When it comes to eating fresh fruits on their
own, for some reason, I tend to go for all
the rest except apples.
But I do love to use them in baked recipes.
I am using a Canadian-grown Cortland apple
as this variety is abundant at the moment
and its custardy texture, when baked, works
well in this recipe.
I remember the first time I made a vegan cake
for my mum, she was very impressed and immediately
asked for the recipe. Even though not vegan
herself, my mum now always makes all her cakes
vegan. And ever since I shared my very first
vegan cake recipe with her, she has started
experimenting on her own and now shares her
recipes with me.
So, inspired from one of my mum's recipes,
this loaf cake calls for simple ingredients
that most well-stocked pantry probably already
carry.
Start by preheating the oven at 200 degrees
Celsius (or 400 degrees Fahrenheit).
For this loaf cake, after peeling the apple,
I am slicing half of it and chopping the other
half into smaller pieces. The sliced pieces
are for the top and the smaller pieces will
go in the batter.
This cake uses the simple dry and wet mix
method. So in a large mixing bowl, sift the
dry ingredients together -- the flour, baking
powder, salt and soft brown sugar. I like
to sift the ingredients as this makes the
cake more airy and ensures that
no lumps are left behind.
Once sifted, add in the fine desiccated coconut
flakes and mix well. Then zest the orange
directly in the mixing bowl. I have used the
zest of a whole orange but if you want a more
subtle flavour you can use just half of the
zest. Try to only catch the orange layer as
the white part is bitter.
Now in a measuring jug, extract the juice
from the orange. I obtained half cup plus
one tablespoon or 140 ml of juice from that
orange. If you don’t get as much, you can
make up the rest of the amount with some non-dairy
milk. Next add the non-dairy milk. I am using
store-bought oat milk, you can also use homemade
oat milk that is not too thick, or other non-dairy
milk like coconut, almond or soy milk. Then
add the vanilla extract and the oil.
And mix all the liquids together.
Next, make a well in the centre of the flour
mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Gently
mix the wet and the dry ingredients until
the flour is moistened, then add the chopped
apples followed by the raisins. Continue to
fold and mix until everything is well combined.
You will notice that the batter is not a runny
one, don't be tempted to add more liquid as
the moisture from the apples will provide
enough while baking. Pour the batter into
a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Spread
it evenly into the pan.
This batter bakes well in a smaller loaf pan
(20 x 10 cm or 8 x 4 inches) 
rather than a larger one.
Place the apple slices on top by gently pushing
them in, to line them in a row.
Sprinkle with some sugar and cinnamon.
The baking time will depend on your oven.
In my oven, it requires a total of 35 minutes.
For best results, bake for 20 minutes at 200
degrees Celsius (or 400 degrees Fahrenheit)
then lower the temperature to 180 degrees
Celsius (or 350 degrees Fahrenheit) and continue
to bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and test with a toothpick
or bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean, the
cake is done. Due to the apples in this cake,
the skewer may not be super clean and may
have some lightly moist cake crumbs or bits
on it.
Allow the cake to completely cool in the pan
before removing and cutting it. This loaf
cake keeps well for a couple of days in an
airtight container and is even nicer the next
day. If you want to keep it for longer (especially
if it is warm where you live), I do suggest
keeping it in the refrigerator because the
fresh fruits might cause it to go moldy.
This simple loaf certainly offers
a whole lot more than
what you actually put in. 
It's a moist loaf and yet it's not dense.
So, enjoy and I’ll
see you soon for another recipe.
