A version of our traditional apple cake, only this one is made with olive oil instead of butter. It’s a great base for adding all sorts of fruit as summer kicks in, from plums to raspberries, pears and cherries. Use only flour if you can’t get your hands on ground almonds or hazelnuts. 

For 6
10 minutes preparation
35 minutes baking

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g plain flour
15g baking powder
50g ground almonds or hazelnuts
125g brown sugar + 2 tablespoons for the top of the cake
A pinch of salt
2 eggs
75g olive oil
75ml fresh milk
4 medium tart apples, peeled, cut into 2cm chunks

Heat the oven to 180C.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large baking bowl.

Beat the olive oil, milk, eggs and vanilla together and add them to the flour. Mix quickly to combine then add the apple chunks. Stir them though the batter.

Pour into a lined and greased 22cm sandwich tin, sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top of the cake and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is crunchy and the cake is cooked through. (Test it with a knife or a skewer.)

Allow to cool slightly before removing it from the tin and cooling completely on a wire rack.