Apple Cake with Coffee Crust

3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups (300ml) vegetable oil
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 large Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1cm (½-inch) dice

Toffee crust:½ cup (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
1 cup (175g) light brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Make the cake: preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform tube pan*.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda and whisk together. In a large bowl, whisk the oil with the granulated sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Fold in the diced apples with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream and brown sugar and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring. Remove the toffee glaze from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Place the warm cake (still in its pan) on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the hot glaze over the cake and let it seep into the cake, poking lightly with a toothpick or dried spaghetti. Let the cake cool completely, about 2 hours. Invert the cake onto a plate, and invert again onto another plate, right side up.

* I halved the recipe and used a 19cm ring pan

Serves 8