7 fall cakes made with seasonal ingredients that bring warmth, flavor, and comfort to every bite

The season is already in the kitchen. Pumpkins, apples and pears are starting to take up space in the shopping cart and suddenly baking a cake becomes a weekend plan. In my house it's always the same thing: someone arrives with a bag of apples "because they were very good value" or with a huge pumpkin that seems to have a life of its own. And of course, you have to get rid of it. An apple cake with cinnamon, a pumpkin cake with nutmeg, maybe a pear cake with almonds. The oven on, the aroma that floats in the air and the feeling that autumn, more than a season, can also be eaten.
And if you don't know where to start, here are seven seasonal cakes, with autumn fruits and vegetables, which, we hope, will encourage you to turn on the oven.
Banana sponge cake
Banana is almost a wild card in baking and in autumn its ripe sweetness is appreciated. When the skin starts to turn brown, it's the perfect time for a moist cake that lasts for days without drying out. That's where banana bread was born, but it also works in soft cookies, quick pancakes or muffins.
Pear sponge cake
Autumn pears have that juicy flesh that seems to melt in your mouth, but not all respond equally to baking. Conference pears an Bosc pears, at their best in this season, maintain their firmness and aroma, making them ideal for sponge cakes and inverted cakes. At home, they also lend themselves to spicy compotes or to disappear almost without realizing it, fresh from the oven with puff pastry.
Lemon sponge cake
Lemon is a must all year round, but in autumn its peels become more fragrant and the cakes are grateful for that freshness that cuts through the sweetness. A few zests are enough to transform a simple dough into a cake that fills the house with citrus aroma.
If you are looking for a quick and uncomplicated recipe, the lemon sponge cake in a blender is ideal: just blend all the ingredients and go straight to the oven, ideal to accompany a coffee!
Apple sponge cake
If there is one fruit that defines autumn, it is the apple. Reinetta, golden, granny smith... they all have a place in baking. They can be grated and mixed with the dough, or placed in segments on the surface to caramelize in the oven.
Fig sponge cake
Figs arrive in a hurry and you have to take advantage of them: in a few weeks they concentrate all their sweetness and perfume. In sponge cakes they provide moisture and a honeyed touch that is intensified with nuts. In this recipe we combine them with almonds, a combination that never fails.
Sweet potato sponge cake
The sweet potato, roasted until tender and golden, is a gift for baking: it brings color, natural sweetness and a creamy texture reminiscent of pumpkin, but with more character. In the recipe below we combine it with coconut, a fresh contrast that enhances its sweetness. It also works very well with spices such as cinnamon or nuts, and since it is made with cornstarch instead of wheat flour, it is a naturally gluten-free cake.
Carrot cake
Autumn carrots are sweeter and give the classic carrot cake another dimension. It's not just a spiced cake with nuts and cinnamon: it's an example of how a humble vegetable can be transformed into an elegant dessert.
The cakes that come back every autumn
Baking in this season is almost an instinctive gesture: turn on the oven, fill the house with aroma and wait for the crumbs to rise. Every family has its trusted recipe, the one that accompanies long after-dinner meals and steaming coffees. The question is: which is the sponge cake that tastes like autumn to you?

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