Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice with a tart, lemony flavor and the most beautiful deep red color. More commonly used in savory dishes, its citrus fragrance also works just as well in a sweet cake. The spelt flour gives this vegan number a rustic look and nutty taste, producing a delightfully crunchy crust that hides a soft, moist crumb underneath, with chunks of sweet apple running all the way through.
Ingredients
For the applesauce:
For the loaf:
For the drizzle:
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 1-pound (450-g) loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
Step 2
To make the applesauce, add the apple pieces to a saucepan with the lemon juice and water. Let them simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they have completely softened. Remove from the heat and mash the apples with a fork until smooth. You will need roughly 1 1/2 cups (200 g) for this recipe.
Step 3
To make the cake, mix together the flour, almonds, sumac, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, sugar and applesauce.
Step 4
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently, ensuring there are no lumps of flour. The batter will be fairly thick. Mix in the chopped apples and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the pan before turning it out.
Step 5
To make the drizzle, mix the sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If it’s too thin, add some more sugar or loosen it up by adding more lemon juice. Once the cake is completely cool, use a teaspoon to drizzle the icing and sprinkle on a little more sumac.
Leave a Review
Reviews (3)
Back to TopI followed the recipe almost exactly and it was pretty good…. It had an earthy taste (sumac, I guess?) and the apples, like the previous reviewer said, took up half the cake. If I were to do this again I think I’d puree all the apples with the batter to distribute the apple taste better and maybe even toast some almonds for the top. All things considered it was a delightful dish and pretty simple to make.
Rachel
KCMO
9/15/2021
For all you don't-comment-if-you-changed-the-recipe people, I apologize in advance that I am rating this recipe despite the fact that I made changes. I am commenting in case it helps other bakers. Anyway... I wanted to use up some whole wheat flour, and I didn't have sumac. SO - I used ww instead of the spelt flour and lemon zest instead of sumac. It was DELICIOUS! A heads up - the chopped apples are about 50% of the final batter! It took 1h 15min total to bake (I loosely placed foil over at about 55 min so it didn't brown too much). The lemon drizzle was not a good addition since it was sweet enough for me, and there was already lemon zest from my swap for sumac (maybe plain drizzle would have been better). Definitely let it cool completely since it is more of a bread pudding consistency. Mmmm.
lavignej
Edgewater, MD
4/5/2021
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