German Apple Cake or Apfelkuchen (vegan friendly)

by thetinypotager

Vegan Apple Cake (Apfelkuchen)

Original version of the recipe by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau in The Joy of Vegan Baking

This recipe has no need for eggs because of the applesauce, which provides the binding and moisture that eggs normally would.  In just about any cake recipe, you replace every egg with approx 60-70g of apple sauce – and it works particularly well in recipes where the cake is dense and moist, such as muffins.

Ingredients:

3 Apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices (we use golden delicious, or granny smiths)

112g Vitalite, a little extra for greasing the cake tin

110g Granulated sugar

125g Unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tablespoons Almond milk

188g Plain flour

2 1/2 Teaspoons baking powder

For the topping:

60g Dark brown sugar

1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger

Equipment:

Kitchen scales, measuring spoons

Sharp knife and cutting board

Kitchen mixer

Spatula

Small bowl and spoon

23cm spring form cake tin

Baking parchment

Cake testing skewer

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and lightly grease the cake tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.

Cook the apples in a little water on the hob until that are soft, but not turning to mush.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a mixer.

Add the apple sauce and the almond milk and stir into the mixture gently.

Add the flour and baking powder and stir until just combined.  Too much mixing, and the cake won’t rise.

Add the cake batter to the prepared cake tin.

Carefully add the apple slices to the top of the batter, starting in the centre and spiralling outwards.

Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a little bowl and then sprinkle over the apple slices.

Bake for 40 minutes in the centre of the oven, or until a skewer through the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool before releasing the cake from the cake tin.

Serve with a little dairy free cream.

33 Comments

  6. Nice! Another great recipe with applesauce. Really inspiring. I’ve seen it used in other recipes but never realized that it’s actually a great way to replace eggs. Smart.

    Thanks for this.

    -Thomas

    Reply

    1. Hi Thomas, thanks 🙂 It’s really useful because you can store it for ages in a cupboard for when you’re baking, unlike using bananas for egg substitutes, which work great but go off so quickly.

      Reply

    1. Thank so much! Our family love your blog too, we were looking through all the shoreline photographs this morning, really beautiful. (we’re at the furthest point in England from the sea, so it holds a constant fascination 🙂 )

      Reply

  8. I like this. Will try. As I am trying to avoid as much processed sugar as possible, I might substitute some honey and see. The applesauce should add some sweetness too.

    Reply

    1. Brilliant – let me know how you get on, and if you make any tweaks – I love to adapt and change recipes. There is a definite sweetness from the applesauce, but not too overpowering. Good luck 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much! I’ll try and post up my never-fail vegan banana cake recipe in the next few days 🙂 I made one the other day and it got eaten before I could get a really nice photo of a slice of it on a plate …

      Reply

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