Apple-Spice & Rosewater Cake (Vegan-Friendly)

Directions

1. Prepare the applesauce (skip this step if using store-bought, unsweetened applesauce): Peel apples and slice into wedges, removing the tough bits and chop into roughly 3-cm/1-in cubes. Place in a big pot with 100mL of water; we'll be simmering the apples for ~25 minutes. Cover and turn up the heat; when you hear the water boiling, give the apples a stir, cover again then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover the pot (you'll find the apples quite watery now) and continue letting it simmer and evaporate for a further 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end you should have a fairly "dry" pot with barely any free-flowing liquid. Puree the apples with a stick blender then set aside (to be extra safe from hot splattering, let the apples cool to room temperature before pureeing).
2. While the apples are simmering, pre-heat your oven to 180*C (350*F) and prepare a bundt pan or 8-inch springform cake pan by oiling it and dusting with more whole wheat flour. Combine the first 6 dry ingredients in a mixing bowl: cake flour, whole wheat flour, the spices and the baking powder; set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, mix together with an electric whisk (or stand mixer with whisk attachment) 500g of freshly-made or store-bought applesauce with the soy milk, light brown sugar, vanilla extract and sea salt.
4. In a smaller bowl, tip in the 15g of flax meal and pour 80g of boiling-hot water into the bowl. Use an electric whisk on medium speed to whisk for 1 minute until frothy and thick.
5. Add the flax mixture to the applesauce mixture and whisk on high speed for 1 minute. Next, drizzle in the oil whilst mixing at high speed, then whisk a further 2 minutes to fully emulsify the mixture.
6. Add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture, and fold with a spatula just until thoroughly combined; avoid over-working the batter.
7. Pour into your bundt or cake pan and place in the lower-center rack of the oven; bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. Let it cool to room temperature then invert onto a large piece of baking paper to decorate.
8. To prepare the icing, prepare a bowl with your sifted icing sugar then add the lukewarm water and rosewater. Stir to combine, and when the cake is completely cooled to room temperature, drizzle the icing over the cake and decorate with dried rose petals if you wish. Transfer the cake with the baking paper onto a serving plate, then finally tear away the baking paper to cleanly set the cake on the platter.