This week, I am taking up a challenge. It is a Whitworths sugar baking challenge in partnership with Britmums. You may have noticed that Whitworths have  released a brand new range of sugars, in colour coded re-sealable  packets.

My #BakingSOS Challenge was to do two things :-

1. Bake one of Whitworths recipes using their  own sugar.

2. Bake one of my own recipes using Whitworths sugar.

What I love most about cooking is the creating of new ideas and coming up with new recipes. Baking is such a good way getting my imagination to come with new flavour combinations and that is what I have done here.

I like to take inspiration form the seasons using what is abundant and plentiful. Food always tastes best this way, which is something I have learned by tending to an allotment for the last year.

So, for the baking challenge I have created this bramble, apple streusel tray bake. A combination of allotment grown blackberries, raspberries and apples along with a light and fluffy sponge all topped off by a crunchy, sugary ,seedy, oaty layer of heaven.

For the purposes of this challenge I was sent a full range of sugars as well as a jute shopping bag, an oven mitt, a festive red apron along with a snowflake stencil perfect for the many Christmas cake and bake sales at my children’s schools.

Me and my children will also be holding a Halloween cake stall at our house followed by a Christmas themed cake stall so we shall make use of all our fancy and festive baking goodies over the coming months. They are keen bakers and massive mess makers, but I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for them to learn how to handle money, some of which we will donate to a local charity of their choice.

For this recipe I used  two sugars. A fine and a crunchy demerara. The fine demerara I used in the sponge mixture. The crunchy worked perfectly in my streusel topping providing the crunch I was looking for.

On my next post  I will be reviewing each of the sugars, as well as giving tips about what recipes are best suited to each of the sugars they have sent me to try out. The choices are endless and all sweet!

My baking challenge will also involve choosing a Whitworths recipe and make and review. While choosing I had my soon to be 5 year old boy in mind and his favourite thing in the world is chocolate. So, there is a clue to the next instalment……….

Brambleberry Apple Streusel Traybake

Ingredients :- makes 1 rectangular tray serving 12

For the cake :-

• 175g Whitworths fine demerara sugar

• 175g butter softened

• 3 medium free range eggs

• 1tsp Almond extract

• 100g plain wholemeal flour

• 75g plain white flour

• 1 & 1/2tsp baking powder

• 200g blackberries and raspberries

• 2 large apples peeled, cored and sliced finely

For the streusel topping :-

• 25g wholemeal plain flour

• 85g Whitworths demerara sugar

• 50g butter cubed

• 1/4tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/4tsp ground cinnamon

• 2tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds chopped  (to toast the seeds dry fry them in a pan until they begin to make a popping sound)

• Oats for sprinkling over the top of the cake

Method :-

For the cake :-

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees.

2. Line a rectangular cake tin with baking parchment.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together until they are pale in colour.

4. Add one egg and whisk briefly followed by a few spoons of the flours. Stir the flours in. Repeat this process with the remaining eggs and flours until you have used them all up.

5. Fold through the almond extract and the berries then place the batter in the baking tin.

6. Place the thinly sliced apples on top of the cake batter in neat lines (I made 3 vertical lines on my cake)

For the streusel topping :-

1. Put the cold butter, flour and the demerara sugar in a bowl and combine with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

2. Add the spices and the toasted. chopped pumpkin seeds and stir the mix with a spoon.

3. Crumble the mixture over the cake using your fingers but do not press the streusel mix into the cake. It will come together to form a lovely crust while it is baking.

4. Sprinkle over a generous handful of oats and then bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

   Notes :-

   This cake would make perfect for serving at tea time, as a pudding with custard to ice cream and it could be added to a lunchbox too. Versatile and extremely tasty.

   For more information on Whitworths sugars you can visit their website listed here :-

   http://www.whitworths-sugar.co.uk

   *SPONSORED POST*
   Disclosure: I’m working with Whitworths Sugar, whose www.whitworths-sugar.co.uk site includes ideas and recipes for baking with sugar. Follow the conversation on Twitter with the #bakingS0S hash tag and @WhitworthsSugar.
    
   All opinions expressed in this post are my own and have been written by me personally for the purposes of this review.