Courtesy of Kat Barry, owner of Kat’s Hot Cakes.

Applesauce is such an essential in vegan baking, and it’s a local ingredient. If you’ve never made applesauce before, you’re really missing out! It’s super easy and amazingly delicious.

For the applesauce:

1 peck Cortland or other tart baking apples
2 cups local apple cider

Peel the apples. Next, cut the apples away from the core and slice into about 2-inch pieces. Toss the apples into a large stockpot. Cover the apples with about 2 inches of apple cider and bring to a boil. Simmer,  partially covered, for 10–15 minutes, stir with a whisk and voila! You’re done. If you’re not happy with the consistency then you can pulse the applesauce in a food processor until the desired consistency is achieved. Either way, let cool fully before baking the cake.

For the cake:

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup milled fl ax seed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
16 ounces homemade applesauce
4 ounces local apple cider
1 cup grape seed, canola, or coconut oil
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, stir dry ingredients together with a fork or large whisk, making sure there are no lumps. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together all the remaining wet ingredients or use an electric mixer set to a low speed. Pour the wet ingredients into the center of the dry and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour contents into a bundt pan or a 9- by 13-inch glass baking dish. You don’t have to grease the glass baking dish if that’s what you are using for the cake. Otherwise, spray your Bundt pan with an all-natural cooking spray. Top the cake with chopped walnuts. Bake for about 40–50 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.