Spiced Chocolate Apple Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

7 oz dark chocolate, chopped
3-4 None small apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup softened butter or margarine
1 pinch salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 None eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 oz fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp ground cinnamon
None None grated nutmeg
1-2 tbsp apricot jam

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F. Grease a 10 inch springform cake pan. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave to cool. Make fan cuts lengthwise in the apple quarters and drizzle with lemon juice.
Cream the butter, salt, sugar and vanilla extract, beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift together the four, baking powder and cocoa. Add to the bowl alternating with the cream. Add the chocolate, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour batter into the cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.
Press the apple fans into the surface of the cake batter and bake the cake for about 45 mins or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave cake to cool.
Heat the jam with a little water in a small saucepan, strain through a sieve. Release the cake from the pan and brush the glaze over the apples.