AN APPLE (cake) A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY...

Despite my love for everything sweet (I am an extreme sweet-tooth!) , in the recent years I have really tried to become healthier, and when I am cooking or baking, I try to watch out what is going into the pots, pans, moulds or dishes. Now taking a healthy approach doesn't always work with some recipes because it can alter the textures or flavours- but when it doesn't, I always believe that it is best to go with the healthier option. And so all this talk leads me into introducing a healthy apple cake I came up with the other day. We happened to have a huge basket of apples in the kitchen and as I am really not a big fan of raw apples, I decided to use them in a cake. After a quick brainstorming session and while looking out from the window into the clearly approaching winter season, I decided to cook up something that would omit all the typical culprits- egg yolks, butter, white sugar & Co. Let's take a look at some of the good-for-you ingredients I've included:

Apples (duh)- and we all know how healthy apples are ("an apple a day keeps the doctor away")

Almonds (tons of it) which can help to fight off cholesterol, promotes cardiovascular health, excellent for smooth & supple skin, an infinite list of benefits...

Egg whites only - hello proteins, goodbye cholesterol

Ginseng honey- for better stamina and vitality, and better resistance to stress. Real brain food here!

This recipe that I will share with you is full of goodness that it may possibly help you fight off the chilly winter season and protect your immunity system! (ok, maybe that last bit was a slight exxageration). It's not the prettiest cake to look at, but it turned out to be amazingly delicious with a melt-in-your mouth almondy texture, and a scent composed of a swirl of baked apples, honey & almonds...mmmm... Let me tell you one thing- if I had kids (which I don't), I think I'd be making them these cakes for a yummy but healthy treat. Enjoy the recipe, at the end of this post!

Recipe for a Healthy Apple Cake:

*Ingredients based on a 20cm cake mould:

2 egg whites

40gr vegetable oil
3 tablespoons ginseng honey

40gr natural brown sugar (Muscovado, Demerera, etc)

20ml almond essence

100gr ground almonds

30gr whole wheat flour

2 big apples- sliced

Natural brown sugar

Preheat oven to th4/180C/350F. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites (as for a meringue). In another bowl, mix the vegetable oil, ginseng honey, brown sugar and almond essence. Then gently incorporate the egg whites into this mixture. Finish by adding the ground almonds and whole wheat flour, mix. In a seperate bowl, mix the apple slices with some brown sugar. Grease & flour the sides of a cake mould and line the bottom of the mould with parchment paper. Start by placing the apple slices (mixed with the sugar) on the bottom. Then follow with the cake batter. Bake for 40 mins (you can check at 30 minutes, but it took me 40 minutes). Let cool, and turn cake over upside down. Enjoy!

P.S: I grinded the almonds myself, but I did not grind them ultra-finely, therefore leaving in some crunchy bits. Personally, I prefer keeping in some crunchiness (say 10-20% of total almonds remained crunchy) as the contrast with the moist base and baked apples turned out to be lovely.