This apple cake from my Bubbe is unique for the one tablespoon of vanilla and lots of cinnamon on the apples. I swapped out some of the cinnamon for cardamom and added a tahini honey glaze, making it perfect for Rosh Hashanah! Apples and honey are traditional to welcome in the sweet New Year. This cake is pareve, so it is a great sweet ending to a meat or dairy meal.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 35 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups plus 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons orange zest, optional, plus 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 orange; or use store-bought orange juice with no pulp)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 medium apples), peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pomegranate, arils separated
Instructions
- For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10- to 12-cup bundt pan with oil and dust with flour.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 cups of the granulated sugar. Make a well in the middle and add the oil, vanilla, eggs, orange juice and orange zest, if using. With a hand or stand mixer, beat just until combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cinnamon, cardamom and remaining 5 tablespoons granulated sugar. Toss in the apples and coat evenly in the sugar and spice mixture.
- Spoon a third of the batter into the bundt pan, making sure the batter spreads all the way to the edge of the pan. Top with half of the apples over the batter, making sure the apples stay in the center (this will prevent the apples from caramelizing and sticking to the pan). Add another third of the batter and the remaining apples. Top with the remaining batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool the cake until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan by inverting it over a plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely.
- For the tahini-honey glaze: Combine the confectioners’ sugar, tahini, honey and salt to form a thick paste. Add enough water to make a glaze that is thick but pourable, 1 to 2 tablespoons.
- Pour the glaze over the cake and let it fall over the edges. Top with the pomegranate arils.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 597 |
| Total Fat | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 94 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 64 g |
| Protein | 7 g |
| Cholesterol | 62 mg |
| Sodium | 297 mg |