A recipe from Kathy Snowball

Ingredients

• 80g dried dates, chopped
• 1/3 cup water
• 280g plain flour
• ½t ground ginger
• pinch salt
• ½t baking powder
• 1 ¼t bicarbonate of soda
• 120ml olive oil
• 160g caster sugar
• 1t vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 apples, peeled, cored & cut into 1cm pieces
• grated rind 1 lemon
• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup roasted hazelnuts, chopped

Honey & Cream Cheese Icing:

• 100g soft unsalted butter, chopped
• 100g light brown sugar
• 80ml honey
• 250g creamed cheese at room temperature, chopped

Method
Using a mixer, beat butter, sugar and honey til light and fluffy. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth.

Grease 24cm spring form pan and line base with baking paper.

Combine dates with water in a small saucepan and cook over low heat about 5 mins until water has been absorbed by dates. Cool. Sift together flour, ginger, salt, baking powder and bicarb soda. Combine oil, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and using the paddle attachment beat until combined. Add eggs and beat until smooth and thick. Mix in apples, dates and lemon rind, then fold in flour mixture.

Whisk eggs whites until soft peaks form and fold into batter in two batches. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 170 degrees C for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cook cake completely, then cut in half horizontally. Spread a one centimeter thick layer of icing over the bottom half of the cake and replace top. Spread remaining icing over cake, smooth with a palette knife and sprinkle with hazelnuts.