This weekend while apple picking, we managed to bring home 30 pounds of apples! My family can eat lots of fruit each day, but I don't know if we could polish off 7 1/2 pounds each in a week. What a perfect excuse to bake! Back in the day (the day being when I didn't have food intolerances), I loved to bake. And after an annual outing to the orchard, apples would be a part of every dessert. One of my favorites is actually a family recipe. My grandmother makes the best apple cake in all of the world. The dough is moist and spongy and the apples are sweet and delicious. But, with my sensitivity to eggs, dairy and gluten, apple cake has been something to smell rather than eat over the past few years. Actually, it doesn't have dairy in the recipe so that my grandparents, who kept a Kosher home, could enjoy the cake after a meat meal. But it still has eggs and gluten, which are no-nos for me. It's not fair that I have to miss out on this soul food, this family dessert made from love, this apple-y goodness... get the picture? So I decided that I would share the apple cake recipe with you, but (drum roll please!) I would also share a recipe made with egg, dairy and gluten substitutes, in case you are suffering alongside me.
Grandma Pauline's Awesome (Allergy Friendly or AF) Apple Cake
(Allergy-Friendly ingredient substitutes are in parentheses)
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Serves 12
Dough:
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1 2/3 cups all-purpose (rice) flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg (1 1/2 teaspoon of Ener-G egg replacement plus 2 Tablespoons of hot water)
3/4 cup shortening or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
(1/2 cup almond milk)
Filling:
6-8 apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 Tablespoons sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
My kids and I worked together so that we could make both cakes simultaneously. Preheat the oven to 350 F. First we made the dough. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl together. In a smaller bowl, mix the egg, margarine and vanilla. For the AF version, mix the Ener-G with hot water and mix to get it frothy before adding the margarine and vanilla.
Mix the wet ingredients together. Once blended, add them to the dry ingredients and mix with a large spoon until it becomes difficult, then use your hands. For the AF cake, add almond milk to the wet and dry ingredients and then mix using a large spoon. As with the traditional dough, feel free to use your hands. The traditional dough will be stickier due to the gluten, but both will form a ball. Once it's in a ball, set aside.Next, it's time to prepare the apples. Peel, core, and slice the apples. If you are lucky enough to have a mandoline or a food processor with a slicing blade, this will be an easy process. If not, you have a lot of chopping to do!
Put the apples into a bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon. Mix to coat (I use my hands). Now, it's time to assemble the cakes!
In order to tell the difference in the cakes, I made the traditional one in an 8x8 square glass casserole dish and the AF one in a glass pie dish. Both doughs are sticky, so have a small bowl of water nearby to dip your fingertips into - it makes it easier to spread the dough. Start with dividing the dough in half. One half will be for the bottom of the dish and the other half will be for the top. Press the dough between your hands to spread it out and then place it at the bottom of the dish. Using your fingers (wet if you need to), press the dough to the edges and a bit up the side of the dish.
Once the dough is pressed out, add the apple mixture to the dish. Next, it's time to press out the remaining dough and add it to the top of the dish. Use the same method for both cakes. Press small pieces of dough flat in your hand and then place it on top of the cake until the whole cake is covered. You will have to use that bowl of water again if the dough is sticking to your fingers. Take your time - you want to make sure you have enough to cover the entire cake.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until the dish is bubbling and the crust turns a golden brown. The AF crust does not brown as much as the traditional. Really, it dries out and gets crisp on the edges; it looks different but it's still apple cake!
There are always variations to try, depending on your allergy. Feel free to use rice milk and teff flour, or soy milk and oat flour. If you are vegan, use regular flour and the egg substitute. If you are vegetarian, enjoy both. No matter what ingredients you use, you too can enjoy Grandma Pauline's Awesome Apple Cake! If you have any leftovers, wrap them up. The dough may become a little wet, but it will dry out when you reheat it, or enjoy it a little on the moist side!
Whether you make the traditional apple cake or the allergy-friendly apple cake, I hope you enjoy this (new) family tradition as much as I do!
Happy Apple Season!
For more photos for this recipe tutorial and to read more from me, head over to Goodness Gracious Living!
