A tasty, sweet autumnal treat!

Ingredients:
For the cake:
225g unsalted butter, softened
100g ready-to-eat dates chopped
200g light brown soft sugar
4 large eggs, beaten
225g self-raising flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
½ tsp baking powder
2/3 Royal Gala apples, cored and thinly sliced

For the sauce:
100g white granulated sugar
50g unsalted butter, cubed
100ml fresh double cream

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C/gas 4). Grease an 18cm x 28cm cake tin, and line the base and sides with baking paper.

2. Put the chopped dates in a heatproof bowl and pour over 100ml boiling water. Leave to soak for 5 minutes, then puree with a stick blender or in a food processor.

3. Put the butter, brown sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and sift over the flour, spices and baking powder. Using an electric whisk, beat everything together for 2-3 minutes until thoroughly blended. Fold in the pureed dates.

4. Spoon the mixture into the tin, level the top with a spatula and arrange the sliced apples in rows on top. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown after about 40 minutes, cover loosely with foil. Leave in the tin to cool for 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, make the toffee sauce. Put the sugar and 3 tablespoons of cold water in a small heavy-based pan (not non-stick) and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil, without stirring, for about 2 minutes until the syrup turns a deep golden caramel colour. Swirl the pan occasionally to prevent any hot spots forming, which could cause the syrup to burn. Take care as the syrup will be very hot.

6. Remove the pan from the heat, leave to cool for 2-3 minutes then stir in the butter until melted. Gradually whisk in the cream to make a glossy sauce.

7. Remove the cake from the tin, and serve with the hot toffee sauce.