Apple Cake with Cranberries
A cranberry apple cake for the holidays
From the recipe archives with a few edits and notes. No philosophy today. Dust off your cake pan and rustle up some apples and cranberries. Here is a moist and tender apple cake laced with a hint of cinnamon and studded with fresh tart berries. After
Maybe it's the sweet-tart combo. The subtlety of flavors. In a food culture obsessed with kicking up recipes with more for the sake of more (white chocolate peanut butter swirled maple mouse topped with caramel coconut creme and marshmallows with sugared lime zest and dark chocolate sprinkles, anyone?) the clean flavor contrast of apples and cranberries is somehow new again. Refreshing. I don't need dessert (or coffee or tea) to taste like candy.
I like my cake to taste like cake. You?
Karina's Apple Cake Recipe with Cranberries
Cranberries add a tart kick to this traditional apple cake. Not too much of a kick, Bubela. Just enough. It's a beautiful cake to make for the holidays. Or any day you feel like celebrating.
Dry ingredients:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed
Wet ingredients:
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup rice milk with 1/4 teaspoon light tasting vinegar added
2 tablespoons agave (or honey, if not vegan)
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla
Add-ins:
2 rounded cups chopped apples
1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, halved or chopped
Topping:
Sprinkle of raw sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a 9-inch round cake pan with greased parchment paper (or grease and lightly flour). I use a Chicago Metallic cake pan.
In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to combine your dry ingredients: sorghum flour, buckwheat and tapioca flours, xanthan gum, baking soda and baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, brown sugar. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl combine the wet ingredients: whisked egg replacer, light olive oil, applesauce, vanilla rice milk with vinegar, agave, and vanilla. Whisk till combined.
Add the wet into the dry ingredients and stir until a smooth batter forms. If you need a tad more liquid add a tablespoon at a time to achieve a smooth- but not too thin- cake batter.
Add half the apples and cranberries and stir in (keep some for the top).
Scoop the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth evenly. Add the remaining chopped apples and cranberries and press into the batter.
Sprinkle lightly with raw sugar.
Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until golden around the edges and firm in the center. Use a cake tester to test for doneness. Timing might also be influenced by the size of your chopped apples, oven temperature variations, etc.
Cool on a wire rack.
This cake was divine slightly warm from the oven.
If making ahead, I would freeze slices wrapped in foil. They reheat beautifully in the microwave- or- if you like your cake cold, it is delicious slightly chilled.
Serves 9 to 10.
Karina's Notes and Changes:
If you don't care for buckwheat flour, substitute one half cup millet flour instead.
I used 3/4 cup rice milk when I first baked this in the dry high desert; I suggest using 1/2 cup rice milk to start; and add a little more, if needed, as you mix the batter.
This recipe is for a 9-inch cake pan. Using a smaller pan may be problematic (if there is too much batter for your particular pan, use a little less).
If you use frozen berries, thaw and pat them dry.
Chilled fruit creates a cold batter that needs to bake longer.
Room temperature ingredients and warm liquids work best in gluten-free baking.
If you use frozen berries, thaw and pat them dry.
Chilled fruit creates a cold batter that needs to bake longer.
Room temperature ingredients and warm liquids work best in gluten-free baking.
58 comments:
Hello, beautiful! That cake is first on my list to bake when I get back home from Thanksgiving. I've been thinking of apples and cranberries a lot lately. Why not put them together? I especially love that your recipe doesn't contain rice flour. Perfect!
that looks amazing! thanks for sharing. have a great thanksgiving!
The cake sounds fantastic! As a newbie, I am grateful for blogs like this - they have helped immensely. I have a couple of questions - why do you wrap the baking in foil before freezing instead of plastic wrap? The other question is, can I use regular milk with the cider vinegar? Thank you for your help.
Personally, I am not a big baked apple fan, but I'll share this recipe with my group for sure. They'll love it!
Congratulations on the book--very, very cool! I'll check it out. I've looked at your artwork on your other site and it really is spectacular, Karina! Happy Thanksgiving. :-)
lovely Karina!! JUST lovely!! I can't wait to try this at Christmas! I've got so many "I can't wait to try this" I'm backed up to Christmas! haha! ;-) Congrats on your beautiful book!! I hope sells like crazy!!
Congratulations on the book! I really don't know how you have the energy to do all you do--and do it so well. You are my hero!
Happy Thanksgiving and congratulations on the book!
I made Nick Malgieri's Jewish Apple Cake last year and it was only so-so. Yours looks miles better - can't wait to try it.
Love the new site design, and that cake looks pretty darned delicious too. Congrats on the new book -- looking forward to ordering my own copy!
Well! Hellloooo there. I think I may have changed my dessert for Thanksgiving!
Hi - can you substitute real eggs? Do you need to remove some of the liquid? Thanks for all the great recipes - I love this site! :)
Carrie- Thank you- and this would be fabulous for a winter holiday treat. Happy baking!
SusanV- Truth be told? I don't have a life. ;) xox
aTxVegn - Honestly, this incarnation of my apple cake turned out so moist and lovely. Hope you like it, too. Happy Thanksgiving!
Lydia- Aw. You're the best! xox
Leigh- It's a yummy cake- just had a piece this afternoon. Hope you like it, too.
Anon- In my baking experience, eggs or Ener-G Egg Replaer pretty much = the same. We make both versions of my recipes in our house- and both work with little changes.
That said- other factors can influence moisture- if you keep your bags of flours in the fridge like I do you'll match my dry to moisture ratio (storing in the fridge adds moisture). If not- you may need to add/subtract a tablespoon or two of liquid. But first guess is- no.
Be well!
Karina
Looks so good! What would be a good brown sugar sub. I am also allergic to cane sugar.
Homeschoolmama- Can you do beet sugar? Or maple sugar? There's also date sugar.
Of course you could always try a liquid sweetener such as agave or honey- but I'd use only 1/2 cup- it may make it too moist; and you'd need to compensate with some more flour; start with a tablespoon or two.
Anyone out there who has tried this recipe with a liquid sweetener?
Karina
Just made the cake, but it way overflowed my 9 inch round cake pan about half way through baking. I cleaned up and finished baking because it smelled delicious. It was worth the mess! But for the future-- Should I use two 9" cake pans? I used 2 real eggs and real milk.
Anon- Whoa. It's surprising that 1 3/4 cups flour overflowed your 9-inch pan- but- maybe it was the real eggs and milk.
Next time I'd try either two smaller cake pans (say two 7-inch) or a larger rectangle pan- like a 9x12-inch brownie pan.
I used Ener-G egg replacer, so I didn't have a problem with the volume.
Karina
I made this cake this afternoon, and I don't know if I want to wait until tomorrow (turkey day) to eat it! I had to put it in the fridge to get it out of sight! If the batter is any indication of how good this is, I don't expect it to last long... and it's a good looking cake too. This is my first GF-CF Thanksgiving, and my 30th birthday, and now I don't feel like I'm missing out! I was dreading this day. Thanks for all your hard work and for posting this recipe. Happy Holidays!
Hi,
I am really keen to make this cake but I live in Germany and no chance to get sorgum flour. What could you suggest as a substitute. I have all of the other ingredients.
Cheers.
Holy Yummy Wonderfulness! We made this for breakfast today. (It's a holiday, we can eat a little crazy.) It overflowed my 9" pan halfway through baking as well, and took an extra 15 minutes to get done in the oven. Wonder what I measured wrong? You are inspiring me to stop settling for mediocre allergen free baked goods when heavenly things such as this exist! Thanks for sharing!
Also, is there a specific reason you prefer olive oil over safflower oil for baking? I'm still learning the how and why of combining ingredients to get good results.
This comment is directed to Homeschoolmomma: When I am baking and a recipe calls for brown sugar, I use unsulphered molasses and pretty much just estimate it's rather strong - and then like Karina said, you need to adjust some other liquid or add more flour.
Sokkermum- Hope you have a fun, safe and healthy birthday + holiday! Best wishes for a wonderful new year.
Hi Erikab- Sorghum is a medium weight flour- any rice flour would work to replace it. Can you do almond or nut flour? That would also work- but it would be a denser cake. If you love buckwheat flour (like I do) you could use that instead. It does make the cake a little more dense- but it goes beautifully with apples.
Allergy Mama- I suppose it might overflow if it's slightly smaller pan (I measured mine- it's 9-inches, and fairly deep). Glad you liked it!
As for the oil choice. It's a personal choice. It's a healthy oil- and I'm not allergic to it. I like oilve oil and use it in everything (light in baking and extra virgin in savory recipes- unless they are cooked with high heat).
If you like safflower oil or grapeseed oil- either one will work.
Hi Rach! Thank you for your advice and wisdom on the sugar substitute. I love molasses- especially sorghum molasses.
Note: For those allergic to cane sugar, some molasses (made from sugarcane) not might not be suitable.
Thanks everyone for stopping by- and sending everyone warm wishes for a healthy safe holiday.
Karina
Where oh where has you blog been all my life? And how lucky am I to find it when that delicious apple cake is featured at the top?
I know what I'll be baking this weekend . . . forget black Friday sales, I'm heading out tomorrow to buy apples and cranberries.
peggysue
Great cake-thanks! Wish I had a photo for you! "My" Karina decorated the top with an apple slice flower& a cranberry center-The cake was delicious and beautiful.
Happy Thanksgiving :)
Sue
Hi Karina
Do you peel your apples for the cake?
Re. the sorghum flour issue, I've found out that, though not readily available in the UK, sorghum flour is available through Asian food suppliers (it's called juwar flour). However, am I right that the sorghum flour you (and other GF cooks) refer to is sweet sorghum flour, which is a different variety? Sweet sorghum flour is not available here (and believe me I've looked!). I don't want to order the juwar flour if it's not the same thing and end up with some baking disasters. Thanks if you can advise on this.
I just want to tell you that your vegan pumpkin pie made my family very happy on Thanksgiving! I used light coconut milk and it turned out great!
Thanks!
Just wanted to let you know I referred to your Thai wrapped BLT today. Thanks for your service to the allergic community! ~Jen
http://myheartbeats4jesus.blogspot.com/
Karina, I just want to thank you for coming to my rescue. I broke my finger just days before Thanksgiving so was unable to make my planned dessert options. I turned to your site looking for recipes that didn't require too much peeling, chopping or dicing. I knew whatever I tried from here would be a hit...and they were! I made the vegan pumpkin pie, the pumpkin chai bread with cranberries (I'm stockpiling cranberries just for this recipe!) and the apple cake with cranberries.
Super thanks!
Many Blessings,
Holly@aiminghigh
I made this amazing cake for my family yesterday. It was gone in less than 2 hours. Delicious, moist, yum. I was initially nervous that it was too much batter for a 9 inch round, but I piled it all in anyway and placed a cookie sheet underneath to catch accidental spills. Nothing spilled over. It just puffed up like a big, beautiful muffin. Thanks!
I made this lovely cake for Thanksgiving and I have to tell you, it was yummy. I promised myself that I would tell you what I said to my husband after I tasted the bit that overflowed onto my cookie sheet, a sheer bonus in my opinion as you don't have to wait for the whole cake to be done.
"Thank God! Hold that, Thank Karina!"
I can count on you to make a cake I haven't tried before to serve to my friends. And a G.F vegan pumpkin pie as well. My 5 year old with autism ate ONE HALF of the pie lol. I pretty much ate the rest with a little help from my gang.
I refer people to your website all the time. I went GF/CF and egg free with my son and 3 year old twin girls, only to discover that I felt great, my gut issues went away. I tried to go back to eating gluten for a month to take the celiac test and it simply makes me too sick. Can't do it.
I just wanted you to know that I am truly thankful for you and for sharing your blog with us my dear. A little late for Thanksgiving perhaps, but a grateful heart is a joy any time of year.
Hug,
~Jenn in Forest Grove
I cannot wait to make this cake!!! It looks super yummy!
Hi again!
I never heard of sorghum molasses - I'll have to go look it up - or maybe it's what I have in my pantry? I should pay more attention. I apologize for possibly recommending something that would make people allergic to cane sugar have a reaction. I guess I never thought about what molasses is made out of - it's on my list of non-processed sugars, so it is ok for me. So sorry.
Hi Karina ~
We spoke before in an e-mail (ID = elcapatante) about a possible sugar cookie recipe for Christmas cookie baking. Anyway, I made your apple cake and it was absolutely to die for!! However, since I'm new to GF/CF baking, I have a few questions for you. When you call for the egg replacer product in your recipes to replace eggs, do you add the egg replacer powder or do you follow the directions on the back of the box to replace 2 eggs (i.e. adding the right amt of water to the powder)? I did the later - not just added the powder to the mixture. I just want to make sure I did that right. I replaced the cranberries with raisins because I didn't have cranberries. But, I want to make it w/cranberries next time. So, are you talking about dried cranberries? Also, I would like to make it with less sugar next time because I have family members that can't tolerate a lot of sugar. Can I omit the honey and reduce brown sugar to 3/4 cup? If so, do I need to reduce the liquid or should I keep the honey and reduce brown sugar to 1/2 cup? Let me know what you think. I used an 8.5 inch spring pan for baking, and had no problems with overflow. But, I ended up baking the apple cake another 30 min longer and I still feel it wasn't done in the center. My cake was very, very, very moist. I checked the center with tooth picks and they came out clean. But, after the cake cooled and I cut into it, the center still seemed gooey to me. I had a similar issue with your pumpkin pie. I had to bake it much longer than you suggested. Do you bake with a convection oven? Am I over mixing? Maybe I need a new oven. Not sure. Can't afford one right now, so please give me some suggestions why you think this is happening. I just feel my apple cake was way too moist. Extremely delicious though. Thanks for all your help. xoxox, Maria
Will dried cranberries work?
Loved it! I could not find fresh cranberries, so I used dried. I used vanilla soymilk and honey and it was moist and delicious (room temp or cold..yum)
Hi Maria- First, thank you. As far as the difference in baking times- it sounds like (if your baking isn't quite done with my recipe times) there's a difference in temperature or altitude, or you are using a smaller cake/pie pan than I use, therefore making the cake/pie thicker; and you may have to bake it longer. Several factors can also influence it- humidity- temperature of ingredients, etc...
As for the egg replacer- If I list it under wet ingredients, you make the replacer with water or liquid and whisk till frothy (follow instructions on box).
The cranberries are fresh or frozen berries, not dried.
I'd keep the honey if you can, or use agave- it helps add moisture to the cake; reduce the brown sugar, to taste.
Hope that helps!
Anon- Yes, you could try dried cranberries instead.
Allison- Yay. Great. Thanks for stopping back to report. :)
Karina
Hi Karina,
This is an absolutely fabulous cake-thank you for such a wonderful recipe. Once again, trying it in the dead of winter in Idaho, I was out of cranberries in the freezer. . .so I substituted some frozen "pie" cherries, which are sour, and a little rhubarb for the cranberries--since the rhubarb is quite sour, I let both thaw out a little in some apple juice concentrate with a tad of sugar. It worked great! Also, since I am low, low fat and can eat soy, I substituted Susan at FFVK's tofu sour cream for the olive oil. . that worked nicely too. My son loved the cake as well. I will look forward to trying it with cranberries, too, once the season affords them again.
Thank you again for your wonderful work.
moonwatcher
PS: forgot to mention. . .after having read all the comments about overflow and pan size, and looking at my rather sorry supposedly "9 inch" cake pan, I opted to bake this in a glass pie dish, which is probably 10 inches. It rose nicely and filled the whole thing, and came out fine. . .so that's another option.
thanks again
moonwatcher
Hi Moonwatcher- I love the idea of cherries. Sweet! And thank you for the tips/your changes. Much appreciated.
Take care!
Karina
I'm going to make this as muffins, do you think I would have to change any of the ingredients around? Hope you are loving your new place Karina :)
Jade, I think this cake would make fabulous muffins.
I wouldn't change the batter. Bake them as long as you usually bake muffins, I imagine.
Let us know how they turn out!
Karina
I looked in the freezer this morning and discovered I had run out of cranberries so I used apple and currants instead when I made this recipe as muffins this morning. Was lovely and moist. Took a little bit longer baking than the average muffin, 5 mins or so but otherwise, very happy. Will definitely use cranberries next time though for that tart contrast.
Crazy question, perhaps, and I don't know if you'll see this in time, but can I substitute Pamela's Ultimate GF Baking Mix here? I like to bake, but confess to being more than a little lazy...and to not keeping tons of flours on hand. I baked this before, using Pamela's, but it took a LONG time to bake and never really set in the center. Figured I'd ask the expert before tackling it again! Thanks!!
Fantastic! This recipe makes a beautiful, thick, moist, and delicious cake. Last night I took one to a dinner party and everyone had seconds.
Based on my experience, here are a few tips I'd add. I used dried cranberries and they worked fine, although they didn't have the moist, tart burst that fresh cranberries would have provided. Also, even though an oven thermometer showed that the oven temperature was correct, I had to bake the cake about 15 minutes longer than the directions suggested (and I'm NOT at high altitude), so be sure to use a toothpick to test for doneness. The center of the cake won't be as solid as the edges when you take it out of the oven, but it should be firm and shouldn't jiggle.
Scrumptious cake!
Yes, I like it to taste that way as well ;)
Delicious-looking! Great for the holidays.
Paz
These are the kind of cakes I gravitate towards. Ones that I could potentially use as breakfast too - that would be equally at home with a cup of coffee. They're unfussy and delicious. I love this recipe - the nuttiness of the buckwheat sounds like a perfect blend with cranberries and apples.
Hi Karina,
I made this at Thanksgiving, this time with the fresh cranberries. It was wonderful--again! This and Susan V's double layer pumpkin cheesecake were our desserts. It is so beautiful, too. I'm glad you reposted it so others can discover what a great cake it is!
Happy Holidays
moonwatcher
Karina this is a rustic beauty! Perfect for the holidays.
I can't wait to try this - I hope it doesn't explode out of my cake pan like the summer peach cake did. I will have to be careful!
This recipe looks and sounds yummy! I love apple cakes! My sister brough up fresh Plymouth Ma cranberries a few weeks ago - I will use those! I love that it's GF/CF and egg free! I seem to be very sensitive to sugar, so I will try agave nectar. Sugar seems to cause gas, bloating and weight gain. Arrrghhh. I didn't test allergic to it, but who knows, I have so many food allergies. My DO has me limit sugar due to candida. I can't wait to try and I love the suggestion for muffins too. QUESTION - what brand of rice milk do you use that is GF? I can't seem to find one here in ME. Thanks again for all you do! Theresa
Why and how are you so brilliant?!
wow, you take the most amazing photos. I always impressed by what I see. And each and every recipe looks absolutely amazing. Thanks so much!
Drool. Drool drool drool. That's what your site makes me do.
Karina,
I've never commented before, but I've been very inspired by your blog and gluten free recipes.
I've nominated you for the Honest Scrap Award, details on my blog, The Healthy Plate....
Thank you very much, Neeta
This looks amazing. I can't believe I just found you while looking for GF corn muffins. OH the fun I will be having on your website. I am so going to try some of your recipes. I do recipes on Wed on my blog- can I hilight you sometime?
Wow. Your recipe had me going to immediately buy ingredients when I saw it...
I, too, must have a smaller 9-inch cake pan, as it was very close to overflowing while baking! I did use a real egg, though.
My biggest issue was that the edges were borderline burned by the time the middle even started to set up.
I didn't have enough sorghum flour, so I did a little flour blend substituting. Maybe that's where I went wrong.
Regardless, when I eat the middle parts where it's not too squishy, not too burned, it is AMAZING! Can't wait to try it again!
Elle
It looks beautiful. Now that's a way to get the cranberries out of the freeze. Really good recipe I've got to try this!
Thank you Karina! My husband made this cake for me - it just looked so beautiful on your homepage - and it is heavenly! It's light and spongey - beyond our belief and the color is warm and comforting. This is the perfect spice cake for everyone who eats a GF diet. I'm feeling really lucky right now.
I made this cake for my sister's holiday party last night and it was YUMMY!
Thanks Karina
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