We arrived home to Nantucket last week refreshed from our journey up north to the Maine coast. Maine is filled with such natural beauty. I find my spirit drawn to its rustic ways. It’s hard granite coastline weathered and worn. Houses sat just in their place, some long abandoned others lovingly lived over generations. And the flowers, oh the wildflowers, fields upon fields of them. Purple-blue asters, ethereal Queen Anne’s lace, bright yellow flashes of coreopsis and black-eyed Susans all against wild grasses and greenery now graying with the changing seasons. In the mist it seems a scene from a dream, all at once haunting and alive, I inhale deeply a breath of wild sea air, pinching myself-“is this real”? It is real and I am grateful.
Wild (actually feral) apple trees are everywhere in Maine, scattered about along roadsides, along pastures and fields. Varieties long forgotten, some sweet, some mellow, some tart and crisp. We fill our baskets quickly alongside heavily traveled roads. Cars slow and passengers stare-“are they picking those”? Yes, yes we are. Foraging is free and the apples are plentiful. Some will have bugs, but that is ok, they have not been sprayed. These are heirloom varieties you cannot buy at the supermarket. As we pick I feel like they need to be documented least they may be forgotten forever. I believe there are some who do this work.
So, of late, I have been inspired by the changing seasons and the gifts of late summer/early fall. Apples are making an appearance at the table these days. This cake is a recipe I developed as an upside down version originally. Wanting to “pretty up” the top a bit I decided to reverse apple placement. My first attempt failed as the batter bubbled over the side and pooled at the bottom of the oven, burning. (The smell was fantastic, haha) A little adjustment of quantities and problem solved.
Vegan Maple Spice Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 large apples
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ Cup maple syrup for coating apples
- 1 Cup whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder non-aluminum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon look for sweet cinnamon if you can find it
- ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons flax meal
- ½ Cup unsweetened plain soymilk
- ¾ Cup real maple syrup preferably grade B
- ¼ Cup canola oil
- Seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 Cup chopped walnuts optional
- 1 Tablespoon oil or shortening for greasing pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack placed in the middle.
- Grease a 10” round baking dish with oil or vegan shortening and dust with flour.
- Peel, core and thinly slice apples to approximately 1/8” slices. I sliced the apple horizontally instead of vertically for more half-circular shaped slices. Toss apples with lemon juice and ¼ Cup maple syrup in a bowl.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.
- In a large measuring cup or medium bowl whisk flax meal and soymilk together until frothy (about 1 minute). Whisk in maple syrup and oil and vanilla bean seeds until mixture is evenly incorporated.
- Add wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. Fold in walnuts if desired. Pour batter into greased and floured baking dish. Arrange apple slices on top of batter in concentric circles starting from the outer edge working inward. Reserve the maple juice the apple were tossed in. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over apples.
- Place in oven and bake for 55 minutes or until top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Transfer cake to cooling rack and let cool. You can paint the apples with some of the reserved maple juice they sat in if they look dry.
- Serve at room temperature. Enjoy!
Kaity Farrell
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