Ingredients
- 180g plain flour
- 180g wholemeal flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed (optional)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tart apples, unpeeled and cut into large (½”-1”) chunks
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or enough to keep the apples from turning brown)
- 3 large eggs
- 100 ml canola or olive oil
- 180g brown sugar
- 100g sugar
- 150g canned whole peeled tomatoes
- orange juice or water (about 100ml)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g-150g chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
- non stick cooking spray or butter to grease the tin
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spray a cake tin well with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter using parchment paper.
Step 2
In a large bowl, stir together the flours, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, toss the apple chunks with the lemon juice, about 50g of the sugar and a bit of cinnamon; set aside.
Step 3
In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, brown sugar, sugar, tomatoes, orange juice and vanilla until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until mixed through.
Step 4
Pour a third of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter with a third of the apples (and half the nuts, if you’re using them), then repeat with another layer of batter and apples and nuts, and a final layer of batter, then apples. (Nuts are best kept inside the cake to keep them from burning.) Pour any juices that accumulated in the bottom of the apple bowl on the top.
Step 5
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
Step 6
Cool the cake in the pan to lukewarm before inverting it onto a wire rack or plate.
