Wholemeal Apple and Native Raspberry Streusel Cake

By request of the Sensible Vermonter.

125g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 Granny Smith apple
a few native raspberries
left-over crumble mixture from the back of the fridge

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
Grease and flour a deep cake pan (20cm/8 in across).
Cream butter, sugar and vanilla.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in flour alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour.
Beat mixture for one minute (or 30 strokes with a wooden spoon).
Peel, quarter, then core apple. Cut each quarter into 4 thin slices.
Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
Push slices of apple into cake to create an attractive pattern. Do the same with the raspberries, but lightly and gently.
Sprinkle cake with crumble mixture.
Allow children to lick beaters, spoon and bowl.
Or maybe not.
Bake cake 50 mins, but test for doneness with a skewer.
Stand for 5 minutes before turning out.
Turn it out onto a rack somewhere where you can easily collect the bits of crumble that fall off, either to replace or eat yourself.

While this cake is my own invention, it is derived from the "Basic Plain Cake" recipe in The Commonsense Cookery Book, which has a number of variations, including one topped with apple slices and cinnamon sugar. You could top the cake with any other quick-cooking fruit, such as blueberries.