Jewish Apple Cake

For this month's Home Baker's Challenge, we were free to choose any recipe from the previous challenges. I got so confused as there were so many good recipes that I wanted to bake. After long deliberation, I chose this apple cake which was picked by Priya of Cook like Priya for the Christmas theme.

Jewish apple cake is traditionally served during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year to evoke a sweet new year. According to Jewish dietary laws, dairy and meat cannot be consumed at the same time, so vegetable oil and orange juice is used in the cake in place of butter and milk. This cake combines the classic combination of apples and cinnamon in a soft and spongy cake. Once the cake is baked, the apple pieces become soft and juicy.

JEWISH APPLE CAKE RECIPE

{ Soft and moist cake layered with cinnamon flavored apples }
Recipe Source ~ All Recipes
Makes a 10" bundt cake

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Ingredients:

4 apples
2 ½ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ cup sugar (white or brown)

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour / maida
½ tsp salt
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup applesauce
4 eggs
¼ cup orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170° C | 350° F. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt or tube pan.

2. Cut the apple into small cubes and transfer to a bowl. Add cinnamon powder and sugar. Toss well and set aside. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg and sugars until light and fluffy. Add orange juice, vegetable oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and beat again.

4. Add the flour in 2 parts and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Fold the mixture gently using a spatula.

5. Pour ⅓rd of the batter into the prepared pan and top with chopped apples. Pour ⅓rd batter over the apples and top again with apples. Pour the remaining batter and layer the remaining apples.

6. Bake for 70-90 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack.

Notes and Tips

• I added 3 different variety of apples in this recipe. I used granny smith, pink lady and red delicious.
• If you don't have applesauce, you can add 1 cup oil instead of oil and applesauce as in the original recipe.
• Since I was short of white sugar, I used a mix of white and brown sugar in the recipe. You can use either white or brown sugar in the recipe.
• Oven timings may vary, so keep checking the cake after 60 minutes.