Kid Recipe: Applesauce Cake for Rosh Hashanah
Apples, spices, and learning skills baked into one deliciously sweet holiday dessert.
This apple sauce cake is inspired by Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which is celebrated in the fall by Jewish communities around the world. A traditional Rosh Hashanah meal often includes apples dipped in honey to welcome in a sweet new year. In this recipe, kids can experiment with making the cake their own—deciding which fall spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) to use and how much. It’s a wonderful dessert for a Rosh Hashanah dinner, but also a cozy, seasonal treat to enjoy anytime, whether or not you celebrate the holiday.
My hope is that kids who celebrate Rosh Hashanah will have a recipe they can proudly bring to family gatherings, and that kids who don’t will still enjoy baking something delicious while learning about another culture. Cooking is a powerful way to learn (have I mentioned that yet?)—not just about food, but about traditions, community, and connection. Don’t forget to check out the last page of the recipe for a quick look at how Rosh Hashanah is celebrated around the world!
No stove
Hot oven
Ways to mix it up
This cake is dairy-free! Traditional Rosh Hashanah meals will typically include meat. Some Jews who keep kosher don’t eat meat and dairy products at the same time. So recipes like this that end a meal where meat will be served, are made without milk or butter to avoid mixing meat and dairy.
I chose to use unsweetened apple sauce instead of fresh apples. Not only does this simplify the recipe (no peeling or chopping required), but it also makes the cake moist, flavorful, and more accessible for young chefs.
Baking is full of opportunities to practice organization, sequencing, and measurement. This recipe uses a kitchen scale for precision and fewer dirty dishes—but also because scales help kids learn about quantities, addition, and subtraction in a concrete way. If your child accidentally adds too much flour, they’ll need to problem-solve until they get it right. Learn about about using scales with kids in my article here. Don’t worry, there is a recipe for baking without scales too!
The recipe also leaves space for creativity and autonomy. Kids can smell and taste the spices, then decide how much cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger to add. When kids shape the flavor of their bake, they feel proud of creating something that’s truly theirs, not just of finishing a recipe. To guide these choices, I use the less-than-or-equal-to symbol (≤), which many kids will recognize from math class. It’s a simple way to connect classroom learning to real-life scenarios, while giving them practice making decisions within a range of possibilities. If your child doesn’t recognize the symbol, you can explain it simply as “this number or less,” and show them how it gives them freedom to choose within the set limit.
Finally, the recipe closes with a short section about how Rosh Hashanah is celebrated around the world. Cooking together can spark conversations about culture and tradition, which is another way to connect learning in the kitchen with the wider world.
Preview the recipe together and flag any steps where your child might need help.
Encourage your kid to try independently first and come to you when they need support; this builds confidence and problem-solving skills.
Look out for the two “Grab Your Grown-Up” moments. If your child is ready to handle the oven safely, relax and enjoy stepping back!
Demonstrate how to use a scale.
Your kid may have some experience with scales from math or science in school, but if using it in the kitchen is completely new give them a little demonstration.
Ensure that the measurement is set to grams and talk with them about how to use the TARE button. Learn more about using scales with kids here
If you don’t already have a scale I highly recommend it for your own cooking and your kids’. This is the one I use: Escali
No scale? Use this recipe instead.