I knew exactly what I wanted from this cake – a rich crumbly texture, topped with sticky apples.  The only problem was how to create it without it becoming so sweet it was sickly.

Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes: The Best of Anna Del Conte by the fabulous, Anna Del Conte, provided the inspiration to use olive oil instead of butter in the cake, to get a better crumb, but otherwise the recipe is my own.

I think the recipe I used nailed it.  I ended up with a slightly dry (in a good way), crumbly light textured cake with a delightful chewy apple top.  Gorgeous.  Isn’t it just wonderful when an experiment works out well? 

This cake is very nice as a mid morning/afternoon treat with a cuppa but would work beautifully with a little whipped cream as a dessert.