Growing up my mother always made a Jewish Apple Cake that I absolutely loved. Why it is called “Jewish” Apple Cake I do not know. And no, I did not grow up Jewish 
. I’ve been a bad girl regarding fruit intake lately. Yes, I know….how is that even possible for a vegan? Well I tend to go crazy on veggies and no so much on fruit. Makes NO sense since I really do LOVE fruit. But anyway, dessert is a good way to get your cake and eat your fruit too 
. So here you go, my latest creation: Vegan Jewish Apple Cake. Not only do you get your fruit, but the batter is delicious…so is the cake when baked too haha. Oh, and it has flax meal….so its “extra” healthy .
Jewish Apple Cake
2 Tbsp flax meal with 6 Tbsp water
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups sugar (clearly not a diabetic’s cake but indulge would you? it has apples, eh? )
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup vegan milk
4 Tbsp cinnamon (yes an entire 1/4 cup of cinnamon, trust me it is JUST right, not overwhelming)
2 cups flour (I use AP)
2 tsp baking powder
3 medium apples, sliced thin
1-Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
2-Peel and slice 3 medium apples (I used Gala and Red Delicious, although any kind would work…I would stay away from the more sour Granny Smith though). Set aside in a bowl of water with a tsp of lemon juice in it to prevent browning. Or you can mix everything THEN slice apples and add to mixture to reduce their sitting time.
Apple soaking in H2O/lemon combo
3-Whisk together flax and water to get “egg”-like consistency
4-Mix flax mixture, applesauce, sugar, oil, soymilk and vanilla together.
5-In a separate bowl mix together cinnamon, flour, and baking powder.
6-Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add apples and mix until evenly spread around.
Wet and dry mixed
Mix apples in gently
7-Place in greased tube pan (I’m sure another type of pan would work, it would have to be large though since this batter fills the entire tube pan with little room to spare). Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Check at about 40 minutes and from then on to ensure no over-baking occurs.
Put batter into tube pan (however much you don't eat before that is )
8-Enjoy! This cake is good when it comes out of the oven but it is 10 times better after sitting overnight (covered of course). The crust that forms when baking moistens when it sits and the flavor really develops. How many cakes can you say get better with age? This one does! Well, not TOO old mind you, there is fruit in there….;) .
Hey there pretty lady.....
Sara said,
August 13, 2008 at 9:37 am
Mmm…this looks SOOOO good! This is going on the to-do list for sure!!
And since you brought up diabetics, do you think nectar (or some other low glycemic-index sweetener) would be able to be substituted??
veganverve said,
August 13, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Well for sure agave could replace some of the sugar (athough a flour adjustment would most likely need to be made)….but I dunno if you would want to replace it completely—that would be 2 cups of agave! Agave nectar is too expensive to use 2 cups on something! Well to me anyway
Marlene Arnold said,
August 21, 2008 at 7:37 pm
It is my understanding that the variations of this cake are called “Jewish” apple cakes for a couple of reasons. First, this cake uses oil instead of butter, which makes it a good dessert to serve with both meals that contain meat and meals that contain milk. To be kosher, these items can’t be served at the same time. This is one thing vegan Jews don’t have to worry about!
The second thing is that Jewish cooks often serve apple cakes to guests on the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, which arrives in September or October. Rosh Hashanah is the New Year celebration for the Jewish year. At this time they also eat apple slices dipped in honey as a symbol of a happy year to come. (For apple dipping, vegans sometimes use molasses or maple syrup mixed with a little orange juice. This is even better if it is warmed a bit in the microwave.)
Some families have a tradition of not eating out of season apples and making this cake and the apple dipping custom their first time to enjoy the new apples of the season.
Your recipe looks wonderful and I can’t wait to try it!
Marlene Arnold said,
August 21, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Just off the top of my head, there are a couple of things you probably could do to cut the fat and sugar.
Try changing the apple sauce to 3/4 cup and reduce the oil to 1/2 cup.
Also, try reducing the sugar to 1 1/2 cup and increase the flour to 2 1/2 cups.
- m
veganverve said,
August 22, 2008 at 2:31 am
Marlene,
Thanks so much for the background on why these cakes are called Jewish Apple Cakes!! And you’re right…those changes may help those who are concerned with fat and sugar. Of course, I figure its dessert anyway so I go all out….but it is good to have alternative methods to make it healthier.
Thanks again!
Arrrr…’Appy Birthday Matey! « The Innocent Primate Vegan Blog said,
September 19, 2008 at 10:34 am
[...] with Nikki’s Jewish Apple Cake, I did. Avast, I had no applesauce so me increased th’ shredded apples by 1/2 C. Ye can see [...]
justin said,
September 30, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Hi,
Amateur Baker/Professional Jew here. I am going to a Yom Kippur dinner at some vegan friends next week (I am an omnivour) and made this cake to see how it turned out. While it tastes delicious and is cooked all the way through, when I dumped it out of the bunt it fell apart.
How long should I let it sit before I dump it? It seemed like it stuck a little on the top of the cake (actual top of the cake after it had been dumped) Could it have not been greased enough or are you supposed to let it set for a bit ?
Like I said though…..delicious. Thanks for your advice!!
veganverve said,
October 2, 2008 at 1:10 am
Thanks Justin! I prefer to wait until the cake is cooled completely. It seems as thought they stick more when they are still warm (I know from when I have been too impatient to wait lol). You can also try greasing the pan a little more at the top (since the sides seem to do okay). But the best thing to do is to wait for it to cool completely! Hope that helps, glad to you enjoyed the recipe!
Cheryl said,
September 12, 2009 at 6:08 pm
“Jewish” because it’s a traditional Hanukkah dessert. Your version looks great.