RECIPE: Monica Galetti's apple and blackberry bake

Chef Monica Galetti says: "This is one of my favourite quick desserts – it’s a hand-me-down recipe from a very dear family friend who is a fabulous cook.

"Pam is one of those amazing people whose house you never want to leave. She cooks everything from scratch, she’s always happy to serve up another plate no matter how many people are there and she always has a pudding. I almost don’t want to share this recipe, it’s so good – perhaps I should just keep it to myself?"

Ingredients:
Serves 4–6

200g soft unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
300g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and thickly sliced
2 pinches of ground cinnamon
1 punnet blackberries, about 160g
2 eggs
120g ground almonds
Vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan, Gas Mark 4.

2. Spread 80g of the butter all over the base of a 26 x 20 centimetre baking dish, then pour 60 grams of the sugar over the butter and give the dish a gentle shake to cover evenly.

3. Arrange the apple slices overlapping to cover the butter and sugar. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, then arrange the blackberries evenly over the apples.

4. Beat the remaining butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the ground almonds, then spread the mixture over the fruit.

5. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour until golden brown and starting to caramelise at the edges.

6. Leave to sit for 10 minutes before serving with a scoop of your favourite vanilla ice cream.

At Home: My Favourite Recipes For Family And Friends by Monica Galetti is available now.