Apple Cake
My family loves apples. I buy at least a dozen every trip to the grocery store. Not only do we eat them whole, we also thinly slice them into grilled cheese sandwiches, chop them for salads and cut wedges for dipping into peanut butter or my Creamy Caramel Apple Dip. Of course, I also love to bake with them. I can’t count how many versions of gluten free Apple Cake I have made over the years. It is a staple for Rosh Hashanah, but I will make it anytime of year because I am never without apples! This recipe can be made dairy free which is great for those with allergies and for the Jewish holidays if you keep a Kosher home and plan to serve my Drunken Braised Brisket.
Why this Apple Cake is Wonderful
My Apple Cake is moist and buttery, even if you are using dairy free substitutes! It has a soft crumb with tender bites of apple. The cinnamon and vanilla add flavor to the cake without overpowering the taste of apple. It is just as delicious with coffee the next morning as it is warm out of the oven. You can add a scoop of ice cream without going into sugar shock too! In fact, I also use Granny Smith apples to limit the sweetness of the cake and add a little tartness.
Making the Cake is Simple!
This is a very easy recipe. I only have two tips! Chop the apples into a very small dice. Less than ½ inch dice is best. They were on the bigger side the day I took the photos below. The bigger the apples are chopped, the more difficult it is for the batter to “hold” the cake together. The second, is to grease and line the baking pan with parchment to ensure that your beautiful cake comes out perfectly.
Other than that, mixing the batter is pretty standard practice. Cream the butter and cream cheese together (or your dairy free substitutes). Add the sugar, eggs and remaining wet ingredients. Then the dry ingredients are added gradually. Once those are combined well, fold the diced apples in by hand with a large spoon or spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the top with a little sugar and pop it in the oven. Once it is puffed on the top, nicely browned and the center isn’t mushy, it is done. There’s no point in waiting for a dry toothpick test with this cake. The apples will always result in a wet toothpick!
Gluten Free Flour
There are a lot of gluten free flour blends out there. Some of them are fantastic, some of them are pretty good with certain recipes, others just aren’t any good at all. I hate saying that, but I figure we’ve gotta be honest! For consistency and ease of stocking my pantry, all of my recipes have been developed and tested using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. It has xanthan gum in it, which is essential for turning out great gluten free baked goods. This flour blend is widely available in many grocery stores, provides wonderful flavor and a nice texture.
I try to point out when I have used other blends with success as much as possible. Please feel free to add in the comments section below what the results are if you’ve used another blend.
Quick Breads & Cakes to Try
Check out my Seriously Great Banana Bread, Zucchini Bread and Apple Cider Pumpkin Bread for fruit based cake-like breads. Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes. For more options for the Jewish holidays check out Elevated Almond Cake, Greek Honey Cake, Spiced Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Macaroon Tart to name a few!
Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter or dairy free alternative
- ⅓ cup cream cheese or dairy free alternative
- 1 cup sugar (*plus 1 Tbsp for topping)
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup vanilla flavored creamer (*dairy free alternatives work here too!)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups gluten free flour with xanthan gum (I use Bob's Red Mill gluten free 1 to 1 Baking Flour )
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp fine salt
- 2 cups Granny Smith Apples (peeled, cord and diced to 1/2 inch or smaller)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and line a 9 inch square or springform pan with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and cream cheese together using a mixer. Add in the sugar and mix until combined well.
- Add in the eggs and mix again, scraping the bowl as needed until well combined. Add in the apple sauce, creamer and vanilla, once again mixing until combined well.
- Gradually add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt until all are combined well. The fold the apples in by hand with a spatula.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on top of the batter and bake uncovered for approximately 60 minutes. If the cake has risen well, is lightly browned and the center no longer feels mushy when light pressure is applied, it is done. Don’t wait for a dry toothpick test, otherwise it will be over-baked. The apples keep this cake very moist.
- Serve just as it is, warm with ice cream or at room temp with tea or coffee.
I just saw the segment on the Sunday news broadcast. Going to try this later today on this rainy Sunday. Question. I do not have gluten free flour. Can I substitute with regular all purpose flour.
Hi Matthew! You can substitute with regular all purpose flour (1 to 1). It will change the texture and density for sure and I can’t vouch for exactly how it will turn out since I can’t eat gluten, but please let me know! My guess is that it will be great!