Cinnamon & Apple Cake

I always try to use seasonal fruit & vegetables in my cooking... Cook what's in season and you'll never have to go far for your ingredients. We're so lucky to have access to amazing quality fresh food in Ireland, I always try to keep my ingredients as local as possible. 

I grew up in the country, and we had a fantastic orchard that provided us with the most delicious apples in the autumn. Seriously, they were the juiciest, sweetest apples you could find...For that reason, I always associate baking with apples with autumn time...Everything from apple tarts to crumbles to cakes.. 

You'll have noticed that the weather has been pretty horrendous over the past while, so you'd be forgiven for thinking we were still in the throes of winter... If you're in need of something a little special & comforting, look no further than this Cinnamon & Apple Cake... It's sweet and spicy and so unbelievably moist & tasty... 

For the cake:

• 5 eggs
• 4 tbsp raw organic honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 50g coconut oil, melted
• 50g walnut oil
• 250g almond flour
• 75g unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 2 medium cooking apples, peeled & grated coarsely
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 50g walnuts, roughly chopped

Grease & line a 9" round cake tin with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 160d. 

Start by adding eggs, vanilla, and honey to a large bowl and whisking until tripled in volume.

In a separate bowl, add all the remaining ingredients. Mix well until combined. 

Next, add the whisked egg mixture to the remaining ingredients gradually, folding gently after each addition to retain the air in the cake... 

Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 50-55 minutes. If after 30 minutes or so you notice the cake is browning a little too much, you can cover the tin loosely with a sheet of tin foil to prevent burning. Almond flour has a tendency to burn a lot easier & faster than traditional wheat flours because of its fat content. 

Once the cake is cooked, leave to rest in the tin for 5 minutes before removing and allowing to cool on a wire rack... 

This cake is absolutely gorgeous served warm, straight from the oven... you could serve with a little Greek yoghurt and it would be amazing... 

Or... you could allow it to cool & finish off with this simple Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing... 

For the icing:

• 200g cream cheese (I use mascarpone since it's one of the least processed of the cream cheeses)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Beat well until just combined & smooth. 

Spread a generous layer of icing over the top of the cake & decorate with some chopped walnuts. 

This cake is amazing using pears & pecan nuts too...

Remember, if you make any of my recipes let me know & take pics! I LOVE seeing them... and I'll give you a shout out on Facebook!! You'll be #famous!! :)