Olive Oil Apple Cake With Spiced Sugar
4.1
(38)
This dairy-free cake hits all the right autumnal notes: it’s earthy thanks to the olive oil, warm thanks to the spices. Just be sure to choose your apples wisely—a softer type will melt into the cake, while firmer apples (such as Granny Smith) will give the cake a coarser texture.
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes, plus cooling
Yield
Makes one 9x5" cake
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour about 1 Tbsp. oil into a 9x5" loaf pan and coat bottom and sides with fingertips. Sprinkle granulated sugar onto sides and bottom of pan to lightly coat.
Step 2
Grate apples, peel and all, on the large holes of a box grater. Gather apples in a clean kitchen towel and wring out excess liquid. Be aggressive! You want them as dry as possible when they go into the batter.
Step 3
Whisk cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, and ginger in a medium bowl. Transfer ¼ tsp. spice mixture to a small bowl; set aside. Add flour and baking powder to remaining spice mixture and whisk to combine.
Step 4
Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and ½ cup granulated sugar in a large bowl. Continue whisking vigorously until lightened in color and thickened. Whisking with one hand and pouring with the other, slowly stream 1 cup oil into egg mixture until combined. Gently fold flour mixture into whipped eggs with a flexible rubber spatula just until combined, taking care not to overmix.
Step 5
Fluff up grated apples and scatter over batter. Gently fold to incorporate.
Step 6
Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top. Add 2 tsp. granulated sugar to reserved spice mixture and mix to combine. Sprinkle spiced sugar evenly over top of batter.
Step 7
Bake cake until deep golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–70 minutes. Let cake cool in pan. Run a butter knife or offset spatula along edge of cake to loosen and invert onto a platter.
Do Ahead: Cake can be made 3 days ahead (the flavor gets slightly more intense each day). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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Reviews (38)
Back to Topnot a lot of flavor and turned out quite dry Used two apples but once your get out as much liquid as possible not much is left and most of the apple flavor seems gone. Maybe if the recipe specified a weight for the apple it would help? Or maybe it could benefit from a bit more spices? Not sure what it needs. It is ok if slathered with pumpkin butter or jam. wont make it again.
Cécile
10/19/2023
One cup of oil, any oil, is a ridiculous amount yielding an excessively rich tea cake. Half that amount would be enough!
PeterCP
New Haven, CT
10/2/2023
I saw this recipe today and I figured this would be great for the start of fall. I made a few changes. I used a 8×8 square pan, sprayed with Pam and then coated with sugar. I baked at 350 for 30 minutes. I made this gluten free using bobs Red mill flour, I substituted 1/2 tsp nutmeg for cardamom and 1/2 tsp turmeric chai instead of ginger. I used a bit under 1/2 tsp of pepper since many people mentioned being to peppery or spiced in their comments. I peeled 3 medium size Macintosh apples and did a small dice/rough chop instead of a shred. I didn't press. My guests said it tasted like fall. It was moist and I loved the texture and flavor of the apples. This is now in my must make for guests in fall super easy.
KARREN
Huntington, CT
9/24/2021
Great recipe! I used fresh ginger which added an extra dimension. Excellent dairy free cake. Lasts for a few days.
Linda Rudman
Paradise Valley, Arizona
9/10/2021
I wanted to like this, but it's just really not great - not a lot of flavour and really quite dry. I wonder if I was over-aggressive in my wringing out, as it is very light, but there's really just no apple texture or flavour. . . or even a really spicy flavour (which is odd given how much there is). This not a make again recipe, especially since there are so many good apple cakes out there.
mbranco
Toronto, ON
10/18/2020
I FINALLY made this - had been eyeing the recipe for a while. The spiced pumpkin bread recipe on epicurious also uses oil (no butter) and I make that all the time, so I had no doubts using oil in a quick bread would be fine. I put the shredded apples in a strainer and pressed them with the back of a large spoon to get a lot of the moisture out. I skipped the pepper and put in a quarter teaspoon of cloves and half teaspoon of nutmeg instead. Used a hand mixer to thicken the egg and sugar mixture and to incorporate the olive oil. Folded in the flour mixture and the apples (after un-squishing them) by hand. I use ceramic loaf pans, and I have found that if I cut the baking temperature to 325, I can cook quick breads longer to get them fully cooked without them getting too done around the edges. This loaf cake puffed up beautifully, filling the loaf pan and revealed a nice crack across the top. 75 minutes in the oven and it was evenly baked. It is a sweet dense cake, so reducing sugar would be ok if that is a concern of yours. Very moist and the sugar crust is lovely. It tastes more like apples the second day. I will make this again.
krf
Bellevue, WA
10/12/2020
Ok, I figured it out!!! After reading these reviews, I altered the recipe and it was DELICIOUS. Here's what I changed: - We strained the apple but not all the way. We left moisture in there to keep the cake moist. - Only use 1 egg yolk, NOT 2 - Do NOT use the amount they tell you of black pepper - I just gave it a quick grind - I added around 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg - I only used around 3/8 cup of sugar. - I baked it for 55 minutes (it was fully done, just moist. That said - everyone's oven is different, and mine tends to overcook things a little) With those tweaks, this cake is UNREAL!!! I'm going to make it for Thanksgiving for sure.
LED2322
Los Angeles, CA
9/23/2020
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