A deliciously moist cake and full of flavour to boot. Serve simply in slices to add to your lunchbox or to have with your morning coffee. Jazz up your SweeTango Apple cake by topping with a cream cheese icing and sprinkling with a little ground cinnamon. Top that with dehydrated SweeTango Apple slices.

Cake Ingredients:

  • 15 Medjool dates, about 200g, pitted and cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 medium-sized SweeTango Apples, about 350g
  • 125g butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups flour, preferably high-grade flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup fresh walnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Lightly grease the sides and dust with flour, tapping to remove excess flour.

Place the dates in a heatproof bowl with the bicarbonate soda and boiling water. Lightly peel the SweeTango Apples, cut into quarters and core. Cut apple quarters into slices then into small chunks and add in with the dates as you cut. Mix well and leave to cool.

Beat the butter and caster sugar together in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. With the electric mixer on its lowest speed, add in the flour alternately with the apple mixture until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.

Stir in the walnuts and pour mixture into the prepared tin. Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with a piece of baking paper for the final 15 minutes of cooking time.

Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes before removing from the cake tin to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 days.

Cream Cheese Icing:

  • 250g cream cheese, softened
  • 125g butter, softened
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • good squeeze of lemon juice
  • Beat all ingredients together until light and fluffy.

Dehydrated SweeTango Apple Slices (oven method):

  • 1 SweeTango Apple
  • Juice of 1-2 lemons

Preheat the oven to 100°C.

Slice the whole SweeTango Apple as thinly as you can. Definitely use a mandolin to do this if you have one. As you cut, place apple slices in a shallow bowl and cover with lemon juice. This prevents them from browning.

Place apple slices on a wire rack sitting on an oven tray. Place in the oven to dry out for at least one hour until dry and crisp, watching that they are not colouring. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Serves 10