Gluten-Free Caramelized Apple Cake
Nicole Spiridakis
A lovely, not-too-sweet, naturally gluten-free caramelized apple cake that's perfect for the winter season.
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Resting time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins
For the apples
- 3 large apples of choice peeled, cored, and thickly sliced
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger (optional)
For the cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup/60 g sweet white rice flour
- ½ cup/60 g buckwheat flour
- ½ cup/70 g millet flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup full fat plain yogurt
Make the Apples
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350º F. Place a piece of parchment in an 8-inch cake pan, leaving about an inch of parchment to go up the pan. Generously butter the parchment and side of cake pan.
Make the apples: in a cast iron skillet or large frying pan melt the butter and maple syrup over medium heat. Sprinkle with the spices if using. Add the apples and reduce heat to low, stirring them frequently until slices are soft and slightly caramelized, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Arrange the apple slices in the pan in concentric circles, having them slightly overlap each other if you can. Make sure to drizzle any remaining liquid from the pan over the apples.
Make the Cake
In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed, Beat in the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice, buckwheat, and millet flours with the baking powder and salt.
With the mixer on low, stir half of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Stir in the yogurt until just combined, then the rest of the flour, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
Spread the batter evenly over the apples in the pan.
Bake the cake until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, or a with a few moist crumbs, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cake cool completely in pan on a rack, then invert onto a serving platter and peel away the parchment. Serve the cake at room temperature.
Substitution for millet flour -- try oat flour
Substitution for buckwheat flour -- try almond flour or teff flour
Substitution for sweet white rice flour -- try tapioca flour
Butter substitution -- use your favorite non-dairy butter of choice
Yogurt substitution -- swap your favorite non-dairy yogurt of choice