Homestyle Apple Cake (shhh, no one will know it's dairy-free & whole wheat)

I have always wanted to have a great apple cake recipe to make for the Rosh Hashanah holiday and to bake during the Fall when apples are in peak season. For years I've tried different recipes, and they're all pretty good, but not really great. Well, this year I finally hit the apple cake jackpot.

I combined several different apple cake recipes, and I really like this simple, homey cake. The cake is moist, thin, lightly spiced and really let's the apples shine. Unbelievably, this cake is dairy-free, 100% whole wheat, and low sugar. I was tempted to see how far I could push this healthier cake by tinkering with the eggs, but I decided to quit while I was ahead because this cake is a hit as is. I served this cake at two different dinners, and it disappeared fast. In fact, my friend Hope wants this recipe so badly, that her whole family helped me style photos of the cake so I could hurry the recipe on to my blog. So here it is:

Apple Cake: ready for the oven

Healthier Apple Cake | Foodie Goes Healthy

Or here's another way to lay out the apples like my cousin Nicole did.

Homestyle Apple Cake (dairy-free & whole wheat)

Cuisine: dessert

Author: Dana @ FoodieGoesHealthy.com

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 8

Adapted from Mom's Kitchen Handbook

Ingredients:

1-½ medium-sized sweet apples (I used Envy)
2 large eggs
½ cup oil (like grapeseed or canola)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange or tangerine juice (or liqueur)
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (or 325 convection) with a rack in the middle of the oven. Lightly oil and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
Peel and thinly slice apples. I use an apple slicer that cores and cuts the apple into 8 slices. Then I cut each slice into 3 thin slices, yielding 24 slices per apple. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl whisk the eggs and oil together until incorporated. Add vanilla and juice and whisk again.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon into the bowl. Stir or whisk until combined. Batter will be thick.
Spread the batter into prepared baking pan and smooth flat. There is not a lot of batter because the cake is thin. Arrange the apple slices in a pretty overlapping design like the photo. Start by placing the slices along the side of the pan. Stick one edge of each slice into the batter and leave most of the slice on the surface. Overlap slices until the circle is complete. Then overlap apples to fill the small spot of batter in the center. You may have some extra slices.
Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes. Cake should be lightly brown on top. Test for doneness by lightly tapping on exposed cake and watch for it to spring back. Or insert a toothpick into cake near the center; cake is done when toothpick comes out clean.
Cool a little on a rack. Run a knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Carefully, remove the springform ring. Cover the cake when cool. Cake can be made up to one day ahead. Store covered at room temperature.

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