Apple Honey Cake

I decided to make an apple honey cake for Rosh Hashanah.  I've never made one, and I don't think I've had one.  They weren't a thing in my house growing up.  So, off to the internet.

I didn't really like any of the recipes out there.  They all had something "wrong" with them.  I was looking for something just slightly lighter than a coffee cake and without an overwhelming taste of honey.

What I finally realized was that I was looking for a dessert version of my own apple coffee cake.  So I started accumulating ingredients and techniques I liked from the versions out there and tweaked what I already had.

Just to be difficult, I also made this parve (neither meat nor dairy).  I don't keep kosher most of the time, but I felt like I ought to for New Year's dinner, and I was having chicken.  To get around not putting butter in a streusel topping, I used one site's idea of making it as a Bundt cake.  Well, six baby-bundts.

I'm going to make one slight change from how I actually made this for the posted recipe.  I used two apples.  The result was more apple than cake, and I probably could have fried them up as apple fritters.  It was good, just not very cakey.  The toothpick did come up clean, but when I opened one it was still pretty gooey.  I was very happy with the balance of honey and other sweeteners, so I'm keeping that.

1 C flour
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
*1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 C oil
1 egg
*1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1 Granny Smith apple, shredded
*2 Tb honey

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Pan spray a 8" or 9" cake pan, 8"x8" square casserole, a 12 ct muffin pan, or in my case 6 baby Bundts.

2.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

3.  Core, peel, and shred the apple.  I did it in the food processor, so I didn't bother peeling.  I just picked out any large skins that didn't shred.  Then I got the brilliant idea to switch to the regular blade and pulse in the rest of the wet ingredients instead of getting another bowl dirty.  However you decide to break down the apple, add the oil, egg, applesauce, and honey to it to create the wet mixture.

4.  Add the wet to dry and stir until just mixed.  Do not over-mix.  Pour into prepared pan.  For anything smaller than a cake, only fill 3/4 full.

5.  Bake 35 minutes for a full cake or 20 for smaller versions before testing.  If the toothpick is still wet, continue to bake in 5 minute increments.  Because this is a low-sugar cake, it will not get very dark.

6.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before turning out.  Allow to cool fully and add icing if desired.

Icing

*1/2 C powdered sugar (there was a sale)
*1 tsp lemon juice
*1/4 tsp cinnamon
water as needed

1.  Combine sugar and cinnamon.  Add lemon juice, then as much water as necessary for desired consistency.  Be careful and only add one teaspoon at a time.  I goes from thick to way too thin very quickly.

2.  Drizzle over cooled cakes an allow to set 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 12, depending on pan and method of serving

Difficulty rating  π