Nigella Lawson’s – Apple and Almond Cake

Apple and Almond Cake by Nigella Lawson

This recipe is taken from the Nigella Lawson book – Feast.

This cake is, like the majority of Nigella Lawson’s recipes, simple to make but delicious to taste. Have you tried Nigella Lawson’s – Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake – believe me, if you like chocolate you’ll love it!

And as this Apple and Almond Cake is made with almond flour, it could suit you if you’re following a gluten-free diet.

I’m not the biggest fan of almond but have grown to enjoy it more over that past number of years as I’ve learnt to substitute it for regular ‘white flour’ in some recipes. This cake however has been a winner in our household – it’s sweet and moist and as Nigella says herself …

It’s astonishing how buttery this cake tastes, given that there is not a gram of butter in it.’

It’s autumn here in Ireland as I write this, and so apples are in abundance, so this cake is the perfect sweet treat to enjoy on a chilly afternoon with a hot cuppa. But of course it can be enjoyed all year round.

The only difference I made to the recipe below is the use of cooking apples as opposed to tart eating apples. (The apples we grow in our garden are sweet but there was a basket of beautifully big homegrown cooking apples outside my local shop – free to take, and I couldn’t refuse picking a few).

And my top tip is to ensure you really grease up the baking tin – and let it cool before you spring it open, because it’s a real let down when you see that gorgeous golden layer of cake stuck to your tin instead of on your cake!

Nigella Lawson – Apple and Almond Cake Recipe

Ingredients

FOR THE APPLE PUREE

3 tart eating apples (such as Braeburns)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons caster sugar

FOR THE CAKE

1 splash of vegetable oil to grease tin
8 large eggs
325 grams ground almonds
275 grams caster sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
50 grams flaked almonds

TO DECORATE

1 teaspoon icing sugar

METHOD

Peel, core and chop the apples roughly. Put them in a saucepan with the lemon juice and sugar and bring the pan to a bubble over a medium heat. Cover the pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes or until you can mash the apple to a rough puree with a wooden spoon or fork. (You should have about 285g / 1 generous cup of puree.) Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180ºC/160ºC Fan/350ºF; oil a 25cm / 10 inch springform tin with almond or a flavourless vegetable oil and line the bottom with baking parchment.
Put the cooled puree in the processor with the eggs, ground almonds, caster sugar and 1 tablespoon — or generous squeeze — of lemon juice and blitz to a puree. Pour and scrape, with a rubber spatula for ease, into the prepared tin, sprinkle the flaked almonds on top, and bake for 45 minutes. It’s worth checking after 35 minutes, as ovens do vary, and you might well find its cooked earlier — or indeed you may need to give a few minutes longer.
Put on a wire rack to cool slightly, then spring open. This cake is best served slightly warm, though still good cold.
As you bring it to the table, push a teaspoon of icing sugar through a fine sieve to give a light dusting.