The new baker: sage apple cake Peel, core and thinly slice the apples. Place in a small bowl and drizzle over the orange juice. Into a separate bowl, sift together the flour, ground almonds, baking-powder, ¼ tsp table salt and the 350g of sugar. Melt the butter over a low heat. Allow to cool slightly before combining with the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the almond and vanilla extracts. Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring to combine. Remove the cake tin from the fridge and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the base. Arrange the sage leaves in a circle, stems almost touching in the centre of the tin. Spoon over half the batter. Place the apple slices on top. Cover with the remaining batter. Don't worry if an apple slice pokes through the batter - it's more important not to push the batter around, or you'll upset the sage circle. Bake for about 75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin before inverting on to a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. If decorating, whisk the egg white until frothy then, using a pastry brush, delicately brush each sage leaf on both sides. Sprinkle with sugar and allow to dry before scattering on the cake.