An apple cake cooked entirely in a frying pan, with no oven and no flour. Ground rolled oats are soaked in warm water for 10 minutes until they thicken, then mixed with eggs, honey, cinnamon and baking powder into a thick batter with chopped dried apricots, cranberries and nuts. A buttered parchment circle, a thin layer of brown sugar and a ring of thin apple slices go into the pan first, the batter on top. It cooks covered on low heat, is flipped between two sheets of parchment so the apples end up on top in their caramel, and finishes with 10 more minutes. Serves 6.
Instructions
- 1
Grind 100 g (1 cup) of rolled oats in a blender. Add 60 ml (¼ cup) of warm water, stir — it will look like damp crumbs, not a batter — cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.
10:00 - 2
Peel and core 2 apples and cut them into thin, even slices. Keep them in a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice so they stay pale and juicy.
- 3
Put 30 g dried apricots and 30 g dried cranberries in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them to plump up.
- 4
After 10 minutes the oats have thickened. Crack 2 eggs straight into the oats, add 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Mix like a pancake batter, right to the bottom of the bowl.
- 5
Drain the dried fruit. Chop the apricots small and add them with the cranberries; chop 30 g mixed nuts and add those too. The batter should be thick — heavy folds, nothing runny.
- 6
Trace the pan lid on parchment and cut out a circle to fit the pan. Butter it and lay it in the pan. Scatter a thin, even layer of brown sugar over the parchment.
- 7
Lift the apple slices out of the lemon water and lay them in a circle on the sugar. Pour the batter over the apples, hide them completely and smooth it right out to the edges.
- 8
Cover with the lid. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then turn the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes.
30:00 - 9
Meanwhile cut a second parchment circle, this one a little bigger than the lid — the pan flares out, so the top of the cake is wider than the base. Butter it edge to edge.
- 10
After 30 minutes the top has almost set. Lay the bigger buttered circle on the cake, put a large flat plate on top, hold it tight and flip the whole thing over. Slide the cake back into the pan, apples facing up, and peel off the first parchment — the apples are on top, golden in their sugar.
- 11
Cook for 10 more minutes on low, uncovered side down on its parchment. Slide onto a board or plate, let it cool a little and cut into wedges.
10:00
Notes from our kitchen
Three things make this work in a pan. The 10-minute rest is not optional: ground oats need that time with warm water to swell, which is what turns the eggs and oats into a batter thick enough to hold apple slices and dried fruit without flour. Judge it by the fold — heavy, slow folds off the spatula, nothing that pours. The parchment is the anti-stick trick, and it has two halves: the first circle, buttered, goes under the sugar and apples so the caramelised bottom lifts out clean; the second circle, cut bigger because a frying pan is wider at the rim than the base, is buttered and laid on top before the flip so the cake comes back into the pan on fresh paper. Flip with a large flat plate pressed tight against the pan, in one movement. Low heat and the lid do the baking — 5 minutes on medium to get going, then 25 on low, then 10 more after the flip — and the cake cooks quietly like oatmeal, so resist raising the heat or the sugar bottom scorches. The dried fruit is soaked first because dry fruit would pull moisture out of the batter and leave the cake dry. The result is soft and tender, not crisp.
Variations
- Different fruit. Swap the apricots and cranberries for raisins or chopped dates, or use pears instead of apples — slice them just as thin.
- Nut-free. Leave out the nuts and add a tablespoon of sunflower or pumpkin seeds for the crunch, or skip it altogether; the cake holds together without them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use instant or quick oats?
Yes. They grind and soak faster, so the rest can be a little shorter; the batter should still fold heavily off the spatula before it goes into the pan.
Why did the cake stick or break when flipping?
Usually the second parchment circle was too small or not buttered, or the flip was hesitant. Cut it bigger than the lid, butter it edge to edge, press the plate tight against the pan and turn in one movement.
Can I skip the brown sugar on the bottom?
You can, but the sugar is what turns into the golden glaze on the apples once the cake is flipped. A thin layer is enough — it is not there to sweeten the whole cake.
How do I store it?
Covered at room temperature for a day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days. It is good cold; to warm a slice, give it a minute in a dry pan with the lid on.