I love to make this cake during the apple-picking season when my kids (and especially my husband) go crazy and I end up with a ”ton” of apples from every variety! No matter which ones I mix together, macouns, golden delicious, gala, McIntosh, you name it…it doesn’t seem to matter, it always comes out just right—rich and moist and just delicious! Oh, and one more thing I love about this cake: The sweet apple cinnamon scent that fills my kitchen when it’s baking in the oven– it just warms my heart!
Here is a cooking class video of my Harvest Apple Cake.
Harvest Apple Cake
Cuisinicity Tip: There are so many apples in this recipe that their natural sweetness reduces the need for a lot of added sugar. Also, I do not use any salt, baking soda or baking powder which, typically are added to cakes--None!-- It just doesn’t need it! Another Cuisinicity Tip: I use whole wheat pastry flour, which is milled from soft wheat and is perfect for pastries because its lower protein content makes it lighter than regular whole wheat flour which is milled from hard red wheat. I love to use whole wheat pastry flour for my more delicate pastries because it is still rich in fiber and is much better nutritionally than white flour. You can find whole wheat pastry flour at your regular supermarket, in the health section.
Author: Catherine Katz
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 5 cups peeled diced apples (about 5 medium apples of any combination of variety)
- 1¼ cup organic expeller pressed canola oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 cage-free large eggs
- 3 cups whole wheat Pastry flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease (I use a little smart balance) and flour a bundt cake pan.
- Rinse core, peel and dice the apples coarsely into a bowl and set aside.
- With an electric mixer, beat the oil, sugar and eggs together until creamy.
- Add the whole wheat pastry flour and cinnamon into the egg mixture and mix again.
- Mix in the sliced apples until well blended.
- Pour the batter (it is quite thick, that’s OK!) into the pan and bake for 45-50 minutes until golden.
I love your yummy apple recipes and wonder since I have pear trees, could I substitute pears for apples?
Thank you Deborah! To tell you the truth I have never tried this recipe with pears but I think it would work just as well, as long as you use the same measurement (5 cups, diced)! I can’t wait for you tell me! In fact I may try t myself it sounds so yummy too! 🙂
Hi Catherine,
I would like to make this cake ahead. What would be the best way to store it and how far ahead do you think I can make it.
thanks,
Jane
Hi Jane! This is my very favorite cake to make in the fall season so I love that you are planning ahead! I think yu can freeze it once it has had a chance to completely cool down and “settle” for an hour before freezing but then, it should keep well for a month! Enjoy!
I freeze all the time. I live alone and freeze in smaller portions!
I finally found my bundt pan and this is in the oven! 🙂
Dear Catherine,
Here in Germany we don’t have whole wheat pastry flower at all, it’s not even available on the internet so I wonder what I can use instead. Whole spelt? Or whole kamut (farro)?? Classic whole wheat is too strong / bitter for the sweet recipes. Do you have any ideas?
Thank you very much for the inspiring recipes and texts ??
Hi Renate!
I know that there are some flours in France that are milled more coarsely, to leave some of the grain intact. So, I imagine, the same would be true in Germany. You can start with those. otherwise, my guess would be to use spelt flour, mixed in with a little white unbleached flour to lighten it up for pastries. Please let me know how you do, OK?
Re: canola oil. I have stayed away from canola oil all these years because I had read it wasn’t healthy. What is the truth about canola oil and how do you find the best, purest canola oil. What should you watch out for?
Is there another oil that would also work in its place?
Thank you!
Hi Alyne, You’ll find I like to use canola oil in my baking because it’s a good source of monounsaturated fats, and it is the richest cooking-oil source of alpha-linolenic acid which has been linked to heart health. Here is a nice article that I agree with and that gives it more justice than I can in a few words here:
https://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/how_healthy_is_canola_oil_really
If genetic engineering is a concern for you, you can choose certified organic. My husband wrote a piece about it in Health News. So here it is from the source: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/09/22/cooking-oils-overcooked.
Finally, if you still prefer not to use canola oil, I would opt for olive oil. The only issue is in some instances for some sweet pastries, the taste may be too flavorful. Still I find that it works in quite a few of my desserts as well- my orange polenta petits-fours come to mind but I know I have others.
I hope this helped!
Catherine
Thank you so much! You have put my mind at ease and I look forward to trying many more of your recipes.
I am so glad Alyne!
Interesting take on GMOs in the article. I am not a fan, not because of hybridization (because that is natural), but because of the actual “cassette” ingredients that they use to inject into the dna string they want to modify, required for penetration, which is not a natural process. I’ve done a ton of reading about it while working on the proposition to outlaw growing GMO crops in our county in northern California. Of course not all GMOs are equal, and those developed for pesticide resistance, I feel, are the worse, and I do believe they have brought on the many digestive issues we’re experiencing today, which are not common in Europe where they don’t allow GMO crops. As for your husband’s comment on the animal studies, animals that we eat are harvested barely out of their toddler years, so way too early to detect lifetime issues with the GMO grains they’ve been fed, and there is a study on pigs in Europe, that did experience problems until their food was changed to non-GMO.
We use organic olive, coconut and avocado oils here. I might try the latter in the cake, or maybe sunflower oil, which sounds great! We have a ton of apples this year and any recipe that calls for more than a few apples is on my radar! Thank you.
I agree whole heartedly with you Janet. Canola oil is not a good oil. I tend to use avocado oil for baking and often use coconut oil. I believe they are way better options then canola. BTW canola oil was a bill of goods sold to us by Canada. Its name came from Canada-oil….canola. I never ever use it.
The cake looks wonderful and I plan to make it this afternoon. Thank you!
Hi Melody, I am delighted that you will be making my Harvest apple cake recipe, it’s so yummy! I also love avocado oil for its nutritional benefits. As for canola oil, I disagree and explain why here:
https://cuisinicity.com/verdict-canola-oil/
You could use coconut oil instead or sunflower or sunflower oil
Sorry to bother. Could I use almond oil in place of canola? All out of canola….
No bother at all Sherri! I would use olive oil instead, if out of canola oil.
I gave this a shot over the weekend, I didn’t have a bundt pan so I actually used a muffin pan and decreased the cooking time. They came out GREAT! So simple with just a handful of ingredients, thanks!
I am so happy to hear it Tracy!!!! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Tried baking this cake yesterday, and it was a HUGE hit with my family! Will definitely be making it again soon!!
YAAAAAY Mia!!! That makes me SO HAPPY!!!
I have lost my bundt pan in the move – do you think a 9×11 would work – just watch the time? Thanks!
Hi Catherine,
This cake sounds great! What do you think about substituting honey for the sugar in this recipe? If you think it would work, how much honey?
hm, I am not sure, as I have not tried honey with this particular cake recipe. It’s worth a try if you prefer honey and I would venture to say 3/4 cup? I would love to hear how it came out. Maybe you’ll be onto something even more yummy!
Hi Anita, If I were to use a sugar substitute, I would recommend Stevia but because I haven’t had cause to try, I can’t say for sure what the amount would be. Please let me know if you make it and how it works for you! I always love to hear!
Thank you for your quick reply. When I make this cake, and it is sure to be soon, I will let you know how my picky husband liked it. As for me, I’m sure I will love it.
YES!!!! I’ll be waiting to hear! You are just so lovely! Thanks for your kind words!
Can a sugar substitute be used instead of sugar? My husband has type 2 diabetes. Otherwise it sounds like a great receipt.
Fantastic – another winner- used the last of my apples from the tree in the back pasture.
WOW how special is that! Your farm is so beautiful, I’d love to come visit some day!
I think this is my birthday cake – YUM. Will let you know…. maybe I can substitute 1/2 cup flax meal for some of that four?
Haha Greg, that’s great! You could try with the flax meal. I don’t know I have never tried but flax meal is great stuff so let me know!!
Canola oil is fine! I routinely use it in my baking, and I do so with much reason, as you can well imagine. If genetic engineering is a concern for you, you can choose certified organic but I don’t like to impose the extra cost on people since I do not share your concern at all. My husband wrote a piece about it in Health News. So here it is from the source: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2014/09/22/cooking-oils-overcooked
Sounds yummy, but again with the GMO canola oil. 🙁 I would think that would be an ingredient not on the Katz list.