Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9x9 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together applesauce, Greek yogurt, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Add oats to a high powered blender and blend until a powder forms (similar to a flour-like consistency).
To the same bowl, stir in oat flour, whole oats, baking soda, baking powder, collagen, apple pie spice and salt. Fold in diced apples, leaving about ¼ cup to use as topping.
Evenly spread the cake batter into the baking pan. Top with remaining apples. Bake for 24-28 minutes.
Once the cake is baked and cooled, drizzle with caramel and slice into 12 equal sized bars.
Notes
Collagen can be replaced with an additional ¼ cup of oats, ground flax seed or unflavoured protein powder (please note protein powders may result in a more dry consistency.If you are using pre-blended oat flour, use a total of 1 +¾ cups of oat flour (+ the additional ½ cup of whole oats).An 8” square pan can be used in place of the 9 inch pan for a thicker cake. If you decide to substitute the pan size, the cook time will increase to 30-35 minutes.*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below. However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.
Did you know....rating and sharing recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favourite food bloggers? If you make this recipe, I would love if you clicked the stars below to leave a rating and/or sharing a photo on social media by tagging @nourishedbynic or using the hashtag #nourishedbynic!