Apple Kale Cake with Apple Icing

Kale cake? Yes! You can't taste the kale in this delicious vegetable cake, but it gives this cake a bright green colour and leaves some goodness behind. Hundreds of readers have made it and loved it.

Kale Cake! From Veggie Desserts + Cakes published by Pavilion Books. Image: Clare Winfield

Kale Cake

I love this kale cake so much, that I've included it in my debut cookbook, Veggie Desserts + Cakes, all about vegetable cake recipes and vegetables in other desserts!

It has long been popular on this blog and hundreds of readers have written to me to tell me how much they've loved it.

I hope you love this vegetable cake too. Find out more about my vegetable cake cookbook.

This is the most popular vegetable cake recipe on my blog, with countless readers making it time and again.

Kale has risen up the ranks to become the world's trendiest leafy green, but I've shunned the usual kale chips and smoothies, and made it naughty by baking it into a cake.

Apple Kale Cake

This kale cake has a delicate apple-flavoured sponge, topped with a zesty apple icing and, although there is quite a bit of kale, the flavour doesn't overpower the other ingredients.

I've found that the fresher the kale, the brighter the colour of the cake.

When I can get my hands on freshly picked local heads of kale, the green is incredibly vibrant.

Supermarket bags of chopped kale also work fine, but the colour can occasionally turn out a little less bright.

But don't be tempted to add more kale to make the colour brighter or its flavour will come through too much!

Why Make Kale Cake

I've added applesauce to this veg cake, so less oil needs to be used. 

This kale cake is sweet without being too sugary and has moist texture, as vegetable cakes often do.

For the icing, instead of the usual buttercream I beat the powdered sugar with applesauce and just a little butter to solidify it.

The tangy sweet icing compliments this vegetable cake well.

I know that you're still sceptical.

Heck, I would be if I hadn't tried it.

More Vegetable Cake Recipes

If you're looking for more unusual vegetable cake recipes, try:
cauliflower banana bundt cake with cinnamon icing
lemon cucumber cake with gin icing
 vanilla pea cake.

Kale Cake Recipe Testimonials

I've had LOADS of readers make this kale cake again and again, so here are some of their thoughts:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This was great – and I entered it to a competition and won first prize! Thanks!" - Mark

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "It was fun to keep people guessing as to why it was green. Needless to say, the cake received lots of compliments and there was none left. Several people asked where I found the recipe." - Megan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "It was very tasty!" - Laurel

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "I just made this cake.. It’s delicious!!!!! Will definitely make it again" - Caroline

Vegan Kale Cake

And a reader successfully made it into a vegan kale cake:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Delicious! I made it with flax “eggs” – came out great! Thank you for the beautiful recipe." - Lyd

Tips for Making Kale Cake

• Puree the kale very well, making a slightly stringy paste, in order to get an even green colour.
• If necessary, add a little of the applesauce to the kale to make pureeing easier.
• A hand blender/emersion blender works best to puree the kale.
• Readers have had success using flax eggs to make a vegan kale cake.
• Use any apples that you like to eat, gala, cox etc...
• Fresh kale can produce a more vibrant colour, though supermarket bags of chopped kale still work well.
• Don't be tempted to add more kale to get a brighter colour or the flavour will come through too much.
• Check out my other naturally green vegetable cakes!

Get the Kale Cake Recipe

If you make this kale and apple cake recipe, please tag it with #veggiedesserts on Instagram or other social media. I LOVE seeing your recreations of my recipes! Also, pop down to the comment and let me know how you got on with the recipe. It’s always great to hear from my readers.

Kale and Apple Cake with Apple Icing

This Kale and Apple Cake with Apple Icing is a moist and fluffy layer cake that's naturally green! You can't taste the kale, but it leaves a vibrant green colour and some goodness behind. It tastes like apple cake and has a zingy apple frosting. 

4.9 from 39 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 12

349 kcal

Author: Kate Hackworthy | Veggie Desserts

Ingredients

• 3 cups loosely packed, (200g) kale raw, woody stalks discarded)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup (100ml) vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup (100g) applesauce (see notes on how to make your own)
• ¾ cup (175g) granulated sugar
• 2 apples peeled and grated
• 2 cups (250g) plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

For the Apple Icing

• 2 cups (250g) icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter softened
• 2 tablespoons applesauce smooth, puree if necessary
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line 2 x 8”(20cm) round cake tins with baking paper.
• Tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and boil or steam for a few minutes until tender. Refresh by running under cold water, drain and puree well with a hand blender.
  **Kale is one of the more difficult vegetables to puree since it's quite fibrous. I've found that a hand blender works best. Persevere for a few minutes to blitz the fibrous leaves to a paste. If necessary, add a little of the applesauce when pureeing to make it easier to blitz.**
  It will still be slightly stringy. Set aside.
• Beat the eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce and sugar together well with an electric mixer. Beat in the kale puree and grated apple. 
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and gently combine, taking care not to overmix at this stage.
• Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. 
• Cool for 2 minutes in the tins and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the Apple Icing:
  Sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add the other ingredients and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Store in the fridge until ready to use. Frost the completely cooled cake.

Recipe Tips

If you don't have applesauce, just peel, core and slice some apples, steam until soft and puree.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 349kcal Carbohydrates: 58g Protein: 4g Fat: 11g Saturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 45mg Sodium: 137mg Potassium: 225mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 39g Vitamin A: 1800IU Vitamin C: 21.5mg Calcium: 65mg Iron: 1.5mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @kateveggiedesserts or tag #veggiedesserts!

The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.