buckwheat flour Archives - Pamela Salzman

Welcome in the Fall season with this delicious Apple Spice Cake! With fresh apples, the perfect blend of warming spices, and pantry baking staples, this perfect cake is packed with Fall flavor, and will be one of your favorite recipes in no time!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Apple Spice Cake Recipe

When September rolls around, I drop berries and stone fruits like a hot potato and move right on over to apples and pears for fruit desserts. I taught this Olive Oil Apple Spice Cake last year and then proceeded to make it for the Jewish holidays and every time we had people over in the Fall. Then all my friends who ate it asked me for the recipe and I told them, “Sorry, it’s exclusive to my online cooking class!” Little did they know I tweaked an Ottolenghi recipe. LOL. This cake reminds me of a better version of the Silver Palate chunky apple walnut cake that I made 100 times when I was in college.

Cake can be made 2-3 days in advance
It’s so apple-y!
The ultimate fall cake, perfect for holidays and entertaining
Freezes well
No need for frosting, glaze, or anything over-the-top!

If you’re looking for more apple recipes, try these: Apple Amaretti Crisp, Apple Fritter Skillet Cake, or Grain-Free Apple Tarte Tartin.

Ingredient Notes

This recipe calls for very simple ingredients– many of which you may already have on hand. Please see recipe substitutions in the recipe card below to make a gluten-free version or to swap ingredients if you don’t have them.

Raisins: I prefer unsulphured raisins.
All-purpose flour: I know I rarely use all-purpose flour, but it helps keep this cake from getting too heavy.
Buckwheat or Rye flour: This has a nice earthy taste that provides an interesting flavor in baked goods and pancakes. You can use more whole wheat pastry if you don’t have either of these.
Whole wheat pastry flour: milled from white wheat berries, this is lighter than traditional “whole wheat flour” and less bitter. I love the earthiness whole grain flours provide.
Cinnamon: apples and cinnamon are BFF’s!
Nutmeg: I love a little nutmeg, but it can get overpowering, so I am conservative when I use it.
Cloves or Allspice: a little goes a long way. That’s why I only use 1/8th teaspoon.
Baking soda: Standard Arm & Hammer baking soda reacts with the acidic ingredients to provide extra leavening.
Baking powder: I prefer an aluminum-free baking powder to avoid a metallic taste in baked goods. Besides, it’s not like we need any more aluminum in our diet.
Apples: now is the season even though you see apples year-round at the market. I like Granny Smith apples, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Honeycrisp apples, or Fuji, but use what you like.
Sugar: I use a dry sweetener in this recipe. I recommend cane sugar because it dissolves well and is light-colored. You can also use maple sugar (more expensive), coconut sugar (will result in a darker cake), or light brown sugar if that’s all you have.
Olive oil: is one of my go-to fats of choice in baked goods. Olive oil pairs well with fruit, vegetables, and chocolate.
Eggs: I use 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites.
Vanilla extract: look for pure vanilla extract with no additives or artificial flavors.
Citrus zest: I like to use orange or lemon zest.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the base and sides of a 9-inch round springform pan with olive oil and line the bottom with unbleached parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 2: Place the raisins and 2/3 cup of the water in a medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the raisins are plump, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain any remaining water in the pan. Set aside.

Step 3: Whisk the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Peel and core the apples, then cut into 1-inch pieces and set aside in a separate bowl. The apples may start to oxidize if you do this in advance, but it’s ok because you won’t be able to tell when the cake bakes.

Step 4: Place the sugar, olive oil, whole eggs, vanilla and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and has thickened a little. You don’t want to beat at such a high speed since it can create air bubbles. Remove the bowl from the machine and, using a large spatula, add the dry ingredients and gently fold to combine. Add the apples, raisins, and the remaining 1/3 cup water (or equivalent amount of calvados, if using) and stir to combine.

Step 5: Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk at high speed until soft peaks form. This will take a little longer if you’re using a stand mixer due to the small amount of egg whites. Gently fold in the egg whites into the batter, then transfer the cake batter into the prepared pan.

Step 6: Smooth the top with a spatula and bake in your preheated oven for 40 – 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Run a thin knife along the perimeter of the cake, unmold and transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 7: Once cool, you can dust with a little powdered sugar if desired.

Recipe Tips

Use room temperature ingredients, especially eggs. You may not realize it, but it makes a difference!
Don’t use your peppery, artisanal $50 olive oil here. Just the one you use for daily cooking is fine.
Use the apples you enjoy. I tend to prefer Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady in cakes.
Use a toothpick or skewer to determine if the cake is done. Dry crumbs are ok. A sticky batter is not.
If you don’t have a springform pan, use a 9-inch round with parchment lining the inside and coming up the top at least an inch.
While this is a delicious cake on its own, if you want to drizzle a little caramel syrup or layer a little cream cheese frosting over the top, that is an option.

Recipe Substitutions

Buckwheat or rye flour – Use more whole wheat pastry flour
Wheat flours – Use a good GF flour blend, like King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill.
Ground cloves – allspice
Cane sugar – Maple sugar or coconut sugar. Keep in mind that white sugars result in a lighter cake, where darker sugars will make the cake more brown.
Orange zest – Lemon zest
Raisins – Diced dates or chopped walnuts

Storage and Serving Tips

You can slice and serve this easy apple cake by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or salted caramel ice cream!) or a dollop of whipped cream. Lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Store your cake in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It will keep for 2 days at room temperature or 5-6 days in the refrigerator.

For longer storage, let the apple spice cake cool completely. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let it sit for a bit at room temperature before serving!

More Fall Dessert Recipes

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The Best Olive Oil Apple Spice Cake Recipe

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings -10

Ingredients

2/3 cup unsulphured raisins any color (I bet diced dates would be great, too)
1 cup water divided OR ⅔ cups water + ⅓ cup calvados (apple brandy)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup buckwheat or rye flour or just use more whole wheat pastry flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 ¾ pounds apples about 3 large, such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Honeycrisp or Fuji
1 cup unbleached organic cane sugar maple sugar, or coconut sugar
⅔ cup unrefined cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil + extra for greasing pan
2 large eggs lightly beaten, plus 2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated orange or lemon zest
Optional: powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees. Lightly grease the base and sides of a 9-inch round springform pan with olive oil and line the bottom with unbleached parchment paper. Set aside.
Place the raisins and 2/3 cup of the water in a medium saucepan. Simmer over low heat until the raisins are plump, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain any remaining water in the pan. Set aside.
Whisk the flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Peel and core the apples, then cut into 1-inch pieces and set aside in a separate bowl. The apples may start to oxidize if you do this in advance, but it’s ok because you won’t be able to tell when the cake bakes.
Place the sugar, olive oil, whole eggs, vanilla and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and has thickened a little. Remove the bowl from the machine and, using a large spatula, add the dry mix and gently fold to combine. Add the apples, raisins, and the remaining 1/3 cup water (or equivalent amount of calvados, if using) and stir to combine.
Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and whisk at high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the egg whites into the batter, then transfer the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Run a thin knife along the perimeter of the cake, unmold and transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cool, you can dust with a little powdered sugar, if desired.

Notes

Recipe Tips
Use room temperature ingredients, especially eggs. You may not realize it, but it makes a difference!
Don't use your peppery, artisanal $50 olive oil here. Just the one you use for daily cooking is fine.
Use the apples you enjoy. I tend to prefer Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady in cakes.
Use a toothpick or skewer to determine if the cake is done. Dry crumbs are ok. A sticky batter is not.
If you don't have a springform pan, use a 9-inch round with parchment lining the inside and coming up the top at least an inch.
While this is a delicious cake on its own, if you want to drizzle a little caramel syrup or layer a little cream cheese frosting over the top, that is an option (Ottolenghi suggests a maple-cream cheese frosting, but I didn't think it needed it.)

Recipe Substitutions
Buckwheat or rye flour - Use more whole wheat pastry flour
Wheat flours - Use a good GF flour blend, like King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill.
Ground cloves - allspice
Cane sugar - Maple sugar or coconut sugar. Keep in mind that white sugars result in a lighter cake, where darker sugars will make the cake more brown.
Orange zest - Lemon zest
Raisins - Diced dates or chopped walnuts

Storage and Serving Tips
You can slice and serve this easy apple cake by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or salted caramel ice cream!) or a dollop of whipped cream. Lightly dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

Store your cake in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. It will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature or 5-6 days in the refrigerator.

For longer storage, let the cake cool completely. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let it sit for a bit at room temperature before serving!

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

I have two things on my mind this week — eating anything that was forbidden during Passover (like grains) and being mindful of our consumption of limited resources with Earth Day coming up on April 22nd. “How will she ever revert this to a pancake recipe?” you ask. Stay with me, peeps.

Passover, which occurred last week, is a mighty 8-day abstinence from eating all grains, except wheat turned into matzoh. Giving up bread, pasta and most starches isn’t such a big deal to me, but my hubby and the kids start groaning after about Day 3. “How much loooooonger?” “How come we can’t have rice? Jack’s family eats rice during Passover.” “What??!! It ends on Saturday night? I thought it ended on Friday!” And so on and so forth. Same spiel every year. Yawn. So on sundown of the 8th day, my people were freed from bondage, ordered pizza and ravaged it like contestants on “Survivor.” As for me, I will admit, I was missing oatmeal for breakfast. Sunday morning I made an extra-large batch thinking everyone craved it as much as I did. Wrong! Everyone was craving bagels. That brings me to my other thought for the week which is being efficient with resources and limiting waste. I needed a creative way to use that leftover oatmeal!

By now you know I am serious about pancakes. I make them twice per week, very often varying the flours or even adding pumpkin and spices to the mix. I love that everyone has fun customizing his or her own with fruit, nuts or chocolate chips. Yesterday I made a a lovely batch of oatmeal pancakes with some of the leftovers from Sunday’s excess. I added a good cup’s worth of steel cut oatmeal to gluten-free oat flour and buckwheat flour, which gave the pancakes these fantastic tiny little chewy bites. I am a big fan of texture and whole grain flavors, so I adore these pancakes. If you’ve never tried buckwheat flour, it has a great wholesome earthiness, but it does lend an odd, grey color to the batter. By the way, buckwheat has no wheat in it and isn’t even related to wheat. In fact, it is a relative of the rhubarb family, which is why it’s gluten-free.

Oat flour is quite simple to make yourself if you don’t feel like buying it. Just process rolled oats in the food processor until powdery. That’s it! If you need or want the oat flour to be gluten-free, you must buy oats/oat flour that is labeled as such, because otherwise it can contain trace amounts of gluten. If you’re like my husband and are wondering how they take the gluten out of oats, they don’t really. Botanically oats should not contain gluten, but they do share crop space with gluten-containing grains and often they are processed in facilities which also process wheat and barley, for example. So the oats can pick up gluten that way. But if you prefer, feel free to use my standard whole wheat pastry flour for the oat and buckwheat flours. It just won’t be gluten-free and it will taste more like my traditional buttermilk pancakes, but with a little chew from the oats. I tend to adorn these pancakes with the same yummies that I would add to a bowl of oatmeal — diced bananas, chopped walnuts, and the like. But strawberries are incredible and plentiful right now, so we all included them yesterday and my husband tossed in his standard handful of blueberries. Mr. Picky eats these pancakes just fine, but did declare my “normal” pancakes are his first choice.

Extra pancake batter? We won’t waste it!! It will stay good in the refrigerator for a few days and can be used to make fresh pancakes later in the week. If you use buckwheat flour, don’t be put off by the gumminess of the batter. It’s very normal and still turns out perfect pancakes. You can also make all the pancakes at once and freeze them for another day. I like to put a piece of parchment paper in between each piece so they don’t stick together. Another idea is to use the pancakes instead of bread for a sandwich or a roll-up. Any other creative ideas for using up oatmeal or pancakes??