For Mouth-Watering Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake, You Need Orange Juice

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and is generally a time for families to gather together, partake in traditions, and look forward to the coming year as well as reflecting on the year just gone. But, it's also a time for tasty foods, such as carrot tsimmes, challah bread, and a sweet Jewish apple cake.

Speaking of apple cake, while you're welcome to go with any classic recipe, this year, why not step up your game and add orange juice? Although it sounds like it might make your apple cake taste like orange cake, it actually serves to further elevate the flavor of your apples. You don't need to add much orange juice to still reap the flavorful rewards, either.

Here's what to know about adding orange juice to your Rosh Hashanah apple cake this year and how it enhances your dessert. Plus, there's also a short rundown on other substitutions that will help you make the most mouth-watering apple cake for your Jewish New Year celebrations!

Adding only 2 tablespoons of orange juice to your Rosh Hashanah apple cake will really bring out the sweet and sour properties of the apple flavor, without overpowering them. Orange juice will also add a distinct moisture and complement the other fall spices in the mixture.

Besides just adding and heightening flavor, however, orange juice can also take the place of what would otherwise be milk. This helps keep dairy products out of your cake. Even though you can buy kosher dairy products, leaving them out of your recipe altogether makes your job much easier and ensures you're eating an acceptable dessert.

If you don't have orange juice on hand but still want to add flavor to your cake, don't worry. You can always swap out the orange juice for pineapple juice. Or, you can just add water to your batter instead, although this won't add flavor the way the fruit juices will.

Adding orange juice isn't the only ingredient swap you can make in a Rosh Hashanah apple cake. Another change you can make is to swap out the oil in the recipe for butter. Butter is a dairy product, which means that it can interfere with Jewish laws surrounding eating meat and dairy products together. When you switch out the oil, however, you get rid of the dairy and are able to enjoy this dessert regardless of what your main course is. At the same time, swapping the butter for oil affects the cake's texture; it helps keep your cake fresh and moist for a little while longer, which means you can enjoy more leftovers!

Another change you can make is to get rid of the eggs in your apple cake. Although you can use kosher eggs in your baking, you can also just avoid this and go for an eggless apple cake for Rosh Hashanah. Eggless apple cakes will sometimes call for the addition of vinegar, while others may simply rely on baking soda or baking powder as a leavening agent. Or, you may be able to swap out eggs for other substitutes such as yogurt or curd. Whichever ingredients you choose to include in your apple cake this holiday season, know that with these tricks, you're well on the way to creating a tasty Rosh Hashanah apple cake.