I found this recipe while working with a lady who is gluten intolerant. At that time there weren't many recipes for her dietary needs and I wanted to make a special cake for her birthday. It's quite large, always popular and well suited for dessert. It's also great for Passover—a bonus!

　　

Ingredients

Serves 12–16

　　

For the cake:

3 Granny Smith apples

　　30 g (1 ounce) unsalted butter

　　50 g (1¾ ounces; ¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar

　　2 whole cloves

　　80 g (½ cup) raisins

　　260 g (9¼ ounces; 2⅓ cups) ground almonds

　　220 g (1½ cups) whole almonds

　　2½ teaspoons ground ginger

　　2 teaspoons baking powder

　　4 eggs

　　230 g (8½ ounces; 1 cup) raw (demerara) sugar

　　145 ml (½ cup plus 1 tablespoon) pure maple or golden syrup (light treacle)

　　

For the topping:

2 royal gala or golden delicious apples

　　50 g (⅓ cup) whole almonds, coarsely chopped

　　50 g (1¾ ounces) butter, melted

　　50 g (¼ cup) raw (demerara) sugar

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Grease and line a 26 cm (10 1/2 inch) springform cake tin.

　　

Step 2

Peel and core the apples, then cut into wedges.

　　

Step 3

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a frying pan large enough to fit the apples in one layer. Add the apple wedges, caster sugar and cloves and toss to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are well coated, soft and starting to colour, about 5–10 minutes. There should be no liquid left in the pan. Remove the cloves, add the raisins and cook for another minute or so to soften. Remove from the heat and cool.

　　

Step 4

Process the ground almonds, whole almonds, ginger and baking powder in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Set aside.

　　

Step 5

In an electric mixer, whisk the eggs, raw sugar and maple or golden syrup until light and fluffy. Fold in the nut mixture and cooked apples. Pour into the prepared tin.

　　

Step 6

To make the topping, core and thinly slice the apples and arrange over the cake batter, overlapping slightly. Scatter the almonds on top, pour the melted butter over and then sprinkle on the sugar.

　　

Step 7

Bake the cake for about 1–1¼ hours until golden and cooked through and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with some foil.

　　

Step 8

Cool completely in the tin and serve at room temperature with plain yoghurt or vanilla ice cream.

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　　Recipe from Monday Morning Cooking Club: The Feast Goes On, by Alan Benson, Copyright © 2013, published by HarperCollins.