Lenten Apple Cake
A cake without eggs or butter need not be dry: apple juice and oil keep the crumb moist, while baking soda with lemon juice plus baking powder give all the lift eggs would. There are apple chunks inside and a fan of thin slices on top that caramelise in the oven. We like it warm with a cup of tea.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 40 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 300 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
You can use water or cooled strong tea instead of apple juice, but add another teaspoon of lemon juice so the baking soda has enough acid to react with.
Makes: 1 cake, 22 cm (9 in), 10 slices
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Method
Oven
180 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 160 °C
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Step 1: Prepare the tin
Heat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 22 cm springform tin with oil and line the base with baking paper.
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Step 2: Cut the apples
Peel two of the apples and cut them into 1 cm cubes. Halve and core the third, leaving the skin on, and cut it into thin 2–3 mm slices.
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Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl, add the 160 g of sugar and whisk so the soda is evenly distributed.
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Step 4: Mix the batter
In another bowl, whisk the apple juice, oil and lemon juice. Pour into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until no dry flour remains — the batter will be thick and spoonable. Fold in the apple cubes straight away, as the soda starts working the moment it meets the acid.
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Step 5: Fill the tin
Scrape the batter into the tin and level it. Arrange the apple slices on top in a fan, pressing them in lightly, and sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.
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Step 6: Bake
Bake for 45–50 minutes until the top is golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre comes out dry or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil after 30 minutes.
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Step 7: Cool
Leave the cake in the tin for 30 minutes: without eggs, the hot crumb is fragile and can break. Then run a knife around the edge, release the ring and cut into slices.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Do not overmix: stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overworking makes an egg-free cake dense and rubbery.
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Swap
You can use water or cooled strong tea instead of apple juice, but add another teaspoon of lemon juice so the baking soda has enough acid to react with.
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Variation
Swap half the apples for pears, or add a handful of raisins and half a teaspoon of ground ginger to the batter.
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Storage
The cake keeps covered at room temperature for 2 days, or up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 300 kcal | 3,000 kcal |
| Protein | 3 g | 30 g |
| Fat | 10 g | 100 g |
| Carbohydrates | 49 g | 490 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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