A simple, rustic olive oil cake with fresh apples. It's a sweet twist per the usual seasonal dish. It’s dairy-free and meant to be dense, moist, and sweet.

• 4 apples
• Juice from 1 lemon
  
• 4 medium eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar + 2 tablespoons for the apples
• 1/2 cup of Della Pace extra virgin olive oil
• 1¾ cup cake flour
• 1¾ teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of cardamom powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• Butter to grease the cake mold
• 2 tablespoons of apricot jam

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Peel, core and slice three apples. Put aside the fourth apple, you’ll need it later. Collect them in a bowl, drizzle them with the juice of a lemon and sprinkle them with two tablespoons of sugar. Give them a quick stir and put aside.
3. Whip eggs and sugar until light and foamy. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil, then fold in the flour sifted with baking powder, cardamom and salt.
4. Now add the apples, pouring in also the lemon juice left in the bowl. Fold gently to apples into the batter.
5. Grease a 26 cm round cake mold with a knob of butter and dust it with flour. Scrape the batter into the cake mold and smooth the surface with a spatula.
6. Peel core and slice the apple you put aside. Use these apple slices to decorate the surface of the cake, placing them in concentric circles, starting from the outside.
7. Bake the cake in a hot oven for about 45-50 minutes, checking if the cake is done with a toothpick: when you insert it in the center of the cake it should come out clean.
8. Once ready, remove the cake from the oven, allowing it a few minutes to cool down on a wire rack, then remove it from the cake mold and place it on a plate.
9. Dissolve the apricot jam in a saucepan with two tablespoons of water, warming it on low heat until it starts to boil. Brush the cake with the apricot glaze. Let it cool down completely before slicing it.
10. It keeps well for a few days on your kitchen counter, simply covered with a paper napkin or a kitchen towel.