mom’s apple cake
super moist, exceptionally easy, and with a miso hit <3
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Kenji Morimoto•
Feb 14, 2026
This is one of the main bakes of my childhood - a regular at family gatherings or when we had a surplus of apples to get through at home, which was fairly often! My mom shared a few tips - keep the apple relatively big as they’ll keep longer that way in the cake but also, due to the moisture coming from the he apples, it’s best to eat this within the first few days.
We didn’t add miso into this recipe but always added a 1/2 teaspoon of salt - miso obviously adds that saltiness which all sweet things crave, but adds the benefit of umami, rounding out the flavours and ultimately creating a very delicious cake.
My mom was skeptical but I think she’s converted now.
As you can probably tell from the recipe, it’s a great canvas for other flavours of textures you’d find with apples - throw in a handful of dried cranberries or your favourite chopped nuts (ie, walnuts or pecans).
Ingredients (8)
Ingredients (8)
Instructions
Heat oven to 175C. Mix all dry ingredients, followed by the wet ingredients, and lastly add the chopped apples and mix until well combined.
The mixture will be thick and loosen slightly due to the moisture from the apples.
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan and spread the batter into the pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is golden brown and is cooked through (test this out with a toothpick or knife - it should come out cleanly!).
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