Blackberry and Apple Cinnamon Crumble Cake
 
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
  • 120 g (41⁄4 oz/11⁄8 cups) walnuts, preferably activated dried (see page 25)
  • 1 tbsp milled flax seeds
  • 3 tbsp filltered water
  • 
100 g (31⁄2 oz/1 cup less 2 tbsp) ground almonds (almond meal)
  • 
70 g (21⁄2 oz/1⁄2 cup) chestnut flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
  • 1⁄2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
  • Zest of 1⁄2 lemon
  • 
60 g (2 oz/1⁄4 cup) easy apple purée (see page 32)
  • 
80 g (23⁄4 oz/1⁄4 cup) maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 50 ml (13⁄4 oz/scant 1⁄4 cup) EVCP rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 2 dessert apples such as Cox or Granny Smith (250–300 g (83⁄4–101⁄2 oz) total weight)
  • 250 g (83⁄4 oz/21⁄2 cups) blackberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3.
  2. Line the bottom of an 18–20 cm (7–8 inch) loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment and grease the sides with a little oil.
  3. Place the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5–8 minutes until beginning to colour. Leave to cool.
  4. Finely chop 80 g (23⁄4 oz/3⁄4 cup) and set aside the remaining walnuts.
  5. Combine the milled flax seeds with the water and leave for 15 minutes to form a gel, stirring occasionally.
  6. In a large bowl, mix together the finely chopped walnuts, ground almonds (almond meal), chestnut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), salt and lemon zest. Make a well in the centre and add the flax gel, apple purée, maple syrup, vanilla extract and oil and mix to combine.
  7. Divide the mix equally in two, place half the mix in the cake tin and spread it out with a palette knife (frosting spatula). It should be about 1 cm (1⁄3 inch) deep and weigh about 250 g (8 3⁄4 oz).
  8. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Spread them over the cake mix, overlapping them in a circle, followed by the blackberries and top with the rest of the cake mix.
  9. The mix will be sticky so use your fingers to dab small bits of the mix over the blackberries. It doesn’t matter if some berries are still showing, but try to cover most of them.
  10. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the top of the cake, breaking them up roughly between your fingers as you do so. Press them into the cake mix slightly.
  11. Bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the tin halfway through baking.
  12. It is ready when the top is firm to touch and a rich golden brown, the nuts will be well toasted and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out almost clean. If the top is looking a bit too dark, turn down the oven to 160°C/310°F/Gas Mark 21⁄2 for the last 10–15 minutes.
  13. Serve warm with an extra dusting of cinnamon or mesquite (see page 54) if you like and natural yogurt. This is best eaten fresh but will keep for up to five days in a sealed container in the fridge.
Recipe by Cherished By Me at https://cherishedbyme.com/2016/03/blackberry-and-apple-cinnamon-crumble-cake/