Author Notes: Simple, autumnal and a perfect match to howling and screeching winds, golden colour maple leaves lining sidewalks from Paris to London and Barcelona and rain, glorious rain. Make it an enjoy it with coffee, tea or a blanket and book.What I love about this recipe is
1. The fact that it bakes like a cake but slices like a slice – know what I mean?
2. Combines the cake and apples in perfect proportion;
3. Is as easy to make as 1-2-3; even by 4 year olds…who love apple cake!
4. Will be gone in no time….;
5. Elicits compliments from colleagues 🙂 like no-man’s business;
—Kitchen Butterfly
Makes: 1 cake
Ingredients
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Butter, to grease the tart tin
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3 tablespoons almond meal (optional)
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115 g of plain white flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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A pinch of salt
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90g of superfine granulated sugar
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60g oil (corn, sunflower, rice bran but not olive oil)
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75g of Yoghurt (plain or vanilla, not the thick-set kind)
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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2 fresh eggs
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2 cooking apples (like Jonagold), peeled, cored and sliced thin
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2-3 tablespoons pecans, chopped
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Optional – cinnamon sugar (mix 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder and 2 tablespoons of caster sugar together) or choquette sugar or any other topping of your choice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade ( about 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Butter a shallow tart tin (26 cm or slightly larger) and flour with the almond meal by sprinkling over the base and sides
- In a bowl, mix the white flour, baking powder and the pinch of salt. Sieve the mixture twice to incorporate air.Add the sugar into the flour mixture and whisk (yes, whisk) together.
- Put the oil, yogurt and vanilla extract into a bowl. Add the eggs and whisk together well. Then make a well in the centre of the bowl with the flour mixture. Put the yoghurt mixture in the centre and using a spatula, mix well, from the outside in. Ensure that you scoop the bottom up as well so you don’t end up with lumps of unmixed flour.
- Pour batter into butter and almonded tart tin and sprinkle some almond flour on the top of the cake batter. If you like, toss your apple slices in the cinnamon sugar before laying them on the cake batter. Whatever you do, lay your slices in a pattern
- If using a rectangular tin, arrange them in rows. If using a round tin, arrange them in a circle keeping the slices as close to the outer edge as possible, then when you’re done…fill the core with more apple slices
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top. If using choquette sugar, sprinkle over the top as well
- Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 18 – 20 minutes.After 20 minutes, insert a tester into the centre of the cake to check for doneness. If it is not, leave for another 2-3 minutes and then bring out.
- Let it cool down, only a little bit.Cut into slices or wedges to serve….warm or cold, on any day of the week, month of the year. Perfect with a cup of scented coffee (or tea…or just plain water)!
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