When life gives you apples a’plenty – as it does this time of year – make the most of them and bake an apple and almond cake!

There is such a variety of apples out there with different levels of sweetness and crunch. If you find yourself a little bored with your usual options, now is the season to talk to your local farmers and sellers to find out more about trying out new local varietals.

Note: The sweetness of this cake will vary depending on what kind of apples you use, and you should adjust sugar levels in the recipe accordingly: i.e. more sugar if you’re baking with a tart apple like a granny smith and less sugar if you’re using a macon or fuji apple.

If you’d like to make this cake gluten free, you can go all almond flour and not half-and-half like in the recipe; the texture will be less fluffy and the cake will have a little less crumb to it just FYI.

While the cake was still warm, I brushed it with some light honey using a pastry brush – for some extra sheen. Before serving, top the cake with a little powdered/confectioner’s sugar.

Apple and almond cake

Saffron & Honey

A light apple and almond cake, made with almond flour and topped with apples and crushed almonds, makes the most of the season's harvest bounty.

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Ingredients

4-5 medium sized apples quartered, cored and thinly sliced.
1 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar depending on apple sweetness
1 packet vanilla sugar
1 cup AP flour
0.5 cup almond meal or almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 stick of butter melted
0.25 cup of crushed almonds
confectioner's sugar for dusting on top optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 355 F / 180 C. Grease and line and springform pan with wax paper or baking paper.
Toss the sliced apples with vanilla sugar and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs and butter until smooth. Gently fold in half of the apples.
Pour batter into the pan and distribute evenly. Top with remaining apples and sprinkle with crushed almonds.
Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the middle of the cake is set. Let cool before dusting with confectioner's sugar.