Apple and Cardamom Rye Cake

We eat a lot of bread.  I bake or buy a fresh loaf every day.  Bread is always on our table and in our lunchboxes.  Anything that's leftover (if any) is toasted the next day or blitzed to make breadcrumbs. Nothing gets wasted, even it I HAVE to make a cake to use it up.

Apple and Cardamom Rye Cake

slightly adapted from here

150g unsalted butter

4 egg whites

150g pure icing sugar, plus extra for dusing

60g ground almonds

70g self-raising flour, sifted

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 pink lady apples, peeled and coarsely grated

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

85g rye breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 200C  Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round springform pan with baking paper.  Set aside.

Put the butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, until nut-brown and smelling amazing.  Take it off the heat and leave to cool slightly.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites and icing sugar n medium-high for about 5 minutes, until stiff peaks form.  Reduce the speed to low and add the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until just combined.  Keep the mixer at low speed as you drizzle the brown butter down the side of the mixer bowl, adding it in a slow, steady stream.  Mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the apples, cardamom and breadcrumbs.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Once baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Put the cooled cake onto a serving plate, put the wire rack on top of the cake and dust with icing sugar.  Serve with lashings of whipped cream.