Tasty, moist, fruity and traditional, with a touch a warmth from the cinnamon, is the way I'd like to describe this delicious vegan cherry apple cake, which doesn't have to be eaten at teatime, of course (have it for breakfast if you like!), but is certainly perfect to accompany a cup of tea.
It's really simple to make - no frostings, fillings or sandwiching - and really, as long as you've got your oven at the right temperature, and don't peek for the first half hour or so of baking, then you can't go wrong.I think you'll find you'll really fall in love with it (I have). Biting into the juicy glacé cherries are a particular joy for me.
And this simple cherry apple cake is made with ingredients that are easy to come by or that you may already have in. Apples, a dusty packet of glacé cherries in the back of your cupboard, plain flour, and so on. And you can easily pick them up from the local store (if you don't have oat bran, you don't need to buy especially, just use flour and substitute that amount).
As you may have noticed if you follow this blog, I most often like to cook with accessible ingredients that don't make life too complicated. Now and then, I decide to throw a surprise or two in, with something more unusual, but to me, vegan cooking should be something everyone can do - not something only for those who can get to very niche markets and shops.
So this cake is no different - simple, but extremely tasty. And very seasonal for this time of year, I think. I'm taking some round to eat with my friend later on today - hope she likes it! Andif you make this cake, I would love your feedback. It's much appreciated!
Cherry Apple Teatime Cake
Makes an 8in cake
1¼ cup plain white flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup apple, peeled and chopped small (about 2 'fun-size' apples)
¼ cup oat bran
½ cup unsweetened soya milk (or other non-dairy milk)
½ cup applesauce (I use sweetened)
⅓ cup glacé cherries, chopped
⅓ cup oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Grease an 8in cake tin (loose bottom if you have one) and line the base with a piece of parchment paper cut to size.
2. In a smaller mixing bowl, sift the flour, oat bran, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together then stir in the sugar.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, soya milk, and vanilla extract, using a hand whisk to blend together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until just mixed, then fold in the apple pieces and the chopped glacé cherries. Spoon the batter into the cake tin and bake for around 50-60 minutes, until nicely golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
5. When baked, turn onto a cooling tray and allow to cool a little before serving. This cake is delicious eaten warm, but can also be wrapped in plastic film for when required.
I'm Andrea, and am obsessed with creating fabulous food. After I managed to ditch dieting, the reason Chocolate and Beyond was born, it seemed natural to evolve my site into a foodie blog. More so since I also ditched animal produce to be vegan. Now, I love showing how inventive cruelty-free cooking can be. And sometimes I like to rant, too. I wouldn't be myself otherwise :) x 
I was looking for recipes with Gram flour. The search took me to your blog. I have to say that I was in for a super treat! All your recipes are fantastic. I live in the US and really miss European type foods. You better believe that I will make most of them, beginning with the gram flour pancakes. Thank you EVER so much for the incredible work that you are doing. This is tremendous inspiration for delicious, uncomplicated and affordable vegan cooking. I will post my comments after every dish.
A big hug from Atlanta, GA,
Claudia
Posted by: Claudia Dealmeida | May 08, 2013 at 04:42 AM
Hey Claudia - thanks for stopping by and SOOO glad you like my blog and recipes! I will be posting more gram flour recipes too, as I use it a lot! And thank you so much for saying you will come back to post comments and feedback after each dish - it means the world to me! :)
Posted by: Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond | May 11, 2013 at 08:36 AM