Apple, Blackberry and Almond Cake (Vegan, Gluten-free, Soya-free option)

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One of the great advantages of being obsessed with food is that, regardless of your weather preferences, seasonal change is always an exciting time. After a weirdly hot August, this week saw the first signs of blustery autumn winds and rain, and I immediately starting thinking about apple-based puddings (also squashes and stews and minerally green vegetables and stodgy potato based meals and sticky ginger cake but that’s a bit too much for one blog post).

Apple and blackberry really is the perfect Summer into Autumn combination. What better way to spend the last few warm days foraging in hedgerows for those dark and glistening fruits? Well perhaps having someone else forage while you soak up the dying summer rays with a margarita in hand, but foraging comes a close second. And while hedgerows may be the bucolic ideal, the wonderful thing about brambles is that you can find them anywhere – even if you are city-based the chances are that your local park or unkempt scrap of land or abandoned plot or railway sidings or waterway might have a few springing up (obviously ensure you have permission or are on public land, and it’s safe for you to be there). Plus they are really easy to freeze; simply spread them on a baking tray and flash freeze for an hour or so, then bag them up.

Of course, you can also forage for blackberries in greengrocers and supermarkets, but they do charge, and as someone who has grown up in the countryside the idea of paying for blackberries seems very unnatural. But whether you are channeling your inner Ray Mears (British outdoor/survivalist type) or your inner Dale Winton (presenter of 90s gameshow triumph ‘Supermarket Sweep’), this cake will be equally delicious.

Essentially this is my ideal apple cake. It is incredibly moist, with pockets of fruit from blackberries and chunks of apple that have almost melted into the surrounding sponge. It’s lightly spiced, with caramel-undertones from the use of brown sugar, and a crunchy caramelised crust due to a liberal topping of demerara sugar and flaked almonds. It’s also gluten-free, meaning everyone in my family can eat it, and would be perfect for an afternoon treat by itself, or with generous quantities of vegan vanilla ice-cream, custard or cream for a sumptuously comforting pud.

The method, as with most vegan cakes, involves mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately and combining them at the last minute. However there are a few extra steps so I have tried to order the instructions for maximum efficiency. After greasing your tin and turning on the oven, start by measuring out the non-dairy milk and mixing in 1 tsp cider vinegar, and then making the flax or chia ‘egg’ by mixing 1 tbsp ground seeds with 3 tbsp water. Both of these get set aside while you measure the dry ingredients.

For the perfect cakey texture that doesn’t completely fall apart, I suggest using equal amounts of gluten-free flour and ground almonds, along with a small quantity oat flour (essentially oats whizzed in a blender). These are whisked together with the raising agents, spices and a little salt.

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For the wet ingredients, you’ll need some apple puree. You can buy this in supermarkets (often it’s called smooth apple sauce) but it’s also really easy to make yourself. Simply peel, core and dice whatever apples you have (if using cooking apples such as bramley’s add a little sugar e.g. 1 tbsp per 500g), put in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and cover and simmer for 25 mins. Once cool, puree with a blender and either keep in the fridge for a week or measure out into ice cube trays and freeze for use whenever you need.

To your (defrosted) apple puree, whisk in the oil, vanilla extract and soft light brown sugar (you can also use light muscavado, and caster sugar will also work but you won’t get so much caramel flavour). Add the soya milk, which should now have curdled, and the flax/chia egg which should be thick and gloopy, and whisk until combined.

Before you combine the wet and dry ingredients, you want to make sure you have all of the other ingredients ready and to hand. Peel, core and dice your eating apples (about 1–2 cm dice), and measure out your blackberries. I use frozen blackberries as they hold their shape a little better while baking, but the cake will need to be in the oven a little longer to compensate. Into small bowls measure out the demerara sugar and flaked almonds for the topping. With the oven at temperature and everything assembled, scrape the wet ingredients into the dry and stir vigorously until just combined. Stir in the diced apples until evenly distributed then stir in the blackberries. Tip into your baking tin and sprinkle over the flaked almonds and demerara sugar, then place in the oven.

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The cake will need between 50–65 minutes and there are a few things to bear in mind. I suggest a baking tin or dish of approximately 20×30 cm. If your tin is on the small side and/or is ceramic rather than metal, your cake will be more likely to need the full 65 minutes. If your tin is slightly larger, or made of metal then it will probably be more like 50 minutes. Either way, check after 50 mins to see if a skewer comes out clean, in which case it’s ready, and if it needs longer but the top is looking a little dark, cover with tin foil and return to the oven.

And after all this, what should emerge is a cake that is moist and squidgy, fruity and lightly spiced, sweet and crumbly, with a delectable crunchy caramelised topping and an overall vibe that is so deliciously moreish it will make even the most avid sun-worshiper excited for autumn.

I would love to know if you try this out! You can comment below or tag me on Instagram or Twitter @greedybearbakes.