1) Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease and line a ring cake tin.
2) Whisk the aquafaba and sugar for a few minutes to make a white creamy foam. Scrape the sides of the bowl.
3) Add the oil, vanilla essence, and apple purée and fold in, before adding the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and ground cloves. Mix gently to combine. Don’t over-mix or beat.
4) Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes (160°C) or until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
To make the salted caramel sauce
1) Place margarine, coconut or soya cream, brown sugar, and salt into a small saucepan and bring, stirring, to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.
2) Let cool to thicken up but it is ok to serve hot if need be. Drizzle the caramel sauce over the cake and serve.
TIPS:
• I don’t peel the apples – just core and remove any skin blemishes.
• Aquafaba is the liquid from a can of chickpeas. It helps bind and makes a nicely textured cake.
• The cake can be frozen but make the sauce at the time of serving.