If you follow me on Instagram, you might know we purchased a new home a few months ago and are now undergoing renovations. The process so far hasn’t been without challenges, particularly with the city building permit process. At one point two weeks ago, significant layout and design elements were at risk and we thought we might have to rethink everything. The most stressful of all is the urgency to have all of the window and door opening changes done before the impending Winter and cold weather, otherwise it will force a 3-4 month delay because mortar cannot set properly below a certain temperature. I know, I know, First World Problems. And I guess this is par for the course. My house renovations were a breeze!, said nobody ever. Right?

And for those moments when life things are not going as swimmingly as you hope, there is always cake, like this Spiced Apple Almond Cake. Cake makes everything better. It’s a saying because it’s true. For me, it definitely is. I reckon it has the same effect on me as meditation for other people. Hehe.

So . . . about this great little cake. I was rather pleased with the way it turned out and then I made it once more with a few tweaks to make it even better. And now I can happily share the recipe with you! I use a mix of almond flour and gluten-free flour blend. My go-to when it comes to almond flour is Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Blanched Almond Flour or JK Gourmet Very Fine Ground Almond Flour. For my GF flour blend, I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. None of these are sponsored by the way. I use these simply because they are super accessible here and they have all served me well thus far. That said, a different gluten-free flour blend would probably work well here too and for almond flour, just make sure it is blanched, no skin (no brown bits) and is finely ground.

This cake is studded throughout with bits of soft apples and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and allspice - aka all the distinctive notes of Fall. Moreover, it has such a wonderfully light and tender crumb! As someone who bakes gluten-free regularly, texture is a major measure of success. And everyone who had a piece of this cake said it didn’t taste like a gluten-free cake at all. Woot! It always feels like a bit of wizardry to get results as good as, or even better, than conventional cakes made with all-purpose flour. Even for people who are not gluten-sensitive, this cake is a win-win because it is lower in carbs and higher in nutrition (especially protein) than cakes made with all-purpose flour. I think everyone will enjoy it. Let me know if you agree!

p.s. the flower ring I am wearing above and below is made of paper and pipe cleaner, a gift from my niece. So cute right? :)

NOTES:

• Almond Flour: For cakes, baked goods, pancakes etc, you should always use almond flour that is blanched (no brown bits / skin) and finely-ground. I use either Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Blanched Almond Flour or JK Gourmet Very Fine Ground Almond Flour. I believe Costco also sells a reasonably priced one under their Kirkland brand.

• Make in Advance: The cake can be made a day ahead (kept well-wrapped at room temperature) and reheated in a 325f oven for 10-15 minutes. It tastes just like fresh-baked!

Spiced Apple Almond Cake

{ Gluten-free. Refined sugar free option. }

Recipe makes one 8”-10” round cake.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

1/2 C (114g) unsalted butter preferably grass-fed organic, softened at room temperature 1 hr

2 medium sized apples (about 325g)

1/2 C (115g) raw granulated cane sugar or 1/2 C (92g) regular granulated sugar or sub 1/2 C (92g) of packed coconut sugar for refined sugar free

2/3 C (65g) finely ground, blanched almond flour (see headnotes)

1/3 C (45g) gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/4 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp salt

2 large eggs, separated

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For topping:

1 tbsp sliced almonds

Optional dusting of organic powdered sugar (omit for refined sugar free)

METHOD

Preheat oven to 325f. Take out your 8", 9" or 10" cake pan. Grease the pan lightly with butter or oil.

Whisk the flours, baking powder, all the spices and salt together and set aside.

Prep the apples. One apple should be peeled and diced into small 1/3" pieces. These will go into the batter. The other apple should be halved (you can leave or remove peel, up to you), cored and cut into very paper thin slices. The slices will be spread on top of the cake before baking. Set aside.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and the yolks in a separate small bowl. Whisk the whites on high (8 on stand mixer) until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. Scoop them out and set aside.

Replace the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment. Place the softened butter and sugar into the stand mixer bowl and cream them on medium speed (3 or 4) until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the yolks and beat one minute more. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Pour the dry flour/spice ingredients into the bowl and beat until just barely combined. Fold in diced apples. Now gently fold in the egg whites, stopping just short of a few white streaks.

Scoop batter into your greased baking pan. Arrange sliced apples on top. Sprinkle sliced almonds.

Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer pierced into the middle emerges with just a few crumbs. Cool and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar if you like (or omit for refined sugar free). Enjoy!

xx

If you like this recipe, pin it to Pinterest!  You can also leave me a comment below to let me know what you think of this post - I would love that.