Apple and ginger buckwheat traybake

Buckwheat flour is nutritious, gluten-free and has a delicious nutty flavour. This is an easy cake to make, and delicious served warm as a pudding. It’s a healthy option, too: being packed full of apples, not too much sugar needs to be added.

My son Henry gave me a tip for grating fresh ginger: if you peel it and freeze it, you can grate it from frozen. That way, the ginger’s fibres are broken down, which prevents any stringy bits from clogging up the grater. 

SERVES 8

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110g golden syrup

75g light muscovado sugar

75g butter

175g buckwheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A walnut-sized piece of root ginger, grated

1 Bramley apple, peeled and grated

2 eggs

For the topping:

4 eating apples, sliced

About 1 tablespoon honey

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Preheat the oven to 170˚C (150˚C fan). Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking parchment.

Put the golden syrup, sugar and butter into a saucepan. Melt slowly over a low heat and leave to cool.

Put the flour into a mixing bowl with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, root ginger and grated apple. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, along with the sugar and butter mixture. Beat together and pour into the prepared cake tin.

Top with the sliced apples and bake for about 40 minutes until firm to the touch and just starting to colour. Remove from the oven.

Warm a little honey in a saucepan and lightly brush over the top of the cake to glaze, then cool on a wire rack.

• Notes for Esse users

  Electric For best results, keep the steam vent closed.
  Wood-fired The oven dial should read mod.

Recipe from my book Autumn