Rub together with your fingers until it clumps together and you have a crumble mixture. (I like to use a fork to do this so that the butter doesn't melt. You can also do this in a food processor, stirring in the oats after the crumbs are created.)
- Place the flour and butter into a large bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips to form a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the sugar. Add the beaten egg and milk and mix together with a round bladed knife. If the dough seems a bit too sticky add a bit more flour. You want a soft dough. (If the dough is too sticky you won't be able to press it into the pan properly.)
- Spoon the dough into the prepared pan, making it higher around the edges, about 1 inch into the center with a hollowed out space to put the apples. Spread the apple slices evenly over the center of the base. Press them down lightly. (Don't compact them too much.)
- Sprinkle with the soft light brown sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the streusel over top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
- Let stand in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing the sides. (This helps to ensure the cake has set up properly and won't collapse.)
- Place the tin on top of a jar and push the sides of the pan down and remove. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool to warm. Dust with icing sugar before cutting into wedges to serve, with or without ice cream or custard.
- Read through the recipe thoroughly prior to beginning to help familiarize you with anything needed.
- Assemble all of your ingredients together prior to starting. This can help to prevent you from leaving anything important out by accident.
- Have all of your ingredients at room temperature, with the exception of the butter for the streusel, prior to beginning.
- Cut the butter into the streusel topping with a fork to help prevent your hands from warming up the mixture too much. Stir in the oats last. Alternately you can cut the butter in using a food processor. Again, stir the oats in last.
- For a more developed flavor combine sweet and tart apples for the filling. This will add depth and interest to the taste.
- For extra crunch and nutty flavors you can add a small amount of chopped toasted nuts to the streusel topping. Almonds, pecans, walnuts or macadamia nuts all work well.
- I advise using a spring form pan or a pan with a removable bottom for baking this cake. This will make removing the cake from the tin much easier. Alternately you can create a sling using parchment paper that can help you to lift it out.
Irish Apple Cake
A delicious version of an apple cake, baked with tasty apple slices sandwiched in the center. Serve warm with or without custard.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (280g) self raising flour
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter
- 1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup (100g) caster sugar
- 1/3 cup (80ml) milk
- 2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 1/2 TBS (60g) soft light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (105 g) plain flour
- 1/4 cup (20g) old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 TBS butter, cut into bits
- Icing sugar to dust
- warm custard to serve or a scoop of ice cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a deep flan tin, with a loose bottom, roughly 9 inches in diameter. Set aside.
- Make the Streusel. Measure the flour and oats and sugar into a bowl. Stir in the cinnamon. Drop in the butter. Rub together with your fingers until it clumps together and you have a crumble mixture.
- Place the flour and butter into a large bowl. Rub the butter in with your fingertips to form a breadcrumb texture. Stir in the sugar. Add the beaten egg and milk and mix together with a round bladed knife. If the dough seems a bit too sticky add a bit more flour. You want a soft dough.
- Spoon the dough into the prepared pan, making it higher around the edges, about 1 inch into the center with a hollowed out space to put the apples. Spread the apple slices evenly over the center of the base. Press them down lightly.
- Sprinkle with the soft light brown sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the streusel over top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
- Let stand in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing the sides.
- Place the tin on top of a jar and push the sides of the pan down and remove. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool to warm. Dust with icing sugar before cutting into wedges to serve, with or without ice cream or custard.
Notes
Make Your Own Self Raising Flour:
You can make your own self raising flour by adding 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt to every cup of plain flour.
This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Hello everyone and welcome to my Meals of the Week post for this the first week of March, 2026. On Sundays I like to share with you, my dear readers, all of the deliciousness that I have enjoyed over the past seven days for my main meals. That's seven delicious meals/recipes along with any menu tips and suggestions.
Things have been a bit more interesting lately as my daughter Eileen is living with me temporarily until she can find a place of her own. We are enjoying cooking and eating some of the meals of her childhood that were here favorites. Mine also. Funny how food always tastes a lot better when you have someone to share them with!
I love doing these posts. It helps me to keep track of what I am eating and also keeps me involved and interested in what is going on in my kitchen. As a person who lives on their own, it can be a challenge to keep my meals fresh and exciting. It can also be a bit of a challenge to eat healthy. As a senior living on a low income it can also be a bit of a challenge to come up with interesting meals that fit within my food budget. I also like them to be fairly healthy.
The temptation can often be to want to eat a ready-meal or frozen dinner. Sometimes ( and I have been guilty of this on occasion) all you want to eat is a bowl of cereal because it is too much to be asked to cook. That is a slippery slope and as much as possible I like to cook myself a delicious main meal.
I mostly eat my main meals in the early afternoon these days. That is for two reasons, one the light is better for photography and two, I don't like going to bed in the evenings with too much in my stomach. I get a much better sleep with not a lot resting in my tummy giving me indigestion!! Eileen doesn't mind. She is a night snacker. I have been buying fruit for us to enjoy in the evenings. Mostly melon, sometimes with some berries and or pineapple. We both really enjoy that and it helps to prevent us from snacking down on something naughtier.
Anyways, here is what we enjoyed as our main meals over the past seven days. I really hope you will be inspired to want to cook a few of these for yourself!
SUNDAY, March 1st - Garlic Butter Sausages & Broccoli Skillet
Usually on Sundays we would go to have a family dinner at my sister's. Eileen had just had her first Iron infusion so was not really feeling quite herself and it was snowing so we stayed home and I made us a sausage dinner.Quick, easy to make and very nourishingly delicious!
Thick sausages are cooked and browned in a skillet with some butter and garlic, once done they are removed and set aside. Broccoli (on this day I took this photograph I used a brocco-flower, which is a combination of broccoli and cauliflower) or even green beans are blanched and then sauteed in the pan juices. I served with baked sweet potatoes and it was a really delicious supper! (We did the green beans this day as well.)
MONDAY, March 2nd - Spaghetti Frittata
Spaghetti Frittata makes a brilliant weeknight supper. Simple store cupboard ingredients put together in the most delicious way. Eggs, spaghetti, marinara sauce, cream, olives, cheese and basil. Oh my but this is some delicious and the leftovers are great in lunches.
We enjoyed wedges of this along with a tasty side salad. You could also add some garlic bread or fingers if you wished!
TUESDAY, March 3rd - Creamy Swiss Chicken
Creamy Swiss Chicken is delicious. Chicken breasts are seasoned and cooked to perfection and then a creamy mushroom sauce is created. Some cheese is scattered over top and the whole lot gets popped into the oven just until the sauce is nice and bubbly and the cheese has melted. Oh my, but this is some good!
We enjoyed this with some homemade oven wedges and frozen peas. This is so tasty you could easily make a pig of yourself.
WEDNESDAY, March 4th - Pickled Pork & Sauerkraut
We usually go out for dinner with my dad and sister on Wednesday's but Dad was going for Chinese food this week so Eileen and I stayed home. Cindy and Dan took dad and then went to Wendy's while he had his Chinese meal with Hazel.
We love sauerkraut in our family. Eileen had said she hadn't had sauerkraut in a very long time. Probably not since before I moved to the U.K. I decided to make us a feed of Pickled Pork & Sauerkraut. Its such a simple meal. You just pop everything into the slow cooker/crockpot. It does all the work. Slow cooking the pickled pork in this manner, along with some sauerkraut, yields tender and juicy meat. The sauerkraut helps to tenderize the pork, and the pork helps to inject its flavor into the kraut.
I spoiled Eileen again on Thursday and made Tomato Dumplings. This was always a favorite meal when she was growing up. Its a recipe that I got from a Taste of Home magazine back in the 1990's. It was a prize winner. No surprise there as it is delicious.
A rich tomato and vegetable base is created, fluffy butter dumplings are dropped on top, and then cooked to perfection. You can enjoy this as a tasty side for 6 or a yummy main dish for 3. We enjoyed it as a main dish with some salad on the side. We were both very happy with our supper.
FRIDAY, March 6th - Herb & Garlic Roast Pork
I am trying to use up some of the meat in my freezer to make some space and so I took a small pork roast out to cook for us on Friday. This Garlic & Herb Pork Roast is a tender, flavor‑packed main dish that turns a simple cut of pork into a beautifully aromatic meal. Coated in a savory blend of garlic, herbs, and olive oil, the roast cooks until juicy on the inside with a golden, fragrant crust on the outside. Oven braising it in apple juice adds another depth of flavor and makes for a really delicious gravy at the end.
We enjoyed this sliced along with some of the gravy. I had mashed potatoes left from the pickled pork meal and heated them up in a skillet in some melted ghee. (OH SO GOOD) And I cooked frozen broccoli and green bean/carrot mix to go with it.
This was really, really good, plus I had a big chunk to pop back into the freezer to make some Pork Fried Rice next week. We will probably enjoy that along with some stir fried veggies.
SATURDAY, March 7th - World's Best Mac & Cheese for Two
Eileen had another iron infusion on Saturday so I made her a treat for her supper. A decadent dish of macaroni and cheese. This is a favorite version. A rich cheese sauce gets layered in the baking dish with cooked macaroni and more grated cheese. Surprisingly the cheese sauce is created with a mix of chicken stock and milk.
And those were my meals of the week for this past week. A little bit more indulgent than they usually are, but I know you will forgive me. Eileen had three iron infusions this week and I was really wanting to spoil her. I did manage to keep everything within budget however!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Mom’s Hot Milk Cake is a timeless, old‑fashioned dessert cake made from simple pantry staples, yet it delivers the most tender, velvety crumb. Warm milk and melted butter give this cake its signature texture — soft, moist, and delicately rich — while a touch of vanilla adds classic homemade flavor.
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Icing sugar to dust on top
- jam, lemon curd or ice cream to fill
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square cake tin, line the bottom only with baking parchment, and butter the parchment. Set aside. (Don't line the sides of the pan as the cake will need to be able to climb the sides and paper wouldn't allow it to do so properly.)
- Beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until they are thick and lemon colored. When you lift the beaters they should fall back like a ribbon. (The ribbon should also be seen when it falls back into the bowl. It shouldn't disappear immediately. If it does, keep beating. This cake relies on the air beaten into the eggs for much of it's rise and airy texture.)
- Slowly beat in the sugar at medium speed until thick and creamy.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times. (Again you are injecting air into the flour, making sure everything is evenly mixed and lightening your cake by doing so.)
- Heat the milk and butter together just to warm. The butter should be melted. (No need to boil the milk, just melt the butter.)
- Sift the flour again, over the creamed mixture. Fold it in gently by hand. Pour the milk over top and quickly fold that in to make a smooth batter without overmixing. Pour at once into the prepared baking tin. (DON"T OVER MIX or you risk losing all of that precious air that will make your cake light.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The top should spring back when lightly touched. (A toothpick inserted in the center should also come out clean.)
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before loosening the sides removing from the tin to cool completely. (Flip out onto the wire rack, peel off the paper and the flip upright.)
- Once cool, carefully slice the cake through the middle horizontally. Fill as preferred and dust with icing sugar to serve. (I use a serrated knife to cut the cake.)
- Read through the recipe several times to familiarize yourself with the ingredients and equipment needed to make the cake.
- Assemble everything you need before you begin. This helps to prevent you from leaving anything out.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature for a better finish.
- Do not overbeat this cake as it may toughen the batter.
- Follow the instructions for making and baking this cake with precision. To do otherwise risks failure.
- Do not fill or dust with sugar until just prior to serving.
- Cut in half horizontally with a serrated knife.
- Fill with your favorite jam or curd. In my family this was always strawberry jam, usually our mother's homemade jam.
TRADITIONAL SEED CAKE - Seed cake is actually a very traditional cake which goes way back in British history. It was very popular in Victorian times, and a good seed cake recipe would have been included in most cookery books of that era. It has a texture very similar to a pound cake and is studded with caraway seeds. It was said to be William Wordsworth's sister Dorothy's favorite cake. All I can say is that she had exceedingly good taste!
Mom's Hot Milk Cake
This is the cake I grew up with. Mom never made any other kind. We loved it. Especially split and filled with jam, which is how our father always requested it.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Icing sugar to dust on top
- jam, lemon curd or ice cream to fill
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter an 8-inch square cake tin, line the bottom only with baking parchment, and butter the parchment. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until they are thick and lemon colored. When you lift the beaters they should fall back like a ribbon.
- Slowly beat in the sugar at medium speed until thick and creamy.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together three times.
- Heat the milk and butter together just to warm. The butter should be melted.
- Sift the flour again, over the creamed mixture. Fold it in gently by hand. Pour the milk over top and quickly fold that in to make a smooth batter without overmixing. Pour at once into the prepared baking tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The top should spring back when lightly touched. A toothpick inserted in the center should also come out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before loosening the sides removing from the tin to cool completely. (Flip out onto the wire rack, peel off the paper and the flip upright.)
- Once cool, carefully slice the cake through the middle horizontally. Fill as preferred and dust with icing sugar to serve.
I originally posted this recipe back in 2009. It was one of the first recipes I shared. I decided that an update was long overdue. Enjoy!
This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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