Vegan Apple Kuchen with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Cranberry Sauce

For those who don’t yet know, I am a proud graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. I spent just over three years as a CIA student, in which time I earned an Associate Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts followed by a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Food Studies with a Concentration in Farm to Table American Cuisine.

As part of the baking and pastry program, every student is required to take a course called Advanced Baking Principles. It is an intense three-week-long class that dives into what baking for people with dietary restrictions and those who adhere to some of the most common diets entails. Besides all the lectures and readings, this meant that we spent three weeks getting to bake treats that were gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and/or vegan. This type of non-traditional baking is something that I thoroughly enjoy, so, for me, the class was a lot of fun. It is great experimenting with different types of baking at home, but it’s even better in a classroom setting. One of my favorite parts was being able to see all the variations of one recipe side by side; the differences in the final product that each ingredient makes become very clear when being directly compared with each other.

Fittingly, the final project for the course requires each student to make three or four variations of one dessert of their choosing – the control variety (with all the typical ingredients) and any versions that adhere to a combination/selection of dietary needs that we covered. I chose to make three versions of my dessert: classic, vegan, and a combination of gluten-free and no sugar added. Of course, there was a lot more involved with this project than developing the recipes, but for the purposes of this story, I’m going to stick to discussing the recipe development only.

Naturally, I wanted to choose something meaningful to me as the focus of my final project. A large portion of my heritage is German, as are many of my family recipes. A classic favorite of these family recipes is apple kuchen (kuchen meaning cake in German), which is a type of German pastry that is basically somewhere between a cookie, a galette, and a cake. However you choose to classify it, it’s delicious! It’s also very versatile! Kuchen can really be made with any type of topping, but apple is the one I grew up eating (besides the rare occasions that we would have plum). Naturally, I chose to use this beloved dessert for my experimenting in the bakeshop.

As accompaniments for the kuchen, I chose to make cranberry sauce (because let’s face it, cranberry and apple are a match made in heaven) and cinnamon ice cream (because ICE CREAM – need I say more?). I absolutely loved getting to experiment in the bakeshop and perfect each variation of my recipes! The goal was to make each variation of the recipes as close to the original as possible – in appearance, texture, and, of course, taste! After our recipe testing and development, we were able to host a showcase and receive feedback from all the people who sampled our final products. Hopefully, now some more people will be able to enjoy the vegan variations that I came up with!

Vegan Apple Kuchen –

43 grams Margarine

29 grams Vegan Sugar

2 grams Salt

6 grams Baking Powder

64 grams Bread Flour

149 grams Pastry Flour

5 grams Vanilla Extract

63 grams Almond Milk

2 ounces Flaxseed Paste

1 Granny Smith Apple

40 grams Margarine, melted

3 grams Cinnamon

45 grams Vegan Sugar

Method:

1. Cream the first margarine and first vegan sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy and white.

2. Add salt, baking powder, bread flour, and pastry flour and mix on low speed to combine.

3. Add vanilla extract, almond milk, and flaxseed paste and mix on low speed to combine.

4. Roll out into a ¼-inch thick rectangle.

5. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apple and lay it on top of the dough.

6. Brush the top of the apples and edges of the dough with the second margarine.

7. Sprinkle the top evenly with cinnamon sugar.

8. Bake in a 425 ℉ deck oven for 25 minutes or until golden on the bottom.

9. Cool on pan to room temperature.

10. Cut into squares and store in the refrigerator.

11. Eat cold, at room temperature, or warmed up. It’s great at any temperature!

Vegan Cranberry Sauce –

10 ounces Frozen Cranberries

10 grams Orange Zest

4 ounces Vegan Sugar

1 ounce Lemon Juice

2 grams Salt

1 gram Cinnamon

3 ounces Water

Method:

1. Put all ingredients into a medium saucepan and stir to combine.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cranberries break down, sugar is fully dissolved, and the sauce thickens to the desired consistency (it should coat the back of a spoon evenly). It will be chunky!

3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

4. Pour in a container and store in the refrigerator.

Vegan Cinnamon Ice Cream –

8 ounces Cashew Milk

12 ounces Coconut Milk

6 ounces Vegan Sugar

1 Vanilla bean

5 grams Cinnamon

2 grams Salt

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir to combine.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a stirred custard (it should coat the back of a spoon evenly).

3. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

4. Pour in a container and store in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Run the mixture through an ice cream maker following the manufacturers directions.

6. When the ice cream is a soft serve consistency, put it in a container and freeze until firm.

7. Scoop and serve.