For the cake
390g Plain flour
5ml Ground cinnamon
2.5ml Ground allspice
3.25ml Bicarbonate of soda
180g Light Muscovado sugar
170g Rapeseed oil
180g Sunflower oil
5 Medium eggs
340g Coarsely grated Cox’s apples, skin on
130g Pecan nuts, roughly chopped, plus extra for decorating [reserve the nice pecans for decorating]
For the icing
600g Icing sugar
75g Butter , softened
300g Full fat cream cheese [Philadelphia]
45ml Dulce de Leche
Heat oven to 160°C fan, with a rack about mid height. Grease and line two 23cm cake tins.
Wash and grate the apples with the skin on. Weight out 340g.
Put the flour, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda in a big bowl, then stir in the sugars, making sure there are no lumps of sugar.
Add the oil, eggs and apples, and beat everything together.
Fold in the chopped pecans then divide the mixture between two tins and bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
For the frosting, beat the icing sugar, cream cheese and butter together. Beat until smooth. Add the dulce de leche and beat until incorporated. Add more Dulce de Leche if preferred. Quantity can be doubled without problems. Chill until needed.
Apply frosting to the bottom half, sandwich with the other and spread the remaining icing on top make a spiral pattern with the spatula. Decorate with pecan halves.