Wholemeal Swedish Apple Cake

Firstly, an apology- we have not posted here for a couple of weeks because I've been ill; germs are an occupational hazard when you work with young children, and unfortunately these were pretty nasty germs! But I'm well on the mend, and getting back into the routine with blogging, so here's something I made quite a while ago now...
Swedish apple cake has long been a favourite of mine, since my mother used to make it using a Marks and Spencer recipe back in the late 70s. Basically, anything involving apples and cinnamon has to be a winner! I also added some raisins for extra fruity sweetness. We got some wholemeal organic self-raising wheat flour from Suma Wholefoods a few weeks ago, so it was only a matter of time before we got round to trying it out in cakes. I don't think it rises quite as well as the white self-raising flour, but it seems to work beautifully in "brown" cakes which don't have to be really fluffy, like this apple cake. As you can see from the picture above, it still makes a good crumb and the cake is not at all heavy. Wholemeal flour has extra flavour, extra fibre and added nutrients like B vitamins so it makes sense to use it whenever you can. This cake was a delicious addition to our lunchboxes for several days, and while still warm, it was an excellent dessert paired with custard. 

Makes 12 squares

400g wholemeal self raising flour

200g soft light brown sugar

4 tsps baking powder

400ml plant milk (we used unsweetened soy)

150ml organic cold-pressed sunflower oil

2-3 tabs mixed fruit (those bags of raisins, currants, sultanas and sometimes peel you can buy in most supermarkets)

1 tsp powdered cinnamon

1 1/2 tsps mixed spice

2 large apples

• First preheat your oven to 180C and prepare a rectangular cake mould or tin.
• Wash, core and slice the apples; don't bother to peel them. Set them aside.
• Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice in a large bowl.
• In another bowl or jug, mix the oil, and plant milk.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and beat for about a minute.
• Spoon it into your cake mould and lay the apple slices on top. Make sure the layer is no more than one deep, or the cake might not rise so well. Don't spend too long making your cake look fancy either;it's more important to get it into the oven as soon as possible to ensure a successful bake.
• Bake for about 45 minutes, and slice when cooled. I'm not sure how this recipe would work in a round cake tin- I'd recommend a shallow rectangular one to make sure it bakes evenly.