Chocolate Apple Cake (Made in the Food Processor)

This easy Chocolate Apple Cake is a handy recipe to have up your sleeve when time is short, but a cake is required. Made in the food processor, it has a slightly fudgy texture, keeps well for several days and is ideal for lunchboxes.

Total Time Investment: 55 minutes

This chocolate apple cake is one of those useful recipes that appears when I want cake, but don’t particularly want to spend half the afternoon making it.

Everything goes into the food processor, the batter comes together in minutes, and the finished cake keeps well for days thanks to the apple in the mixture.

This is not a grand celebration cake or one of those towering bakery-style chocolate cakes with perfectly smooth sides. It’s an everyday cake. The sort of thing that sits perfectly next to a cup of tea, that can be tucked into lunchboxes, or is delicious with a large dollop of double cream for dessert.

A few things worth knowing before you start

I make most of my cakes using the traditional method of creaming butter and sugar together in a stand mixer before adding the remaining ingredients. That process introduces air into the batter, which helps create a lighter cake.

Food processor cakes work a little differently.

Because the mixture is made so quickly, and because the butter and sugar aren’t creamed in the same way, the finished cake can be slightly denser than a cake made using traditional techniques. Add the wholemeal spelt flour into the equation, and the end result can be slightly denser than you may be expecting.

Personally, I quite like that about it.

The texture is soft and slightly fudgy rather than light and fluffy, which works particularly well with the chocolate flavour. And despite the slightly denser texture, I’ve had no complaints from The Princess over the years, so I’m taking that as a good sign.
 

Why make a cake in the food processor?

Sometimes convenience just wins.

There are days when hauling out the stand mixer and carefully creaming butter and sugar feels entirely reasonable. There are also days when I just want cake with the absolute minimum amount of effort and washing up.

This recipe is for the second kind of day.

Using the food processor means that the batter comes together quickly and without much fuss, making this a very handy recipe to keep on hand for those moments when cake is required but time is limited.

What does the apple actually do?

The apple in this recipe mostly disappears into the batter as the cake bakes. You won’t bite into obvious chunks of fruit or end up with something that tastes strongly of apple.

What it does do is keep the cake moist for days.

Almost any eating apple will work here, which also makes this a useful recipe for using up the slightly sad apples sitting in the fruit bowl. You know the ones.

About that cracked top…

The top of this cake cracks a lot while baking. Mine always does.

I suspect it’s a combination of the food processor method, the fairly soft batter and the moisture from the apple. Whatever the reason, I don’t see it as a problem.

I never used to ice this cake. I originally thought the cake didn’t really need it. But after many years of making this chocolate apple cake I’ve changed my mind. These days I think a simple chocolate icing improves it enormously.

Not only does the icing neatly cover the dramatic cracking situation on the top, but it also gives the cake a slightly more finished feel and boosts the chocolate flavour.

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Ingredient Substitutions for Chocolate Apple Cake

This chocolate apple cake is fairly forgiving if you don’t happen to have the correct ingredients on hand. You can make a few substitutions without a trip to the shops:

• Apples: I usually use Granny Smith apples in this cake, but you can use whatever apples happen to be in the fruit bowl. Sweeter apples will contribute sweetness to the cake.
• Rapadura sugar: Any sugar can be used in place of the rapadura. The more refined the sugar, the more sweetness it will add to the finished cake. I would recommend using a light muscovado or dark muscovado if you don’t have rapadura.
• White Spelt Flour: Plain white flour can be used as a replacement.
• Wholemeal Spelt Flour: The wholemeal spelt flour gives the cake a slightly nutty flavour and contributes to the denser texture. Wholemeal plain flour can be substituted for the spelt. If you don’t have either, use white spelt or plain flour.

How to Store Chocolate Apple Cake

Because the apple keeps the cake moist, it stores surprisingly well.

Keep the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. If your kitchen is particularly warm, you may prefer to refrigerate it.

The uniced cake also freezes well. Wrap it well before freezing and thaw at room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Apple Cake FAQ’s

1. Can you taste the apple in this cake?

Not strongly. The apple mainly adds moisture and softness to the cake rather than obvious apple flavour.

2. What type of apple works best in this cake?

Any eating apple works well here. I usually use Granny Smiths as I like the slight tartness they add but any variety will work.

3. Is this cake very sweet?

No. The use of unrefined sugar makes the batter less sweet. If you prefer a sweeter cake, use a sweeter apple variety.

4. Can I freeze this cake?

Yes. The uniced cake freezes very well. You can either freeze the whole cake or freeze it in slices. It will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

5. Why is my cake dense?

This cake naturally has a slightly denser texture than a traditional cake because it’s made in the food processor and uses wholemeal spelt flour. The texture is more soft and fudgy than light and airy.

Tips for the best chocolate apple cake

This is a fairly forgiving recipe, but I have a few finals tips for success.

• Expect the top to crack. The top of this cake cracks quite dramatically as it bakes. Mine always does. Don’t panic and assume you’ve done something wrong. Once the cake is iced, the cracks are barely noticeable and become part of the cake’s rustic charm.
• Don’t over-process the batter. One of the advantages of a food processor cake is speed, but once everything is combined there’s no need to keep processing. Blend until the ingredients are incorporated, then stop.
• Let the cake cool before icing. I know this sounds obvious, but patience pays off here. Nothing makes icing slide off a cake faster than a bit of heat, and you want those cracks covered. Make sure the cake has completely cooled before you ice it.
• Give it a day if you can. This cake is delicious on the day it is made, but I actually think the flavour improves by the following day. The apple helps keep the cake moist, and the flavours seem to settle together overnight.

P.S. Looking for more lunchbox recipes?  Can I suggest Apple & Ginger Wholemeal Loaf Cake or Banana & Cocoa Nib Spelt Muffins. There are also many more recipes to be found in the Baking Section.

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