This moist, apple almond cake has almost no flour, and, in fact, is super easy to make gluten free. Golden and studded with caramelized sautéed apples, the cake puffs up around the fruit as it is baking but will sink as it cools, so don’t worry when it happens – it’s as it should be. Pink Lady apples provide a tart sweetness against the subtle flavors of almond and fresh ginger. Drizzling the cake with a little honey while it’s still warm will give it extra sweetness, and scattering some toasted almonds over the top makes it into a really special dessert.
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8” cake tin and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Toss the apple pieces in 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet. Carefully sauté the apples until they soften and start to look golden and caramelized. Don’t let them get too dark or too soft. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and the remaining sugar together until light and creamy. Beat in the yoghurt, the grated ginger and the vanilla essence.
- Beat in the egg yolks little by little until they are blended with the butter mixture. Don’t worry if it curdles. Sift in the flour and mix well. Gradually beat in the almond flour.
- Put a pinch of cream of tartar into the egg whites and beat until they form soft peaks. Fold a spoonful into the cake batter to break it up then gently fold in the rest of the egg whites with a spatula.
- Gently tip the batter into the prepared pan and gently push the apples into it in a circle, with the pieces pointing towards the center. Don’t crowd them. When you’ve done that, make a second circle inside the first. Put any leftovers in the center.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes until puffy, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Place tin on a rack. Drizzle honey, if using, onto the cake while it’s still warm. Leave to cool in the tin. Before serving, remove the cake from the tin, and gently peel off the paper. Place on a serving plate and sprinkle with toasted almonds if using.
Ann's Tips and Tricks
To make this gluten free, substitute 1 tablespoon cornstarch for the wholewheat flour.
This recipe can be made for Passover with potato flour instead of wholewheat and with Passover vanilla.
Medium size apples run 3-4 to the pound. Look for the 3lb bags. They’re usually good value and the apples are this smaller size. If you can only find the larger fruits, use just 1½ -2 apples per cake, and cut them into 8 pieces. If you can’t find Pink Lady use Braeburn or Honey Crisp apples. For a sweeter cake use Golden Delicious apples.
Use a microplane grater for the ginger.
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