This recipe makes a deliciously dense and moist cake packed with lots of healthy fibre. Gordon Ramsay's recipe would perfectly follow a Sunday roast
Ingredients
- 1kg cooking apples (about 5 or 6)
- 50g caster sugar
- 30g butter, plus extra to grease
- 2 ripe Braeburn or Cox’s apples
- juice of 1 lemon
- 225g wholemeal flour
- 11/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 175g soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 50ml light olive oil
- 2 tbsp apricot jam, to glaze
- 1–2 tbsp water
Method
- Peel, core and slice the cooking apples. Place in a wide pan with the sugar and butter. Cook over a high heat for 10–15 minutes until the apples have broken down to a pulp and any excess water has cooked off. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely. You should have about 475g purée.
- Heat the oven to 170°C/Gas 3. Line and lightly grease a 23cm cake tin with a removable base. Peel, core and finely slice the eating apple, using a mandolin or sharp knife. Place in a bowl and pour over most of the lemon juice and a splash of water; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the wholemeal flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugar and ground spices. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, olive oil and apple purée. Fold into the dry ingredients until just combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and gently level the top with a spatula. Bake the cake for 30 minutes until it feels just firm to the touch in the centre. Working quickly, overlap the sliced apples in concentric circles on top, leaving a margin around the edge. Brush the slices with a little lemon juice and return to the oven for a further 30–35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack. Warm the apricot jam with the water, stirring until smooth. Brush over the top of the cake to glaze. Serve warm.