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Published: Sep 7, 2018 · Modified: Aug 12, 2022 by kseniaprints · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · #sponsoredpost · 42 Comments

Almond apple cake with apple roses for Rosh Hashana

Name: Almond apple cake with apple roses
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 4-6 apples of your choice (halved and cored (Gala, Red Delicious or Cosmic Crisp would all work)); 3 cups water; 4 tsps lemon juice; 1/3 cup coconut oil; 1 3/4 cup almond flour; 1/4 cup arrowroot flour; 1/4 tsp salt; 3 large eggs (room temperature); 1/2 cup apple liquid ((liquid remaining from boiling the apple roses)); 2 tbsps honey; 2 tsps vanilla extract; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1/2 tsp baking soda; Honey diluted in warm water, or sugar-free jam diluted in warm water (for glazing)

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This almond apple cake has a fine, spongy almond crumb and the delicate sweetness of honey. Topped with apple roses, it makes for a show-stopping dessert!

Let this gluten-free and paleo apple cake with apple roses lures you to put on your jacket and scarf, pour yourself another cup of steaming apple cider, and embrace the sweet bitter notes of fall.

A perfect (Jewish New Year) Rosh Hashana dessert, Thanksgiving dessert, or just a regular fall baking project.

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This almond apple cake has a fine, spongy almond crumb and the delicate sweetness of honey. Topped with apple roses, it makes for a show-stopping dessert!
Fall Rituals: Apple Picking
For more apple recipes:
Why you should make this apple and almond cake
When to serve this almond and apple cake
How to make apple roses?
Ingredients
Instructions
Adaptations and Substitutions
Looking for more Rosh Hashana Recipes and Inspiration?
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Recipe

Fall Rituals: Apple Picking

As you make your way into an orchard, the smell of wet grass is the first thing you notice.

Small, vibrant green and covered in dew, the leaves of a multitude of apple trees sway in the wind, producing a sound not unlike that of a sighing grandmother.

“Stay with us for a bit,” they seem to whisper at you, offering yet another slice of apple almond cake.

You walk through the orderly lanes, looking this way and that, searching for the perfect red apple.

The touch of green is enough to send you, disappointed, onto the next tree, in constant look for the next perfect specimen.

When you finally find it, you wrap your palm gently around the body of the fruit, twisting delicately in a clockwork motion.

With a barely audible ‘pop’, the stem of the apple snaps, and the ripe fruit is left laying in your hand, offering you the world of promise and temptation that only freshly picked fruit can bring.

For more apple recipes:

Why you should make this apple and almond cake

Trust me when I say, you NEED to make this apple and almond cake! This apple roses cake is a favorite of ours for the following reasons:

Healthy - this almond flour apple cake gets its sweetness from apples and maple syrup, without any refined sugars. It's also a flourless almond cake with apples, which cuts on the processed carbs.
Beautiful - the apple roses topping on this cake is a stunner!
Gluten free - this almond apple cake is gluten free, paleo and grain free. What more do you need?
Easy
Delicious
Perfect for fall
Makes for a great Rosh Hashana dessert option (or a Thanksgiving dessert!)

When to serve this almond and apple cake

This almond flour apple cake is a favorite of mine for special occasions. The apple roses do take a bit of work, but I promise you, it's so worth it for the wow factor it's going to elicit from your guests!

I like to serve this paleo apple cake on:

Rosh Hashana - the Jewish New Year is big on apples, and they're the star of this gluten free almond and apple cake!
Thanksgiving - a break from the pumpkin, this almond flour apple cake truly celebrates fall flavors.
Anytime in the fall, alongside other fall recipes and flavors.

The abundance of apples in your farmers’ markets during fall simply calls for an almond and apple cake on your fall weekend table.

This sugar-free, gluten-free almond apple cake with apple roses is a simple, beautiful way to honour the fruit of the season, and to welcome in fall with a flourish.

Sweetened with just a touch of honey, this cake is guaranteed to not overwhelm your taste buds with artificial sweetness – but instead, to let the taste of apples and honey shine.

How to make apple roses?

This cake is topped with one of my personal favorite all-natural cake decorations: easy apple roses.

To make these easy apple roses, all you need to do is peel a bunch of apples into ribbons - or slice them into thin half-moons.

Then, you make a mix of water and lemon juice and leave it boiling on your stovetop. Then take your thinly sliced apples, dip them into the water, and let boil for an additional minute or two (no more!).

Congratulations - you now have bendy and pliable easy apple roses to put on top of this apple roses cakes.

What else can you do with apple roses?

Put them in pastry
Top a chocolate tart
Put on top of honey apple cake with salted caramel sauce

Ingredients

For apple roses:

Apples of your choice - you can use any apple, but I love using Gala, Red Delicious, or Cosmic Crisp apples for this apple almond cake
Water - simple water from the tap
Lemon juice - fresh or preserved, ain't no importance.

For apple almond cake:

Coconut oil - this lends a faint topical aroma to this cake and I LOVE it.
Almond flour - for a true almond flour apple cake, this makes the bulk of the cake
Arrowroot flour - a binder that helps the almond flour stay together
Salt - heightens the flavor of baked goods. Can be omitted if avoiding salt
Eggs, room temperature - they build the bulk of this cake. You can try using an egg replacer like aquafaba, JUST Eggs or Bob's Red Milk Egg replacer.
Liquid from cooking apple roses - this is left from cooking your apple roses. Alternatively, you can just use hot water.
Honey - you can use maple syrup here instead. This helps sweetened the cake
Vanilla extract - used to give flavor to the cake itself. You can skip it if you'd like!
Lemon juice - you can use fresh lemon juice or preserved lemon juice
Baking soda - gives the rise to this cake.
Honey, diluted in warm water, or sugar-free jam diluted in warm water, for glazing - this will be used as a glaze to brush on top of the cake.

Instructions

Prepare apple roses

In a medium-sized saucepan, bring water and lemon juice to a boil.

Remove core and seeds from apples and slice apples in half, and then slice them very thinly into half-moons (you can use a mandoline for this if you are unsure of the thinness of your slices). Place apple slices into water, allow to boil again, and let boil for an additional minute or two, just until apple slices are pliable and can be bent without snapping. Do not overboil – this will result in mushy slices that break apart when you attempt to roll them.

Pour the liquid in which the apples cooked into a bowl, reserving it for later. Place apple slices in ice-cold water and set aside.

Make the paleo apple cake

Preheat oven to 325F (160C). Grease and line a round cake pan with a removable bottom with parchment.

Whisk dry ingredients

In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large bowl, whisk together flours and salt.

Beat egg yolks and egg whites separately

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

Combine yolks in another bowl with melted coconut oil, vanilla, lemon juice, honey and ½ cup of liquid remaining from cooking the apples. Whisk to combine. Add egg yolk mixture to the large bowl with the flour, and whisk until batter is smooth without any lumps.

Using a mixer, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks.

Add baking soda and combine mixtures

Stir baking soda into the dough batter and, using a rubber spatula, immediately beat in one third of the whipped egg whites. Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites.

Pour batter into prepared 6-inch baking dish for a tall, single-layer cake, or a 9-inch baking dish for a shallower cake with a larger diameter.

Top almond apple cake with apple roses

Starting with a thin small slice of apple, roll it into the shape of a rose. Then add another slice around it, and another one. Use as many slices as you like to assemble each rose, starting from one for very small roses, to five or six for very large ones. Place each rose into the top of the cake, pressing it into the batter to secure. Continue until cake is completely covered in apple roses.

Bake cake at 325 F for 40 minutes

Bake at 325 F for 35-40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then run a sharp knife along the edge, remove outside ring and transfer cake onto a cake stand.

Brush top with syrup

Brush top and sides of cake with the honey-water or jam-water mixture, to add more sweetness and to allow the roses to sparkle as though dewy. Let cool completely before serving.

Adaptations and Substitutions

This apple almond cake with apple roses is gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free and low carb. It also fits within the Whole 30 diet.

Vegan

The eggs in the cake are needed to give it body. I have not tried to substitute the eggs, but I believe it would work with JUST eggs or aquafaba.

Keto

Unfortunately, this recipe cannot be easily made keto (as apples aren't keto).

Looking for more Rosh Hashana Recipes and Inspiration?

Here are a few of my favourites:

Check out my web story if you want to follow the step-by-step almond apple cake story on how to assemble this cake.

Can you make this into an almond flour apple cake?

It already is! In fact, the only flour used in this cake is almond flour, with a touch of arrowroot starch to bind it.

Is this apple almond cake low carb?

This is a low carb apple cake with only almond flour (very finely ground almonds) and arrowroot starch serving as the dry ingredients. It is paleo as it is only sweetened with the natural flavor of apples and a touch of honey

Can you make this a vegan almond apple cake?

This is a naturally dairy-free apple almond cake, as it uses coconut oil and not butter. I have never tried making this cake vegan, for the simple reason it really needs the eggs for its body. You can try using a product like JUST eggs to mimic the texture, or whipped aquafaba like in this blood orange cake

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