Ginger Lovers’ Apple Cake Vegan Whole Grain

Crystalized ginger steals the show in this delightfully fruity cake featuring two types of apples and sweetened with whole dates. This is a healthy plant-based recipe with minimal amounts of oil. Hearty, nutty, flavorful whole spelt flour elevates the rustic charm.

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

For me, apple cakes have always evoked a sense of warmth and coziness. Apples have a timeless earthy appeal as an ingredient in baking. Living in Washington State, the center of the apple universe, has made me aware of the vast range of apple varieties and the subtle, and not so subtle, differences between them. I decided to make a cake with more than one type of apple in it as an homage to the apple flavor spectrum. Tart granny smith apple chunks are baked into the batter while sweeter red apple slices grace the top of the cake, slightly caramelized by a gentle dab of maple syrup. The crystalized ginger (aka candied ginger) is where things get really interesting. This is a cake for serious ginger lovers like me! Tiny chunks of crystalized ginger are folded into the batter cranking up the sweetness and challenging the tastebuds with fiery heat. Unlike most of my sweet treats, this cake does contain a small amount of oil (two tablespoons to be exact) and a modest ration of refined sweeteners—one tablespoon of molasses, one tablespoon of maple syrup and the sugar that’s in the crystalized ginger. But like many of my other sweet recipes, most of the sweetness comes from whole dates. Though not a whole food plant-based recipe in the strict sense, the overall calorie density of this plant-based cake is low and the nutrient content is high, especially when it comes to fiber. Topped with a pleasing swirl of sliced red apples, this cake is easy on the eyes while delivering next level flavor that’s only slightly indulgent.

FLOURS & SUBSTITUTIONS

In this recipe I’ve used a combination of two parts whole wheat pastry flour and one part whole spelt flour. The whole wheat pastry flour is one of my favorite ingredients in baking because it combines the healthy benefits of a whole grain while resulting in a tender crumb. Whole spelt flour adds a rustic nutty flavor. But if you don’t have access to one or both of these ingredients, or you need to adapt this recipe to gluten free I suggest one of the following substitutions:

• All Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Substitute the half cup of whole spelt flour with more whole wheat pastry flour for a total of 1-1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

• Sub Whole Spelt with Regular Whole Wheat Flour but still use the one cup of whole wheat pastry flour

• White Spelt Flour: Use just one kind of flour and make it white spelt flour. This is a great option, and one I’ve tried

• Use a Combination of All Purpose Flour and Regular Whole Wheat Flour: For a lighter cake, you can use 1 cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour. Or for a more rustic cake use 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup of whole wheat

• Use Only All Purpose Flour: The easiest substitution of all for those not interested in a more rustic, nutrient dense, cake is to use all purpose flour as the only flour

• Gluten Free Options: I have not tried making a gluten free version of this cake but I think it would work. You can either substitute all the flour in this recipe (1-1/2 cup) for a gluten free flour blend like cup4cup or Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking flour, or for a more rustic nourishing cake, use a half cup of oat flour and one cup of the gluten free flour blend

STICK PROOFING CAKE PANS

Home baking requires time and effort. The last thing anyone wants is for the fruit of all that effort to end up falling apart because it got stuck to a pan or baking sheet. Using oil or butter to grease pans is the old fashioned way to get things not to stick. It works, especially if you also add a layer of flour or some other starch, and I still do it sometimes. But because I prefer to avoid added fats as much as possible, I like to use parchment paper liners when possible. You can get parchment paper and baking cups just about anywhere and that’s all you need for baking sheets and muffin pans. Cake and loaf pans are tricker because pre-formed liners for these pans are not available at most local grocery stores. You can make your own parchment paper liners by carefully folding parchment paper to fit the pan. However, I prefer getting preformed liners online. These liners not only help me avoid using added fats, they also save time.

CRYSTALIZED GINGER

Crystalized ginger (aka candied ginger) adds a ton of flavor to this cake and an interesting texture. But if you can’t get a hold of any crystalized ginger or prefer a less intense ginger experience, you can leave it out and double the amount of ground ginger in the recipe.

For this recipe, the crystalized ginger is chopped into very small pieces then measured. Dredging the chopped pieces by tossing them with a small amount of flour keeps them from clumping together so they get evenly distributed throughout the cake batter.

VINEGAR IN VEGAN BAKING

Vinegar is a common ingredient in vegan baking. Adding a small amount of vinegar to vegan baked goods can achieve the same slightly tangy taste that traditional recipes get from ingredients like buttermilk and sour cream. Advanced vegan bakers sometimes use plant derived lactic acid to do the same thing. I actually have some powdered lactic acid which I’ve used instead of vinegar, but I don’t include it in my recipes because it’s an ingredient most people won’t have. And anyway, in my opinion, the results aren’t noticeably better than with using apple cider vinegar. Plus, the advantages of vinegar go beyond the tang. Vinegar can help disrupt the protein bonds in flour leading to a more tender crumb. When combined with baking soda, vinegar can intensify the leavening action of the baking soda by producing carbon monoxide gas.

DATE SWEETENED MAGIC

In this recipe, the cake batter gets most of its sweetness from whole dates which have been incorporated into the liquid ingredients using a high speed blender. Nearly all of my sweet recipes are sweetened with whole dried fruits, and my go to dried fruits for sweetening recipes are dates. Dates are intensely sweet with a rich caramel-like flavor that blends seamlessly with other ingredients. When pureed with liquid ingredients, preferably in a high speed blender, dates work as a binder, helping to hold batters together the way that eggs do in traditional, non-vegan, baking. Pureed dates also help to lock in moisture, acting as a substitute for added fats in whole food plant-based recipes. From a nutritional standpoint, dates are a whole plant food packed with fiber and a symphony of other nutrients.

PREPPING DATES FOR BAKING

My favorite dates for baking are pitted Deglet Noor because they are sweet, flavorful, widely available and usually soft and moist. When I bake with dates I always begin by slicing or chopping them. I have found that dates that are supposedly pitted are, in fact, usually not all pitted. Pre-cutting my dates gives me the opportunity to remove any hidden pits and hard stems that may still be attached. In recipes like this one where the dates will be processed in a blender or food processor, cutting the dates allows them to be processed more quickly and effectively. Finally, slicing or chopping dates allows for greater consistency when measuring. Once the dates are cut they can be pressed into measuring cups.

BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR NEEDED

A blender or food processor is necessary for this recipe in order to create a smoothie-like mixture that does so many great things for this cake. A high speed blender is best if you have one, but if you don’t you can use a regular blender or a food process. Electronic appliances like food processors and high blenders allow us to quickly and easily harness the power of whole plant foods, eliminating the need for ingredients like oil, sugar, white flour and eggs which are calorie dense and comparatively low in nutrients. In this recipe all the wet ingredients are processed together with the dates. With a high speed blender the processing usually takes about 90 seconds. A conventional blender or food processor takes a bit longer. Be patient. The important thing is to have a mostly smooth blend of the ingredients. It’s ok to still see small specs of dates.

CREATING THE CAKE BATTER

My technique is unusual in that I incorporate whole dried fruits into the liquid ingredients, something that wouldn’t be possible without electronic appliances. The rest of my recipe proceeds in a way that’s pretty typical of traditional baking. I start with combining the dry ingredients. After that I add the wet ingredients which have been blended together into a smoothie. Finally, I fold in the chunky ingredients, one cup of chopped granny smith apple and the minced crystalized ginger dredged in flour.

SLICED APPLE TOPPING

This recipe requires the extra step of arranging apple slices over the top of the cake and brushing them with maple syrup. My approach to getting nice even apple slices for the top is to quarter the apple before coring it, then slicing it as thinly and carefully as I can to get as many nice big even pieces as possible. I use the broken up, more uneven, pieces to create a kind of rosette in the middle. There’s room for creativity with this part, so do what works for you.

COOL AND SERVE

The only drawback to baking with paper liners is that most cakes and muffins will stick to the liners if you don’t let them cool completely before trying to remove the liner. This particular cake always sticks to my liners if it hasn’t completely cooled. By completely cooled I don’t just mean cool to the touch, but rather that the entire cake needs to get to room temperature or cooler all the way through. It’s a bummer if you enjoy warm fresh out of the oven treats, I know. But if you want things to look nice be aware of the sticking issue and plan accordingly.

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