Whole Wheat Apple Cake

Occasionally, I get it in my head to come up with a baked good that will satisfy my mother-in-law's love of sweets but also fit with the low-sugar, low-refined carbohydrate diet that she should be following. Even more occasionally, this works.

The first version of this cake was way too dry & crumbly, although it tasted good. Just a bit more fat and it became something much more enjoyable to eat. If you use applesauce in place of the half-and-half, it will be a bit less tender but still good.

Whole Wheat Apple Cake
210 g whole wheat pastry flour (about 1-3/4 cups)
26 g ground flax seed (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
200 g light brown sugar (about 1/2 cup)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup half-and-half or unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 cups sweet red apples (fuji), unpeeled, diced small (about 2 small)

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour a 9" x 4" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, flax seed, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, buttermilk, oil and half-and-half. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring just until moist. Fold in apples. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.