Whole Wheat Maple Apple Bundt Cake

I’m not sure if it’s the anticipation of holiday celebration to come, or the nostalgia of helping out in the kitchen when I was a kid, or just the weather changing, but something about autumn makes me want to bake.
This is the time when I want to start filling my kitchen with the smell of pies and warm spices after a hot summer — when turning on the oven was the very last thing I wanted to do.
And when baking is involved around here, apples must also be involved. To me there’s nothing quite like the aroma of apple baking in the oven.
I mean, fall, baking, and apples just go together. That’s a fact and there’s no point in pretending otherwise.

Take this Whole Wheat Apple Bundt Cake for instance, it’s the perfect Fall dessert: it’s sort of an old-fashioned apple cake.
The apples are minced so after baking they almost disappear in the batter while the maple syrup and cinnamon bring out all of the amazingly warm flavors of fall.
It’s a moist cake, just as a bundt cake is supposed to be but dense enough to hold up to the bundt pan.
For this recipe I used whole-wheat flour, which I feel adds a lot of heartiness to the cake.
The glaze is optional, but I like the look and the extra bit of sweetness that it brings, not to mention that the cake is much more photogenic with it.

This cake is great for dessert or even breakfast. I make this a lot when I have friends over and it always gets rave reviews with everyone asking for the recipe. It can also be a perfect “snack cake” when you just need a sweet treat.
Easy this is to whip up with only 20 minute prep time, with a classic combo of sweetness, fruit, and spices, this Whole Wheat Maple Apple Bundt Cake is a total no-brainer.

Whole Wheat Maple Apple Bundt Cake                                                                                       Print this recipe!
Adapted from Pinch Of Yum

Note: the glaze is optional, but I like the look and the extra bit of sweetness that it brings to the cake.

Ingredients
Serves 16

Cake

¾ cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
½ cup vegetable oil (I used avocado oil)
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ cup maple syrup
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 apples, peeled and cored

Glaze

2 tablespoons butter (or coconut oil)
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (use this recipe to make powdered coconut sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 - 2 tablespoons water (adjust according to desired consistency)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C) and place a rack in the middle. Grease a bundt cake pan and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk sugar and oil until smooth. Add eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
Using a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Mince apples in a food processor then fold them into the batter (should yield about 3 cups of minced apples.)
Pour batter into prepared bundt pan ¾ of the way up the side of the pan. Don’t overfill, or the cake will overflow the pan.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes then invert onto a plate and let cool completely.
For the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and vanilla extract. Then stir in maple syrup. Add water 1 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 201 calories, 8 grams of fat, 32 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of protein.