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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy.
❤️ 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.
Email This Recipe To Me!
I will email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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
Email This Recipe To Me!
I will email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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 cake was great! However I think it needed to be more creamier. Any recommendations?
I am so glad you loved the cake. What flour blend did you use? Every blend has a different starch to grain ratio, which affects the moisture.
This cake is delicious! I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gf flour and Cosmic apples. I also sprinkled sliced almonds on top as a finishing touch. I used a 10″ springform pan. I may experiment next time and use a smaller sptingform pan and a few less apple slices. My cake took approximately 55 minutes to bake. Love this recipe!
I am so glad you loved this lemon cake, Irene. Thank you!
Made this cake yesterday. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gf flour and Cosmic apples. I baked the cake in a 10″ springform pan. It is delicious! My husband ate almost half of it already! I used 2 fairly large apples and baked for about 55 minutes. Next time I may use a 9″ springform pan and less apples. Finishing touch for me was putting sliced almonds on top
LOL, our husbands did something similar in eating half of this cake. I am so glad you loved it!
Tried this recipe tonight as my daughter who has Celiac is visiting tomorrow.
Looks beautiful but decided to check the ingredients and I forgot the bak8ng powder. Guess I’ll see how it came out without it.
Crossing my fingers! The recipe is pretty forgiving, so I hope it turns out well!
I am not a good cook. I expected this recipe to be way beyond my capabilities. To my amazement and joy, this beautiful apple cake turned out perfect. It looks great…I even
took pics to send to my sister, and the taste is wonderful.
Thankyou so much for sharing your recipes and perfect, easy to follow instructions.
I am so glad you loved this apple cake. It is one of the original recipes on my blog…I think back then I called it fool proof, because even I could make it look pretty. Thank you!
A key ingredient was left out of the direction. I see 3/4 cup milk in the list but not when it was supposed to be added in. So unfortunately, I added it at the end with the heavy cream. It pretty much leaked out of my pan. Thankfully, I put it on a tray. I did have to soak it up a few times so it wouldn’t spill over into my oven.
Hi Randi, I am sorry that happened. The milk is part of the wet ingredients. I can clarify in the recipe.
I had the same question. Milk was only listed in the ingredients but not in the instructions. Thankfully I caught it and added to the batter before pouring into the pan. Fingers crossed it works! I’m making this brunch in the morning and have no time to figure out something else since it’s 9:30pm.
You did the right thing. I clarified the recipe to address this.
I had a similar situation. As a new baker with ADD, it really helps when all ingredients are in the recipe instructions.
As I update recipes, I am trying to add the ingredients to the directions. It is hard to do this to 700+ recipes all at once, but hopefully I will get to them all.
Yet again your recipes are top-notch! This took longer than an hour to bake through, as other commenters have noted, but it is amazing, moist, the creamy apple topping is like a built-in frosting. Thanks so much for this recipe!
I am so glad you loved the recipe, Rachel. It does have a nice creamy top like frosting. What size pan did you bake it in?
Hi Sandi. I made this creamy apple cake today. Flavor and texture came out great but I was doubtful at the beginning. When I saw that the batter did not look like yours, I added 2 more tablespoons of the DIY flour. I believe the cake baked like it was supposed to, in my opinion but should the cake have absorbed most of the cream?
Also, should we be adding 1 tsp of XG per EACH cup of GF flour? (I made your DIY with only 1 T of psyllium husk, like your directions say if we intend to use XG.)
I only added 1 tsp, as per your directions in this recipe though. I thought at first that the batter felt too goopy, but it did bake like a ‘regular’ cake. Is this normal, for the batter to look ‘goopy’, when using XG?
Hi Mary, Adding more flour is the right thing to do. I haven’t tested the DIY Flour in this cake yet, so it is good you went by the photos. The cake should absorb the cream. If you use xanthan gum, you shouldn’t need psyllium husk. If you used both, that may be why the batter was a bit goopy. If you want to use xanthan gum, you should omit the psyllium husk from the DIY blend.
I am so glad I just discovered your website! I really, really appreciate that you tell us what exact brand of GF flour you have tried with each recipe. I can tell that makes a big difference, since all GF flour blends are not created equal.
I will be trying this Creamy Apple Cake soon, but would like to know why you don’t recommend the canned coconut milk. I have been using this kind of coconut milk for other baking and haven’t noticed any problems. I just make sure to mix up the cream solid with the milk. P.S. I just made your French Apple Cake and it is delish! Perfect texture and flavor. I would not have tried it if you hadn’t told us you had tried it with BRM 1:1 GF flour blend.
Hi Mary, I am glad you found my site too :-). As for canned coconut milk, I find it reacts with some flour blends, making the baked goods a bit gummy. Gluten free is such a big chemistry experiment that I found it easier to advise not to use it in certain recipes, like this creamy cake. I am so glad you tried the French apple cakes. That is one of my husband’s favorites.
Thanks for the reply, Sandi. Since I can’t have dairy, what can I sub for the coconut milk that I would have used for the whole milk and the heavy cream for the creamy apple cake?
BTW, for the French Apple cake, I baked in a regular 9 inch cake pan. I used a 6 oz container (1/2 cup) of regular (not Greek) yogurt and added 1/4 cup of canned coconut milk to make the 3/4 cup required. And the flour blend was Bob’s 1:1. I did remember to let batter set for about 15 min and it made all the difference! I still remember how delish it was. 🙂
Hi Mary, you can use another plant-based milk. As for the heavy cream, So Delicious and Silk both make dairy-free heavy cream. I am really glad you loved the French Apple Cakes!
Are used a springform pan. Cooked at 350° for 60 minutes. Center of cake was still not cooked at 45 minutes. Everybody’s oven is different I guess. Love your recipes! Can’t wait to taste this one tonight after dinner.
Hi Gail, that is interesting it needed longer to bake. It could be the oven, how dense the flour blend was, or a combination. I am glad you were able to bake it longer.