NIGELLA LAWSON'S APPLE AND ALMOND CAKE

APPLE AND ALMOND CAKE

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

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. Leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/180ºC/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.