Another Apple Cake

Happy New Year! Yes, it's Rosh Hashanah! Wishing you all a sweet new year filled with joy and blessings.

I ran into a small difficulty making this apple cake. Because my food processor was in the dishwasher, and I was too lazy to wash and dry it, I decided to grind up my almonds in the coffee grinder. I have done this before with flax seeds, but never tried it with whole nuts. Well, it was a mistake because I BROKE the coffee grinder. I mean, completely killed the motor. UGH. (My husband is so sweet; he didn't even get mad!)

Anyway, back to my cake. I wanted to make the yummiest apple cake ever, so I googled a recipe for the BEST apple cake. I found a version that Andrew Zimmern claims is the best he's ever tasted. I used that recipe as a blueprint, but of course I had to change a few things. First off, he had 2 cups of sugar. Way too much. I went with about a third of a cup of honey. Second, he had 2 cups of flour. I substituted a cup of whole almonds, ground into flour in my food processor--the correct tool for the job, plus a cup of white whole wheat flour for added flavor, fiber, and nutrients. Instead vegetable oil, I used coconut oil. Butter would be great in this recipe, too.

This cake is jam-packed with apples. There is enough batter to hold the cake together, but not much more than that. I think this makes for the best apple cake! Try it yourself and see what you think.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (or butter)
1/3 cup honey (or brown sugar)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
4 cups chopped apples (about 3 apples)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil and honey. Beat until well combined. Add eggs and beat some more. Add the rest of the ingredients one at a time, folding in the apples last. Stir until just combined. Bake in an 8x8 square pan well coated with oil for about 45-50 minutes or until golden brown on top and no longer wet in the center. Let cool at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool. Makes 9 servings.