If you love caramel apples, this moist and delicious gluten free caramel apple cake will become your favorite apple recipe.
Fall is around the corner and I am so excited to get fresh organic apples again.
This easy gluten free caramel apple cake recipe will help you use those yummy apples :-).
What recipes do you like to make with apples?
Do you like to bake or cook with apples, or do you prefer to eat them raw? My family is so fast, if I want to cook with apples, I will have to be quick. My teens love crisp apples and this big bag will be gone in just a few days.
Gravenstein Apples
Apples are starting to show up in our Campbell farmer’s market and I bought a big bag of Gravenstein apples. These apples are crisp and slightly tart, which really add a lot of apple flavor to baking. You can use any apples in this recipe, but try for one of the more tart varieties.
You may think I am silly. I know apples are available all year round, but in the spring and summer they are usually imported from far away, or they come from cold storage. When they are freshly picked, they are firm and juicy.
Lucky for me my family loves to eat cake. There are a few delicious apple cakes here on the blog, including Gluten Free French Apple Cakes and this Fool Proof Gluten Free Apple Cake. Both cakes are incredible, and full of apples…but it was time for me to make something a little different. I hid away 3 apples so I could make an apple sheet cake for them :-).
Do you know why I love this dessert? It is full of caramel flavor because I bake the caramel topping right into the cake.
This cake is so easy to make, and there is even almond flour mixed in so that the protein can balance out some of the caramel :-).
How To Make Gluten Free Apple Cake
If you look closely at the egg photo above, you can see the tiny vanilla beans in this vanilla paste. You will LOVE Rodelle’s Vanilla Paste because it adds so much real vanilla taste, with no alcohol aftertaste!
I can’t tell you enough how much I LOVE this vanilla bean paste.
After you put the batter into your pan, pour caramel over the top. The caramel then bakes into this cake and the caramel seeps deep into the cake.
Tools Used To Make This Recipe:
- 8×8 baking dish. I love this pan because it is the perfect size for so many baked items I make.
- Whisk. Sounds silly, but this is what I use to mix my wet and dry ingredients in their bowls. Then I use a spoon to mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend. This mix time and time again in almost all of my baked recipes. It just works.
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 stick butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup chopped apples
- 2/3 cups almond milk
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 cup caramel I used Trader Joe's jar of caramel
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Spray an 8x8 baking pan with coconut oil.
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In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients and blend.
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In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk. (*Note, if your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon.)
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the apples.
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Mix.
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Pour the batter into a baking dish and then drizzle caramel on top.
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Bake for 25 minutes, or until done.
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Allow to cool.
This recipe has been featured on Better Homes and Gardens in 10 ways to enjoy a Caramel Apple (that’s not a caramel apple).
More Yummy Caramel and Apple Desserts to Try!
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- GF Fool Proof Apple Cake
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- French Apple Cakes
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- Bourbon Butterscotch Caramel
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- Caramel Tapioca Pudding
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- Miso Caramel Mousse
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- GF Blond Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips
Does this have to use almond milk?
Hi Kellie, You can use coconut milk or regular milk. Thank you.
This looks so delicious. I can’t wait to make it! Do you think this would still turn out well if the almond flour was replaced with the same amount of gluten free flour?
Hi Dini, Almond flour and gluten free flour behave differently in baking, so using equal amounts to substitute would make this cake very dry. I would sub 1/4 cup of gluten free flour for the almond flour.
Can i use Coconut flour in place of Almond flour?
Hi Christy, I don’t think you should substitute coconut flour for almond flour. Almond flour doesn’t absorb very much liquid and coconut flour is the opposite, it needs a ton of liquid to work correctly in a recipe.
I forgot to mention, if you want it to be gluten free, you can just add more gluten free flour instead of the almond flour.
I’ve died and gone to heaven just looking at this. Caramel apple cake!? I mean come on, how does it get any better!?
This recipe sounds delicious! However I wondered if there is a dairy free caramel recipe you know of? I know a lot of recipes call for condensed milk or coconut milk but I’m lactose intolerant and extremely sensitive to coconut milk. Thank you 🙂
Hi Misty, My friend, Meghan, has an amazing dairy-free caramel recipe. Here is the link: http://www.allergyfreealaska.com/2013/05/17/liquid-gold-dairy-free-caramel-sauce/
There is also a caramel sauce made with dates that is fabulous…try the datelady.com…really words cannot describe how good this is!
That sounds incredible too Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing the information with my readers so others can enjoy dairy free options 🙂
Hey there 🙂
Yummy cake! Is it freezer friendly?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Steff, that is a great question. Cake doesn’t last very long in our house so I haven’t been able to test that. I would assume it would freeze well going by the ingredients. If you try freezing it, can you please drop another comment? I am sure other readers have the same question. Thank you 🙂
Ok. This might be a dumb question, but isn’t Almond flour GF? Also, what size pan does this make?
Hi Lisa, Thank you for your note. Almond flour is gluten free. The two brands I love that are certified gluten free are Anthony’s and Honeyville. If you use a non-certified brand, you need to make sure it isn’t processed on shared equipment with wheat. I made this recipe in a 7×7 baking pan.
Have you tried this as muffins or cupcakes??
I haven’t Cheryl, but I like how you think!! If you try this, can you please come back and comment so other readers can benefit? Thank you so much!
I definitely will! We made the cake today and it was amazing! We used a butterscotch caramel for the top and everyone went nuts. We will be doing muffins next time. I will let you know!
I am so glad you all loved this recipe Cheryl. You made my day!
Hello! Do u think i can substitute the almond flour for chickpea flour or oat flour?
Thanks!
Hi Josi, I am not sure about chickpea flour. It would drastically change the taste of this cake. I would say if you try the oat flour, you will need to adjust the liquids because it absorbs more liquid. It will be an experiment :-). Please write back and let us know if the oat flour works, and what you did. I am sure that information would benefit a lot of readers. Thank you so much.
Do you put the caramel sauce in the batter? Or is it just for the top?
Hi Celine, I only put the caramel on top. The flavor seeps into the cake while it cooks. Have a great morning 🙂 Sandi
Hi! Do you think that the almond flour could be substituted with Coconut flour?
Hi Katrina, Almond flour and coconut flour do not substitute well for each other. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of liquid, almond flour is already moist. I would substitute 1/2 the almond flour quantity with gluten free flour blend. So in this recipe, instead of 1 cup almond flour, I would try 1/2 cup additional gluten free flour blend. Take care and thank you for writing.
I’m excited to make this for Halloween! Should you use gluten free flour with xantham gum added or without?
Hi Christine, Thank you for writing. You definitely want to use a gluten free blend with xanthan gum. My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten free flour blend. It really bakes up lighter than some other blends. (Also note, some blends have milk powder, which could affect this recipe.)
To make this recipe large enough for a 13×9 cake pan would you double or triple the recipe?
Hi Stephanie, I am not sure how deep your pan is, but I think doubling the recipe would be more than enough. Thank you so much for your note 🙂
Did you peel your apples?
Hi Amanda, I normally don’t peel the apples, but for this recipe I did. Thank you so much, Sandi
Thanks so much!
Just made this and guess who used hazelnut flour instead of almond? Oops! All the Bob Red Mill bags I have look alike! Luckily the cake looks and smells beautiful. I’m crossing my fingers that it has moisture!
Hi Kayla, Hazelnut sounds amazing. Please come back and tell us how it is 🙂
How did it turn out Kayla? I hope it was delicious with the hazelnut flour 🙂