Susgrainable Apple Cake for Fall
Well, it’s officially fall. Seems like overnight everything has gone all pumpkin-spiced, and it looks like this post will be no exception, because those same warming spices bring all the fall vibes to an Apple Cake.
Earlier this year, I was named one of the BC Food and Beverage Association’s local ambassadors. This gives me the opportunity to talk about locally-produced products that I really love. And one of them is Susgrainable.
Susgrainable is a super cool local business that rescues spent grains from the brewing industry (the barley etc used to brew beer) and turns it into tasty baking mixes. There’s waffle mix, chocolate chip cookies, and more. Basically, they take what would normally have been a waste product and turn it into delicious treats.
Fall baking + sustainability? Challenge accepted! (I’ve been rewatching HIMYM)
I thought about doing something with pumpkin, but I noticed they already had a pumpkin bread recipe on the website, so I decided to focus on apple as the fall flavour for this recipe. What really takes this Apple Cake to the next level is the candied walnut crumble on top of the cake that adds a crunchy, sweet, nutty finish. I’m going to be real with you, I was pretty chuffed at how this turned out, and all of my taste testers for this one were pretty complimentary.
So, happy fall, y’all!
Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the candied walnuts
- 1 tbsp butter or vegan butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- pinch salt
For the cake
- 2 cups Susgrainable Banana Bread Mix
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- 2 cups peeled, cored and chopped apples (about 3 small-medium apples)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (avocado or coconut oil would also be okay)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
Instructions
To make the candied walnuts
- Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, and add the butter. Allow it to melt.
- Add the nuts, brown sugar and maple syrup and stir continuously for about 5 minutes, until all the sugar is dissolved and the nuts are coated with it.
- Add the pinch of salt and stir well to combine.
- Remove from the heat and dump the nuts onto a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet and set them aside to cool. They will also harden as they cool.
To make the cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line 8" round or square cake pan with parchment.
- Add the Susgrainable baking mix to a large bowl along with the spices. Toss in the apples and toss well to combine. Make a well in the middle of the mix.
- Into a small bowl, add the eggs, water and oil, and beat them well to combine, then add them to the dry ingredients and mix just until it comes together. It's okay for there to be a few lumps, over mixing the batter can make it tough.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth over the top.
- Chop the cooled candied walnuts and then sprinkle them on top of the cake.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15-30 minutes, then remove the cake from the tin to cool completely, or enjoy while still warm with vanilla ice cream and maybe some caramel drizzle?