This delicious cake is inspired by an Italian dessert. Sugar free and packed with fibre-rich and dental-protecting apples, this moist and yummy cake will wow everybody.
- 3 apples, cored + chopped into small bite-size cubes (no need to peel unless you want to)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp xylitol (or use 1-2 tbsp sugar for a low sugar cake, or try without for sweeter apples!)
- 1 tbsp flour
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 175 g (1 1/4 cups) flour (a mix of wholemeal and plain is best)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- decent pinch of salt
- 150 g (3/4 cup) xylitol (*it's easy to halve this, and I've even heard of someone leaving it and the syrup out completely and adding in a little milk - about 150-200ml - for moisture instead --> you could use a little applesauce in place of milk for added sweetness)
- 120 g (1 cup) coconut oil, melted (you could replace with melted butter if you wish)
- 2 tbsp rice/maple syrup or honey, optional
- 1 tsp sugar free vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs
- large handful chopped walnuts or pecans, optional
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. Grease and line a 23cm (9 inch) cake tin. In a bowl, mix the chopped apples with the cinnamon, 2 tbsp xylitol and 1 tbsp flour. Squeeze the lemon juice over it all and set aside.
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In a separate large bowl, mix the flour and baking powder with the salt and xylitol. Stir in the melted coconut oil, rice syrup and vanilla extract. Mix in the eggs and stir until combined. Stir through 2/3 of the apple pieces and finally, add the chopped nuts. Mix until just combined and pour into the cake tin. Top with the last of the apples. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. If at any point it starts to catch on the top, cover with foil for the rest of the baking time.