This gluten free apple cake is an incredibly creamy cake full of apple flavor! If you have been looking for a show-stopper cake with bakery-quality flavors, look no further than this delicious gluten free apple kuchen.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
When my husband saw an exciting recipe for an apple cake in The Wall Street Journal, he cut out the page from the newspaper and taped it to my computer. He knows I love a challenge, so he asked if I could make this cake recipe.
The author adapted a recipe from “The Arrows Cookbook” by Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, originally created by Aleksandra Crapanzano. The cookbook isn’t gluten-free, but this recipe looked so good, I knew I needed to try a gluten-free version.
This is one of those cakes that looks impressive but is surprisingly simple to make once you know the steps. The cream poured over the apples before baking creates the moist, almost custardy texture that makes this recipe stand out.
This recipe has been one of my blog’s most popular dessert recipes, and once you make it, you will quickly understand why. This cake is made with the flavor and texture of a traditional German Apfelkuchen, also known as a kuchen cake. I also have a delicious Gluten-Free Peach Kuchen recipe if you love a custard-style cake.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with Authentic Foods Multiblend and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Blend. If your flour blend doesn’t contain a binder like xanthan or guar gum, add 3/4 teaspoon to your dry ingredients. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
- Sugar – I used cane sugar.
- Baking Powder – Use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Eggs – Size large.
- Vanilla Extract – I recommend using pure vanilla extract.
- Milk – Note: I have not tested dairy-free alternatives.
- Heavy Cream – Do not use half-and-half.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter.
Are you ready to get started? You may also love this Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake recipe or this Gluten-Free French Apple Cake recipe a try!
A Note From My Kitchen
This homemade gluten-free apple cake is a treat to make. I love converting popular recipes I see into gluten-free versions. I tested this cake recipe a few times, with both King Arthur and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. Both are excellent cake flours, and I tend to use these often when testing recipes. Both performed well. I tested Pink Lady, Red Delicious, and Fuji apples. I find tart apples work best. The Red Delicious is a sweet variety, and it didn’t give the same sweet-tart flavor contrast in this cake.
This creamy apple cake bakes with cream, and it soaks in, making this cake decadent and moist. You can swap other fruits, but if you use a wetter fruit like peaches, you need to really pat them dry with a paper towel before adding them on top of the cake batter.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Apple Cake (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and ground cinnamon, and whisk to blend them in a large
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients, including the milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract, to a smaller bowl and mix well
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined. Overmixing makes the cake dense.
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Step 4: Slice up your apples into thin slices. It is optional if you prefer to remove the peels. If the apple slices are wet, pat them dry with a paper towel.
The gluten free cake batter for this cake is very creamy, and that is before adding the cream on top before it goes into the oven.
Step 5: Put the cake batter into a greased cake pan. Place the pan on another pan. (Don’t skip lining under your springform pan-cream-heavy batter seeps) Arrange the apples over the top and pour on the cream. I arranged my apples in a decorative circular pattern. Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top.
Step 6: Bake the cake at 350º F for 45-50 minutes. The actual baking time may vary depending on the size and depth of the baking pan you use.
If you use a springform pan, be sure to place a pan or aluminum foil underneath it. One reader noted that the cake batter could leak from the springform pan.
If you love fresh fruit in cakes, you may want to try this Gluten-Free Plum Upside-Down Cake recipe too! If you love bakery-style cakes like this, try my Gluten-Free Angel Food Cake recipe.
What are the best apples for baking?
I love to use a more tart apple for this gluten-free apple cake recipe. Here are my favorite apple varieties:
- Granny Smith
- Jonagold
- Braeburn
- Gala
- Gravenstein
These are by far the most flavorful apples for baking, and all of my apple cake recipes with fresh apples use one of these apple varieties.
Tips For Success
1. I have tested a couple of types of apples in this apple cake recipe. One sweeter and one more tart. I really liked the tart apples as they added some flavor depth to this cake.
2. I made this recipe in a cake pan, but I highly encourage using a 10″ springform pan. Due to the liquids in this cake, it can overflow a cake pan.
Frequently Asked Questions:
If you are using medium-sized apples, one apple with the peel removed, decored, and chopped should equal 1 cup of apple. If you are using a small apple, it should equal 1/2 cup of chopped apple.
This gluten-free apple cake is naturally nut-free, but if you’d like to add chopped nuts, I recommend using pecans or walnuts.
This apple cake will last 2-3 days in your refrigerator. If your family doesn’t eat it sooner, store it in an airtight container!
And, if you love apples as much as we do, I have lots of delicious gluten-free apple desserts just waiting to be made! Click here to see my gluten-free cake recipes on this blog. I have so many fun cake recipes to try!
Reader Adaptations:
Sandra G wrote that she used President’s Choice All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour and broiled the top of the cake for 2 minutes to brown the top and caramelize the sugars on top.
More Delicious Gluten-Free Cake Recipes:
- Want more apple cake? This Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake adds thick and creamy caramel!
- This Gluten-Free Orange Almond Flour Cake is perfect for dessert.
- Need a fancy cake? This Gluten-Free Raspberry Vanilla Bundt Cake is a pretty dessert to serve. Nobody will know it’s gluten-free.
- This British dessert, Gluten-Free Strawberry Lemon Bakewell, is fun to make.
- Many also love this simple Gluten-Free Apple Cider Cake.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Creamy Apple Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 ½ cup cane sugar reserve 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top of the cake before baking
- 2 teaspoons baking powder use aluminum-free.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup whole milk * see note
- 3 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 apples medium size, peels removed and sliced thinly
Top of the Cake Before Baking:
- ¾ cup heavy cream
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Spray a 10 inch cake pan with coconut oil or a gluten free baking spray. Wash and slice 3 apples into thin slices. Peeling the apples is optional.
- If you are using a cake pan, line the bottom of the cake pan with parchment paper. I recommend using a springform pan. Be sure to wrap the outside bottom in foil to prevent leaks in the oven.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 1 1/4 cup cane sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3/4 cup whole milk, and 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted) and mix 3-5 minutes.
- Beat in 3 large eggs one at a time.
- Sift together 2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the cake batter is just barely mixed.
- Pour the batter into the springform or cake pan. If using a springform pan, place the cake pan in a larger cake pan, just in case you have any leaks.
- Add the sliced apples on top. I arranged my apple slices in a circular pattern.
- Pour 3/4 cup heavy cream on top of the apples.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar on top of the cake.
- Place the springform pan on a baking sheet, or wrap the bottom in tin foil just in case there is a leak in your springform pan! Bake for 45-50 minutes. The actual baking time can vary depending on the size of pan you use.
- Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- I used milk, but other dairy-free kinds of milk may work. I do not recommend canned coconut milk. NOTE: I have not tested this recipe with dairy-free ingredients.
- This cake will keep up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older Sept 2018 post with more recipe details.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
The baking time was way off for me. It looked to be done at 45 mins. So I pulled it out of the oven. When I cut into the cake to serve the entire middle of the cake was not done.
Hi Gretchen, I haven’t heard of this issue. What size cake pan did you use?
I used 1 cup of Schaer C ( cake mix, basically cornstarch), 1 cup of rice flour + 1 flat teaspoon Xanthan, and instead of a 10″ pan I used my 9″ square pan, and it worked a treat! Thanks for the lovely recipe. By the way I read that there was a very similar cake in an old German cookbook from 1890 or so, where the applecake with cream topping was called ” Mannheim Apple cake”.
I am so glad you found a good gluten free flour blend to bake with. Thank you for coming back to let me know how much you enjoyed my cake recipe.
I don’t use gluten free mixes as I cannot use potato starch/flour which is in all of them. I use almond and/or coconut flour. Would these work? Thanks! Karen
I have not tested almond and coconut flour in this recipe and I don’t think they would work in this recipe. Coconut flour absorbs liquids very differently than regular flour blends. If you are avoiding potato starch, why not make a flour blend of two equal parts of sorghum and brown rice flour, then add in one part arrowroot or tapioca starch?
It was fabulous. Thank you so much. Ally from San Diego CA
You are so welcome Ally. Please do stay safe in So Cal. I keep seeing it in the news.
Can this be made ahead? I’m thinking this would be lovely as a Christmas dessert. Could I make it the day before?
You can make it the day before, but I wouldn’t make it any earlier given the creaminess.
I literally threw this together this afternoon, made a mistake in my rush and mixed the cream/all the sugar into the batter. This is the best flippin dessert ive eaten since my GF journey started!!! I think next time ill chop apples into small bits and mix them in there too and see what happens. Bless you dear soul for sharing this recipe!
I am so glad you liked it Leigh…I love the idea of chopping the apples in.
Just made this again with the apples chopped/mixed in and changed the milk to almond milk for less dairy. It was just as delish this time as it was the first time. Your my dessert hero!
I am so glad you like it. I will have to try it with the apples chopped up inside, sounds really good!!
Can you freeze this?
Hi Leigh, to be honest, I am not sure. I would assume you can but I haven’t tried it. If you do freeze it, please come back and let us know how it turned out.
Would this work as well in a bundt cake pan?
Hi Shannon, I am not sure. The creamy nature of the cake may not cook in a deep bundt pan. If you do try it, please come back and let us know how it turned out.
Just made this with a store bought GF flour mix in New Zealand, turned out fantastically. Yummy cake that didn’t last long.
I am so glad you liked this apple cake. Thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂
I hope she likes it as much as we do 😉