Cinnamon-Apple Snack Cake

I’m trying to get ahead for Thanksgiving. My kids are out of school the entire week, and I’ll happily have a houseful of extended family, too. And that, of course, includes my dad, who suffers from celiac disease. I’m always looking for good gluten-free recipes for him—especially desserts, as he has quite a sweet tooth. I wanted a casual cake that I could have on hand for general snacking but that would also be good enough to put out with the holiday feast. And I got there with this recipe. I cannot even express how pleased I am with this cake; it’s one my favorite desserts I’ve ever created, gluten-free or not. My kids agree: They even asked to have it at their birthday party last week! (We ended up opting for something else, but still—they requested it!) Keep reading below the recipe card for some tips and process photos!

Yield: 12 servingsAuthor: Ann Taylor PittmanPrint Recipe

Cinnamon-Apple Snack Cake

prep time: 25 minscook time: 28 minstotal time: 53 mins

I am so happy with how this cake turned out! It comes together in one bowl, and it's moist, tender, and absolutely full of apple flavor. The key is to use Honeycrisp apples, which perfume the whole pan and work some real magic: The batter smells like fresh-pressed cider, and the whole cake tastes as if you somehow crammed the essence of 500 apples into it. My kids went bonkers for it. Connor, in all earnestness, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Mom. It's really, really good." I can't ask for more than that.

ingredients:

• 7 oz. (about 2 cups) almond flour
• 2 3/4 oz. (about 1/2 cup) gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
• 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, shredded Honeycrisp apple (about 1 large [10-12 oz.] apple)
• 4 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 6 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) powdered sugar

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cloves; stir well to combine. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, and crack eggs into the well. Stir eggs to lightly beat them, then stir in buttermilk, honey, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir mixture well to combine. Fold in shredded apple. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square metal baking pan coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 350°F for 28 minutes or until a few moist crumbs cling to a wooden pick inserted in center of cake. Cool cake, in pan, on a wire rack.
4. Place cream cheese and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beating at low speed, gradually add powdered sugar; beat just until combined. Spread frosting over cooled cake.

NOTES:

Calories 261; Fat 12g (sat 2g); Protein 6g; Carb 35g; Fiber 3g; Sugars 27g (added sugars 23g); Sodium 133mg

Created using The Recipes Generator

As I mentioned above, I needed a gluten-free dessert for my dad—and I wanted one that everyone else would love, too. I was unwilling to settle for anything that folks would say was good for a gluten-free cake. That would not be good enough. Thankfully, after a little trial and error, I got there. This cake is just flat-out GOOD. It’s gluten-free, relying on almond flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour (also make sure your baking powder is gluten-free). This is the a-p flour I used:

A little bit of this gluten-free a-p flour lightens the texture of the almond flour, giving the cake a moist, tender texture. (Almond flour alone would produce a dense cake.) Next, the apple variety you use is crucial. And I contend that the only choice is Honeycrisp. It gives a ton of concentrated apple-y flavor, much more than other varieties. I originally tried chopping the apple, but it remained a little too crunchy in the finished cake. So I switched to shredding the apple, and holy cow did that work well! The little apple shreds melt into the batter and distribute the flavor more thoroughly into every bite.

After the cake bakes, make sure to allow it to cool completely. If it’s warm when you top with the icing, you may tear off the tender top layer of the cake as you try to spread, getting crumbs all in the icing. (You may still get a few crumbs in there with a cooled cake, but only a few.)

Use a sharp, thin knife to cut the cake. It’s so tender that it’s a little tricky to cut—not a bad problem if you ask me! And one of the best things about a snack cake is that you can just keep it in the pan and serve straight from there. (Keep leftovers in the fridge since there’s dairy in the frosting.)