First sift together the dry ingredients including the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl. Set aside.

Next, add the wet ingredients to a larger mixing bowl including the apple cider, olive oil, applesauce, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Whisk together to combine. 

Add the bowl of sifted dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and whisk together until a thick cake batter forms. Please note, it is important not to overmix the batter and just mix it until large clumps or streaks of flour are gone. Then, add in the optional chopped apples and fold them into the batter.

Let the batter rest in the bowl and preheat the oven to 350F. While the oven is preheating, lightly grease the bundt pan. I have found that greasing the pan with shortening works best, but olive oil or a non-sticky spray works too. Make sure every crevice is lightly oiled so the cake does not stick. Then, dust the pan lightly with flour. Make sure to dump out any excess flour that is not sticking to the pan.

Once the oven is preheated, add the cake batter to the bundt pan. Before adding to the oven, tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles and fill in all the crevices of the pan with batter. Then, add the cake to the oven. Bake for 38-45 minutes or until cooked throughout.

Remove the bundt cake and let sit 10-15 minutes before inverting. I also recommend running a knife along the edges of the cake before inverting to help loosen. It is best to invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool so the bottom does not get too moist.

Once the cake has cooled completely, make the apple cider glaze. Add the powdered sugar, apple cider, and cinnamon to a small bowl and whisk together until a thick glaze forms. The glaze should be very thick, but feel free to add up to ½ tablespoon more apple cider for a thinner glaze. 

Pour the glaze onto the cooled cake, slice, and serve!