Apple Peal Cake
🍎 Apple Peel Cake is a rustic, heartwarming dessert that transforms leftover apple peels into a moist, spiced delight. Infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, this eco-friendly cake bursts with orchard flavor and old-fashioned charm. Each bite offers the tender texture of a classic apple cake with a subtle crunch from the caramelized edges. Perfect for reducing food waste and celebrating the full bounty of the apple, it’s a sweet reminder that even scraps can shine.
7/27/20251 min read
It's harvest time, time to gather in nature's bounty and put away the winter stores. In my grandmother's day. That meant canning, pickling and drying the foods for use during the winter.
My grandmother's favorite expression was "Waste not, want not" and the apples that were peeled for canning had a by-product--the peels since grandma had a distaste for wasting anything she would make this recipe for Apple Peal Cake.
Apple Peal Cake
Because my kitchen does not generate enough peels to make this cake I simply chop 5 1/2 cups of Apples. If you have 5 1/2 cups of peels, you can mash them in a food processor or run them through a sausage grinder. Turn the peels into a bowl lined with cheesecloth and press our excess liquid. Reserve liquid and thicken in small saucepan with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Set syrup aside.
In a large bowl combine:
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Stir together until mixed.
In a separate bowl, cream 1 stick/4oz butter
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired.
Add chopped apple peals, one cup at a time, while blending batter together.
Turn into a greased and floured 9x13" pan and bake 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve cake warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with the syrup.
Enjoy the harvest!
* You can use any type of apple. I like Fuji or Red Delicious Apples, and by the way...as my mother was handing down this recipe to me, she confided in me that my grandmother's little tweak for making this recipe special was that she added a 1/4 cup of Apple Butter. I said to my Mother: "That it was probably Apple Butter from some old family recipe and my Mother replied; "Maybe your great grandmothers Apple Butter was the dutch-girl brand that she bought at the A&P Grocer.