Recipe by: MEDITERRANEAN COOKERY For cake, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9" springform pan with olive oil. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, if desired. In large bowl, beat applesauce, brown sugar and olive oil with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Gradually beat flour mixture into applesauce mixture until smooth. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Arrange apple slices in overlapping circles on top of batter. Cover pan with aluminum foil. bake 55 min. Meanwhile, for Nut Topping, in small skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add nuts; cook and stir until golden. Add granulated sugar and cinnamon; stir well. Sprinkle topping over cake. Continue to bake cake, covered, 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove

foil; cool on wire rack 10 min. Remove side of pan; cool completely before serving. Makes 10-12 servings -----