I haven't blogged dessert for some time, but last night we had an old friend visiting from Vancouver, which I thought was as good an excuse as any to make a dessert! But I didn't want it to be too rich, and I wanted it to be quick and easy, and made with whole grain flour(s). I decided that apples and pecans would be nice, and I also wanted to add just a little chocolate. I turned to the recipe in my book "The Fiber for Life Cookbook
" for Rustic Rhubarb Cake and tweaked it once again. It was really moist and delicious, and a little more elegant than the original. Just a nice little touch of chocolate. (I think it would work with a gluten-free flour mix
, too.) Our friend Brenda, not a vegan, just loved it and took some home with her. She had no idea that it was made from whole grain flour.
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA’S APPLE/PECAN CRUMB CAKE WITH GIANDUIA DRIZZLE
makes 1/ 9x13" cake / 12 servings
This cake is just fine served a little warm, and it 's even good for breakfast! The cake itself is quite low in fat, and you can cut down the pecans to 1/4 cup, if you like.
DRY MIX:
1 and 3/4 cups wholewheat pastry flour
PLUS 1/4 c. oat bran
OR 2 cups wholewheat pastry flour
Tip: I think this recipe would work with a reliable gluten-free flour mix
, too.1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups chopped apples (I don't peel them if they are organic)
WET MIX:
1/3 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
3 Tbs. oil
1 cup unbleached organic granulated sugar
7/8 cup nondairy milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
TOPPING:1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
FINISH:
about 1/2 cup Gianduia (chocolate/hazelnut spread) for drizzling (UPDATE: If you can't find a vegan and palm oil-free brand of this spread, there's an easy vegan recipe for this spread on my blog here and it's also on p. 65 of my book "World Vegan Feast".)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13" cake pan.
Whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the apples. In a blender or with hand/immersion blender, blend the Wet Mix ingredients until smooth. Mix the Wet Mix into Dry Mix, stirring as briefly as possible. Spread into prepared pan. Mix the Topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle the Topping evenly over the cake.
Bake 35 minutes. Test for doneness. Cool on a rack.
Scoop the Gianduia (Chocolate/Hazelnut Spread) into a small heat-proof bowl.
Place the bowl in a larger bowl and add very hot water to the outer bowl. Let it sit until the spread is a bit runny. Scrape the spread into a small food-safe squeeze bottle. Squeeze a thin line of chocolate spread in whatever way you like it, but not too much!
Serve right out of the pan, cut into squares.
Nutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 384.0 calories; 39% calories from fat; 16.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 13.8mg sodium; 182.0mg potassium; 56.0g carbohydrates; 4.8g fiber; 39.0g sugar; 51.2g net carbs; 3.9g protein; 8.3 points.
Enjoy!
Yes, this sounds very tempting, and would be an interesting experiment with g/f flour. Which kind of non-dairy milk is recommended? Almond, Soy, or other?
ReplyDeleteI think any nondairy milk would work. I usually use soy, but almond would be nice.
ReplyDeleteSounds very yummy. Do you think this would work with pears? I need to use some up and this sounds as good a way as any...
ReplyDeletePS have emailed with another, not so urgent question about this recipe.
Hi Bryanna, is your new book going to be available in the UK? I have all your previous books, but at the moment, neither the title nor ISBN are showing up on the UK version of Amazon :-(
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it would be fine with pears-- good thought!
ReplyDeleteJulianne-- it should be available. I don't see it on the amazon.ca (canada) site yet, either. I'll check with my publisher. Thanks for your interest!
ReplyDeleteI transformed the cake recipe into kosher for Passover mode. My substitution guide suggested 5/8 cup matzah cake meal per cup of flour. I followed that guide and didn't change anything else. The result was a little on the sweet side for me, although guests loved it. It's still Passover, so I'm going to bake it again with less sugar. And I'm hoping to try the hazelnut-chocolate addition as well.
ReplyDeleteI've pre-ordered the book and look forward to receiving it when it is released.
That's fantastic, lmadden42! How clever of you! It has been a great cake to fool around with, I must say, and so easy.
ReplyDeleteThe cake remained pretty sweet even with reduced sugar, so we didn't feel the need for the hazelnut chocolate addition. People loved it spread on matzo. After Passover, I took the remaining and rolled it into little balls then rolled the balls in cocoa. I served these in tiny paper candy cups along with a vegan strawberry shortcake dessert. These little chocolate truffles were gone in about 2 minutes. Fortunately i still have a lot of hazelnuts and chocolate left.
ReplyDeleteLovely dessert dish :-)
ReplyDeletei stumbled across your site whilst looking for healthy spins on dessert. i'm curious as to what the nutrtional facts are on this recipe. please! because i'm trying to lose weight and eat healthier and more fresh choices rather than canned/boxed expires-in-3-years type of foods. which is why i LOVE your site!!! if you're not sure of the facts, an approx. calorie and fat total would be nice. :) THANKS!!!
ReplyDeleteI'll put them up tomorrow, Ashlie!
ReplyDeleteAshlie, I added the nutrition facts. They are as follows, for 1/12th of the cake:
ReplyDeleteNutrition Facts Nutrition (per serving): 384.0 calories; 39% calories from fat; 16.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 13.8mg sodium; 182.0mg potassium; 56.0g carbohydrates; 4.8g fiber; 39.0g sugar; 51.2g net carbs; 3.9g protein; 8.3 points.