Roasted Apple Cake

4-5 cups sliced apples with peels still on (about 3 large apples)
2 cups sugar, divided
1 1/4 t ground cardamom, divided
1 t plus one pinch of salt, divided
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put parchment paper on two big baking sheets.

Put the apple slices in a bowl. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 t cardamom, and a pinch of salt together, then toss with the apple slices until all the slices are coated. Spread the apples out on the baking sheets on top of the parchment paper, and put in the oven to roast. You can put them in while the oven is still heating up to temp. Roast the apples for 20-30 minutes, tossing every so often, until they're a little soft and the sugar on them is starting to caramelize. Pull them out of the oven and let them cool down a little.

Stir together 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 t cardamom, 1 t salt, cinnamon, flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In another bowl beat the two eggs more than you think you need to, until they're totally blended and are starting to get lighter in color. Stir the oil and vanilla into the eggs. Then stir in the flour and sugar mixture, stirring just enough to combine but not enough to activate the gluten. Mix in the cooled apple slices and any leftover sugar or juice, and spread the batter into a 9 by 9 or 11 by 7 pan.

Put into the oven and once the cake is in, turn down the heat on the oven to 325 F. Bake the cake for 45 minutes or until it's fragrant and done but not dried out. Wait a few minutes before you cut into it so it'll hold its shape when you put it on a plate. Excellent with vanilla ice cream or just by itself.

Recipe (c) Magda Pecsenye 2025. All rights reserved.

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I based this cake recipe on a recipe my mom always makes when she just wants a fast apple cake. I realized that taking the extra time to roast the apples and using cardamom (which pairs perfectly with apples and vanilla) took this from an ok everyday cake to a cake you thought about when you woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't wait to eat another piece of.

I like to cut the apples into four pieces and cut out the cores, then slice them slices the short way instead of the long way, so I get slices of varying sizes but the same thickness. If you like longer slices, cut them the long way.

I didn't test this with GF flour but I'm betting you could sub in a cup-for-cup GF flour and it would turn out well. Don't use a non-caramelizing sugar substitute like monkfruit because part of the deliciousness is the caramelizing of the sugar. I don't think it matters much which kind of oil you use, but extra-virgin olive oil will compete in flavor with the spices and will not taste that great, I'm guessing. If you decid to toss in a handful of chocolate chips or chunks while stirring in the apple, you'll probably be very happy.

If you use a recipe aggregator, will you go look at this at https://pecsenye.kit.com/posts and see if you aggregator can grab it all correctly, and let me know?

You can make this cake whether you've ever baked anything before or not. If there's anything in the directions that you need more explanation of, just email me and I'll talk you through it. Baking is for literally everyone.

Love,

Magda

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