Yes – it happened… I made a cake without sugar. A delicious Upside Down Apple Cake without sugar and actually also a vegan cake. If you know me and my blog you are probably thinking »Why?!«. Normally I am not shy about using that white stuff in cakes. The sugar-free cake did not happen because I joined a »Sugar-Free Challenge« nor did it happen because of some New Year’s resolution. Nope. But there is a reason…
My life got flipped turned upside down several weeks ago (somehow I have the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song in my head now). I was not sure if I should share it on here, but since it will affect my work here quite a bit… let’s do it.
In December last year, I felt a bit under the weather. I was constantly tired, my stomach caused some problems and I often had headaches. With the weather in Berlin, I thought it might be a cold that takes longer to get out or disappear. Well… no. I got back to work after the Christmas holidays. On top of the symptoms I already experienced, I suddenly had a constant feeling of nausea and was also constantly thirsty and drinking like 5-6 liters of tea and water a day. Well, I got a bit suspicious and went to a pharmacy to measure my blood sugar level because I knew this could be a cause of all of this.
Unfortunately, I was right. The lady testing my blood looked at me a bit shocked when she saw the numbers and told me to go to the hospital immediately. Which I did. End of story – I was released from the hospital (only on my own terms) several hours later – after getting my blood checked several times, an infusion to lower the blood sugar level and the diagnosis of diabetes type II.
Well … since that day many things changed. The overly high blood sugar level, which would probably have sent some people into a diabetic coma, is back to almost a normal level again. Probably because of an extreme diet without sugar and almost no carbohydrates. I take my pills on a regular basis (if I do not forget them) – luckily I do not have to use insulin. Hopefully not for a very long time or at all. Who knows?! We will see within the next couple of months. So far I am doing fine – apart from the side effects of the pills I have to take. But that too will hopefully get better soon.
Not quite sure though how my diet will look like in the future though. I am still a bit confused and have no idea what’s best – apart from cutting the sugar down as much as possible. There is so much you have to pay attention to. Going shopping right now is a pain in the ass. Looking at the labels of the stuff I normally bought and seeing that sugar is basically in everything you can or cannot think of. It’s crazy.
Oh well. My life is definitely changing or better said has already changed – so will this blog probably. Right now I have no cravings for sugar at all. I actually feel a bit disgusted by the thought of eating sugar… coming from someone that normally looooves sweet stuff. Well. The change will not be drastically I think but here and there you will get some sugar-reduced recipes, some low carb recipes, some completely sugar-free recipes like this apple cake here. There will be some kind of mix I guess.
Presumably, there also will be more cooking recipes on this blog in the foreseeable future. My time in the kitchen is currently more determined by cooking than baking, so why not write cooking recipes for the blog?! We’ll see… I wanted to show you some meal prep recipes for quite a while already – might be a good time now to get them out.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
3 medium sized apples
3.5 oz. (100g) wholemeal wheat flour*
3.5 oz. (100g) spelt flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
1.7 oz. (50g) ground almonds*
1 tsp. ground cinnamon*
1 pinch of ground cardamom*
1 pinch of salt
2/3 cup (160ml) cashew milk* (unsweetened)
5.3 oz. (150g) applesauce (unsweetened)*
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract (sugar-free)*
1 oz. (30g) walnuts, chopped
3 mittelgroße Äpfel (350-400g)
100g Weizenvollkornmehl*
100g Dinkelmehl (Type 630)*
2 TL Backpulver
50g Mandeln*, gemahlen
1 TL Zimt*
1 Prise Kardamom*
1 Prise Salz
160ml Cashew Drink* (ungesüßt)
150g Apfelmus (ungesüßt)*
1 EL Pflanzenöl
1 TL Vanille Extrakt (ohne Zucker)*
30g Walnüsse, gehackt
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20cm springform tin* with baking parchment and set aside. Peel the apples, quarter and remove the core, cut one apple into thin slices and the rest into dices. To prevent them from browning, you can drizzle some lemon juice on top. Chop the walnuts and set aside.
2. Add the flours, baking powder, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Mix the cashew milk, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla extract in a second bowl until combined, then pour into the bowl with the flour and mix until just combined. Add the diced apples and chopped walnuts and fold in. Place the apple slices on the base of the prepared springform tin (any type of pattern you like) and carefully spread the batter on top (try not to move the slices) and smooth it out. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down a bit in the baking tin, then turn it upside down and remove it from the form. Let it cool down completely. Serve with some whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.
1. Den Ofen auf 180°C (350°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine 20cm Springform* mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen. Die Äpfel schälen, vierteln und entkernen. Einen Apfel in dünne Spalten schneiden und den Rest würfeln. Damit die Äpfel nicht braun werden, könnt ihr sie noch mit etwas Zitronensaft beträufeln. Walnüsse grob hacken und zur Seite stellen.
2. Die beiden Mehlsorten mit dem Backpulver, gemahlenen Mandeln, Zimt und Salz in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Den Cashew Drink mit Apfelmus, Öl und Vanille Extrakt vermischen und dann zur Schüssel mit dem Mehl dazugeben und alles gut verrühren. Die gewürfelten Äpfel und gehackten Walnüsse unterheben. Die Apfelspalten auf dem Boden der Backform verteilen (macht das Muster, wie es euch gefällt) und dann den Teig vorsichtig darauf verteilen und glatt streichen. In der Mitte des Ofens für etwa 40-45 Minuten backen. Testet mit einem Holzstäbchen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt, und holt den Kuchen erst aus dem Ofen, wenn es sauber rauskommt. Aus dem Ofen holen und für ein paar Minuten in der Form abkühlen lassen, dann umdrehen und aus der Form lösen. Komplett auskühlen lassen. Nach Belieben mit Sahne, Vanillesoße oder Eis servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Print
Easy Sugar Free Upside Down Apple Cake (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 00:45
- Total Time: 01:00
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: -
- Cuisine: Germany
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
Delicious and easy apple cake without any refined sugar. The sweetness comes only from the apples – great if you want to cut back on sugar.
Ingredients
3 medium sized apples
3.5 oz. (100g) wholemeal wheat flour*
3.5 oz. (100g) spelt flour*
2 tsp. baking powder
1.7 oz. (50g) ground almonds*
1 tsp. ground cinnamon*
1 pinch of ground cardamom*
1 pinch of salt
2/3 cup (160ml) cashew milk* (unsweetened)
5.3 oz. (150g) applesauce (unsweetened)*
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract (sugar-free)*
1 oz. (30g) walnuts, chopped
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20cm springform tin* with baking parchment and set aside. Peel the apples, quarter and remove the core, cut one apple into thin slices and the rest into dices. To prevent them from browning, you can drizzle some lemon juice on top. Chop the walnuts and set aside.
2. Add the flours, baking powder, ground almonds, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and mix until well combined. Mix the cashew milk, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla extract in a second bowl until combined, then pour into the bowl with the flour and mix until just combined. Add the diced apples and chopped walnuts and fold in. Place the apple slices on the base of the prepared springform tin (any type of pattern you like) and carefully spread the batter on top (try not to move the slices) and smooth it out. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40-45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and let it cool down a bit in the baking tin, then turn it upside down and remove it from the form. Let it cool down completely. Serve with some whipped cream, vanilla sauce or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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Hiya, the cake looks yummy! Can I substitute wholemeal wheat with kamut and the applesauce with mashed bananas? If yes, will I need to adjust the measurements? Thanks
Hi,
haven’t tried the adjustments you want to make – sorry.
I guess you have to test yourself if it works ;)
Cheers,
Marc
Hello! I made these today and they were easy! The only thing is they didn’t really have a noticeable taste. The apples were great. Don’t know, it could be me! But I liked the recipe. I’ll tinker with it =)
Hi.
Glad you like the recipe – maybe you can add more cinnamon? That helps sometimes ;)
Cheers,
Marc