I forget how much I love fruit cake; as usually I’m obsessed with all things chocolate. But when my mum made a version of this Vegan Spiced Apple and Sultana Cake with a yummy Caramelised Topping I knew I had to share it with the blog. Apple and sultana are a classic pairing, and there are so many sweet spices that lift their flavours to another level. Raw brown sugar is great for making caramelised toppings, so this cake is nicely finished off with browned caramelised sugar.
My Mum originally had an old version of this recipe which wasn’t vegan. Mum is also now a vegan so she had a play around with the recipe and It came out completely delicious! What I love about this cake is that it’s so moist from the apples. The cake can also work with fruit like pears instead of apples, or another dried fruit instead of sultanas, like raisins or dried apricots.
I decided to put in quite a bit of mixed spice and cinnamon, but that’s because I love them. Of course you can choose which spices you use; maybe you’d just like to use ginger and nutmeg, or cinnamon and cloves? They are all great with apple and sultanas, however mixed spice gives the best variety of flavours.
You can use wholemeal or regular self-raising flour in this cake. I much prefer wholemeal for this recipe as it gives a deeper taste to the cake, and you get more fibre. Any kind of sugar will work, however, for the topping some sort of brown sugar will work best.
What makes this vegan apple cake SO great?
The topping is a big part of what makes this cake special. The brown sugar sprinkled on top caramelises in the heat, giving a sweet sticky top, which also looks very beautiful. No need for fancy icing with this easy to make cake!
This cake has been a real hit with my housemates, so looks like I’ll be making more! Enjoy on its own or with a some vegan ice-cream, yoghurt or cream. It also keeps pretty well for a few days in a container and isn’t too sweet, so it’s perfect to snack on for an indulgent coffee break.
Moist spiced and apple and sultana cake, with a top of caramelised brown sugar. The apples, sultanas and spices are a brilliant combination of flavours, and the sweet sticky caramelised top is a delicious, fun addition
- 3 linseed "eggs" (1 "egg" = 1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp water) known as Flaxseed Egg or Flegg
- 175 ml sunflower oil
- 3 tsp mixed spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 120 g raw brown sugar
- 2 tbsp raw brown sugar for the caramelised top
- 300 g wholemeal self-raising flour plus extra for coating apples and sultanas
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 200 ml water
- 350 g apples, chopped and cored
- 80 g sultanas
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Pre heat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a round cake tin of your choice.
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Mix the flaxseed egg and oil together in a large mixing bowl.
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Add the mixed spice, cinnamon, sugar and salt to the bowl. Mix well.
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Sift in flour and baking powder. Not all the flour will go through the sieve if using wholemeal. Just pour the bits in to the bowl that don’t go through. Mix well.
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Add the water to make a batter. If it is too dry, add more water.
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Put aside around ¼ of the batter (this will go on the cake as a top layer).
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Put the chopped apples and sultanas in a separate bowl. Sprinkle some of the self-raising flour over them and mix in. This will help to stop them sinking in the cake.
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Mix the apples and sultanas in with the batter.
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Pour the batter into the tin. Spread the batter that was put aside over the top.
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Sprinkle the 2 tbsp brown sugar over the top of the cake.
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Bake for 35-45 minutes or until you get a clean skewer when you pierce the cake all the way through.
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