Gluten-free apple cake gets an upgrade with vanilla bean browned butter, hazelnut flour, and brown sugar all loaded with tangy apples and baked in a skillet. Serve slices of this beauty with crème fraiche or ice cream for a dreamy fall dessert. Thanks to Vermont Creamery for sponsoring this post.
Entertaining with Gluten-Free Apple Cake
Maybe it's the pastry chef in me, but when I host a meal at home, I usually plan the menu around two things: dessert and what's in season. I savor those after-dinner moments when everyone's sitting around the table together, satisfied and relaxed, ending the evening on a sweet note.
Because homemade baked goods have become a luxury during these busy times, taking an hour to put a gluten-free apple cake in the oven is often extra appreciated.
This gluten-free apple cake can be baked earlier in the day and served at room temperature, leaving you free to attend to the rest of the meal before guests arrive. Bring this stunner to the table, and watch your guests bow down to you like the domestic god or goddess you are.
Best of all, nobody will guess it's gluten-free!
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
I adapted this recipe from a favorite base that comes from my book Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with Gluten-Free Grains and Flours. In the book I use the same formula to make Chocolate Pear Tea Cakes and Fig and Olive Oil Cake. I've also used a similar base recipe for this reader-favorite gluten-free rhubarb cake here on TBG.
The cake base comes together with a bowl and a whisk, and it takes well to variations.
Here's what you'll need:
- Butter is the star of this show. I use Vermont Creamery cultured butter, which now comes in handy-to-measure sticks. The culturing process adds tangy, rich flavor to this butter, with notes of buttermilk and hazelnut. This butter has a fresh, clean flavor, and it works as well slathered on toast as it does baked into a luscious cake like this.
- Dairy-free butter, such as Miyoko's, can be subbed for dairy-free.
- Cooking this delicious butter with vanilla bean until the milk solids gently caramelize brings out notes of butterscotch to perfume the batter.
- If you don't have a vanilla bean on hand, don't fret: just add a teaspoon of vanilla paste or vanilla extract when you add the eggs to the batter.
- Baking powder lifts the batter.
- Baking soda helps the cake brown, and its alkalinity neutralizes acids in the batter, giving the cake a tender (never gummy) texture.
- A good dose of salt offsets the sweetness.
- Brown sugar gently sweetens and adds caramel notes.
- Sub by weight coconut sugar or maple sugar for refined sugar-free.
- Loads of tart baking apples – both folded into the batter and layered over the top – bake up tender and tangy.
- This cake would be lovely made with ripe pears instead of apples.
- A bit of lemon juice added to the apples prevents them from browning and helps sharpen the flavors.
- Eggs help the batter bake up light and fluffy with good structure.
- For those with egg allergies, one of my readers has successfully made other cake recipes using a blend of applesauce and sour cream in place of the eggs. Another option is Just Egg, a vegan egg substitute made from mung beans and other ingredients.
- Crème fraiche, also from Vermont Creamery (or homemade crème fraiche) adds richness and moisture. I like to serve slices of cake with a good dollop of crème fraiche (or crème fraiche whipped cream) as well.
- Can sub sour cream or greek yogurt. Or use vegan sour cream or rich coconut yogurt such as Culina for dairy-free.
- Cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the top makes this cake smell like fall.
- Toasted hazelnuts add a crispy finish.
Gluten-Free Flours for a Moist Apple Cake Recipe
A quartet of gluten-free flours makes this healthy apple cake bake up moist, delicate, and tender.
- Almond flour or hazelnut flour adds tenderness and extra nutty flavor.
- Can sub any other nut flour, or try tiger nut flour for nut-free.
- Sweet rice flour's neutral flavor offsets the others, and the sticky texture helps the cake hold together.
- Sub by weight gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1.
- Oat flour and millet flour add a lofty crumb and whole-grain nourishment. Unlike many gluten-free cake recipes, this doesn't need any starches or xanthan gum to help it hold together. Proteins from eggs and nut flour get the job done.
- Sub by weight teff flour, buckwheat flour, or sorghum flour.
How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Cake
This cake requires a few techniques, but all are easy to achieve. First you brown the butter by cooking it in a saucepan until it turns golden and smells nutty. (See more, below.)
Next you peel the apples and slice them off the core. I like to use a T-shaped vegetable peeler to peel the apples. Then hold an apple upright on a cutting board and use a large, sharp chef's knife held about half an inch away from the core to slice downward, cutting the flesh away from the apple core.
Cut one of the apples into chunks to fold into the batter. For the other two apples, place a cut side down and thinly slice the apple piece lengthwise, keeping the slices together. You can cut them super thin or just kind of thin; I've done it both ways and it all works out great.
Now you sift the dry ingredients together. Hazelnut flour is quite clumpy and may be too coarse to go through your sifter or strainer, so just do your best. When all of the siftable ingredients have gone through, add whatever is left behind in your sifter to the bowl and use your fingers to rub out any large chunks.
Now whisk together the wet ingredients, fold in the flour mixture, and stir in the chopped apples. Spread the batter in a skillet lined with parchment paper and top with the apple slices, still together and placed cut side down. Brush and drizzle with the remaining brown butter, and sprinkle with hazelnuts and cinnamon sugar. Bake the cake until it's done, about 40 minutes. The hardest part of this entire process is waiting for the cake to cool!
How to Brown Butter
The first time I tried to brown butter, I burned butter. So don't be like me. Watch the butter closely as it starts to caramelize as it can go from brown to burnt in seconds. If you have a light-colored saucepan, all the better to see the hue of the butter as it begins to darken.
Place the butter and vanilla pod and scrapings in a small or medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and cook, swirling occasionally, to melt the butter. After 3–5 minutes, the butter will foam up, turn golden and smell nutty, with brown flecks mingling with black vanilla bean seeds on the bottom of the pan.
It may be hard to see the color of the butter beneath the foam and in the pan. If you’re unsure, spoon a little of the butter into a white, heatproof bowl. It should be golden in color and the milk solids on the bottom of the pan should be chestnut brown from caramelization, with black specks from the vanilla bean. If the butter smells burnt or acrid, discard it, clean out your pot, and start again.
When the butter is browned, remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the butter into a heatproof measuring cup or jar to stop the cooking. When ready to use, remove the vanilla bean. You can dry the vanilla bean and use it to make vanilla extract, or put it in a jar of sugar to make it smell delicious.
Apples for Gluten-Free Fresh Apple Cake
This gluten-free apple cake recipe is all about the apples. I prefer tart baking apples, such as Granny Smith, because they retain their shape when baked. Plus their tartness offsets the sweet apple dessert. Other tart baking apple varieties can be substituted. Just stay away from softer varieties like Gravenstein or McIntosh. These will break down too much in the oven and might make the batter watery.
Gluten-Free Apple Cake for Everyone
I tested the base of this recipe (the one in my book) half a dozen times, and this apple brown butter version four times. It's nutty, rich, delicate, tender, moist, not-too-sweet, and full of warming flavors. You can eat it at room temperature with crème fraiche or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Or pop leftover slices in the toaster oven and top them with ice cream.
This recipe would also make a fitting dessert for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, since apples traditionally represent a sweet year ahead.
What to Serve with Apple Cake for a Fall Feast
Here are some other seasonal favorite recipes to make this into a festive vegetarian meal to celebrate harvest time:
- Vegetarian Gluten-Free Stuffing with Leeks & Goat Cheese
- Marinated Grilled Tofu
- Easy Maple Cranberry Sauce {refined sugar-free}
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Brown Butter, Pomegranate & Pistachios
- Green Goddess Mashed Potatoes
- Gluten-Free Mushroom Gravy
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free apple cake, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Gluten-Free Apple Cake with Brown Butter & Hazelnuts
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3 large tart baking apples, such as granny smith (1 pound / 450 g)
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30 ml) strained fresh lemon juice
- 9 tablespoons (127 g) Vermont Creamery unsalted cultured butter
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract, added with the egg)
- 1 ¼ cup (135 g) hazelnut flour (or almond flour or meal)
- ½ cup (80 g) sweet white rice flour
- ½ cup (55 g) GF oat flour
- ¼ cup (35 g) millet flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (135 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) Vermont Creamery crème fraiche, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup (30 g) toasted hazelnuts, cut in half (or sliced almonds)
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line a 10-inch oven-proof skillet, cake pan, or springform pan on the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a small, heavy saucepan. Add the vanilla bean and scrapings if using. Melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns golden and smells nutty, 3-5 more minutes. Pour the butter into a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking and let cool 5-10 minutes. When cool, remove the vanilla bean, rinse, and let dry. You can reuse the vanilla pod to make vanilla extract or vanilla sugar. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the butter for drizzling over the apples.
- Peel the apples and cut them off the core in large pieces. Slice two of the apples thinly, keeping the pieces together, and drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning. Cut the third apple into large dice, place in a small bowl, and toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
- Sift the hazelnut, sweet rice, oat, and millet flours with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Sift as well as you can – hazelnut flour is hard to sift – then add whatever flour is left in the sifter into the bowl. The goal is to remove any large clumps of hazelnut and oat flour and leavening, which all tend to be clumpy.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until smooth. Whisk in 8 tablespoons of the browned butter, then the crème fraiche.
- Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until smooth, then fold in the diced apples and any juices.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Place the apple slices over the cake, keeping them together, and press them about halfway into the batter. Sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts. Drizzle with the reserved 1 tablespoon browned butter.
- Stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the cake.
- Bake the cake until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, 35-45 minutes, rotating the cake towards the end of the baking time. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, 1-2 hours. For the cleanest cuts, chill the cake before slicing.
- Use the parchment to pull the cake out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into slices and serve at room temperature with dollops of crème fraiche. Or serve slices warm with ice cream.
- Store leftover cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Natalie says
I've made the chai-spiced necatrine skillet cake from your book using apples instead of nectarines and it is absolutely flawless...I didn't dare experiement with the flour combinations because I didn't want to gild the lily.
I would like to make this apple cake for my in-laws, who are not gluten-free. Can I use AP wheat flour in place of all flours (including hazelnut) for a total of 305g? I will not be able to taste the cake after I make it (I'm gluten-free), so I just want to make sure I get the weight/measurement for the flour correct and avoid any embarassing disasters :)
Alanna says
I'm so glad you like the skillet cake from AB and that it works well with apples - brilliant! For this cake, I *think* that flour substitution should work but I haven't tried it myself either. Nut flours are a little less absorbent than other flours so it might not need to bake as long. If you try it, please let me know how the in-laws like it!
Debbie Feely says
Yum! As many times as I’ve made this base recipe I’ve not thought to use butter instead of olive oil. And I saw hazelnut flour at Save Mart. So this is a go. I needed a gluten free fruit dessert for Thanksgiving to balance the find raiser cheesecake.
Alanna says
Perfect! Please let me know how you like it Debbie!
Ruthie says
Do you think there is a big difference in taste using almond flour over hazelnut?
Alanna says
I don't think it would be a huge difference. Hazelnut flour tastes a little more rich and earthy while almond has a milder, more subtle flavor. Please let me know if you try either version! :)
Ann Austin says
I love making all of your recipes as they always turn out so amazingly yummy. I just finished putting it together using almond flour (couldn't find hazlenut) and it is in the oven right now. My problem was I found the 1 tblsp of butter that I separated out at the beginning once I had already put the cake into the oven. What have I done wrong? I browned 8 tblsp of butter and reserved 1 tblsp for drizzling on the apples (which I did). Was I supposed to brown all 9 tblsp? Will it still turn out ok?
Alanna says
Ack, thank you for catching my typo! I've updated the instructions to say to brown all of the butter and reserve 1 tablespoon of the browned butter for drizzling. That must have been very confusing! What you did was perfect. How did it turn out?
Ann says
Soooooo yummy! Everyone in the house loved it and couldn't tell it was gluten free😊
Alanna says
That's the best - I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks a bunch for the note!
Satpreet Kahlon says
Just in case anyone was wondering, I made this with buttermilk + applesauce to replace the eggs (for my mom, who doesn't eat eggs) and it turned out great. Maybe a bit more crumbly than it would have been otherwise, but really very good. It was a hit.
Alanna says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and sharing your modification. What a sweet thing to do for your mama. I'm so glad it worked well!
Satpreet Kahlon says
Wow. Five stars to my past self. I was literally just saying out loud "I wish I had written down what I used instead of eggs when making this for Mom" (I'm making it again tomorrow), and then scrolled down and saw this comment, haha!
Alanna says
Haha, fabulous!
Satpreet says
This time, I replaced the eggs with one flax egg, and 2 tbsp of aquafaba whipped (and then folded in at the end). It turned out great again!
Thanks!
Alanna says
Brilliant!! Thank you so much for sharing!
Lauren says
Question! How far in advance do you think you can make this? Does it need to be made day-of?
Alanna says
Great question - You can definitely make it one day ahead! I'll add a note into the recipe. :)
Suzanne says
This looks so good! Do you use this gluten free dough for any other recipes?
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Jenny says
This recipe sounds fantastic. I can digest butter no problem, but other dairy gives me a tummy ache. Any substitution ideas for the creme fraiche?
Alanna says
I totally get that! You could use a rich coconut yogurt instead. Have you ever tried Coyo? It's basically coconut creme fraiche - so rich and delicious. Please let me know if you try it!
Lisa says
I made this tonight for a New Year's Eve dessert. I didn't want anything overly sweet or rich, too much of that last week, and it was absolutely perfect. Easy to make (I didn't have creme fraiche on hand, so substituted Greek yogurt), looked perfectly festive with the cinnamon-covered sliced apples on top, and tasted delicious. The whole family loved it, a definite keeper recipe. Thanks as always!
Alanna says
Aw thanks so much for trying the recipe and for the sweet note. I'm so glad you liked it and that the greek yogurt worked well - brilliant!
Alene says
I have a question. I found out that I cannot eat rice at all, in any form. Arsenic poisoning!!! Can you please tell me what to replace the sweet rice flour with? Rice flour is everywhere and in practically everything gluten free. I am going to have to reconstruct all my recipes! Help! 😢
Alanna says
Hi Alene! I responded to your other question about this on the tortillas, but I'm really sorry you're going through this, it's awful.
I think cassava flour will be your new best friend! It's mild and starchy and similar to the sweet rice flour I use in many of my recipes. It weighs roughly the same (75-80 grams per half cup) so it's easy to substitute by weight or volume. I bet it would work beautifully here. Bob's Red Mill and Otto's both make good stuff that you can easily order online or find at most natural foods stores.
Alternatively, you could try using something like 2 tablespoons tapioca flour and 6 tablespoons sorghum flour per 1/2 cup of sweet rice flour. Though I think the cassava is generally closer to sweet rice flour.
Please let me know if you try this! You might also like some of my paleo recipes, which don't use any grain flours at all. You can find them all here!
Alene says
Thank you so much! Sorry that I didn't see the tortilla response. I will try it with cassava flour first. I'll let you know after I bake it. I must absolutely make an apple cake for the Jewish new year! It's a law in my house, lol!
Alanna says
Awwww I love it! This cake is perfect for Rosh Hashanah. Please let me know how it works with the cassava flour. I'm crossing my fingers!
Alene says
I made it! It tastes very good but it didn't hold together very well. It's light too with a nice crumb. It tastes like you're eating air! But it may need more than cassava flour. Should I use xantham gum ? Would that help? It's sort of falling apart. I love hazelnuts, and the taste of the hazelnut flour really comes through. Maybe cassava and tapioca? I really like the cake, but it's good we're not going anywhere again. Or having company. It's hard to serve it in nice pieces. But for me and my husband, it's fine.
Alanna says
Thanks so much for the feedback! I'm sorry it didn't hold together well with those adjustments.
I just remembered, I have a similar recipe for rhubarb cake and I tested a grain-free variation that worked well that used cassava, tapioca, and almond flour. So I think swapping in some tapioca for some of the cassava flour would help! You can find the grain-free variation in the notes here.
I usually try to do without xanthan gum when I write recipes because some folks don't tolerate it well or don't have it on hand. But if your gut is telling you to add some in, go for it! Please let me know how it goes. :)
Sandy says
The batter was thick and difficult to spread- the cake tasted great but the texture was not okay. I went over the recipe to check if I had missed anything. Couldn’t figure out why the batter was not smooth.
Alanna says
Hm I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm a bit mystified! The batter *is* on the thick side as you can see from the photos, but it should bake up pretty tender. Is it possible you accidentally left out or under-measured one of the liquid ingredients (sugar, butter, eggs, creme fraiche) or added too much of one of the flours? Did you use large eggs? Are your baking powder and baking soda fresh? Did you use weights or volumes to measure? Happy to help troubleshoot if you have any more clues!
Sandy says
Alanna - now that I have gone over your response, I will probably bake this amazing cake again keeping in mind all that you have mentioned above…can’t think of anything specific otherwise since I always use weights to measure the dry ingredients. What could have been off would be either the eggs or the creme fraiche (I didn’t have any so I used greek yogurt). Anyway, I take this as a sign to bake (and eat) more cake ! Thank you…
Alanna says
That's great that you're using weights! Please do let me know if you try it again. If the batter still looks dry once you mix it up, you could try adding more creme fraiche or another egg. Or you could hold back some of the flour mix and just add it until the consistency seems right and looks like the pictures. One more thought is that different brands of flour can be ground differently and absorb more or less liquid. I use Bob's Red Mill brand here in case that helps!
Keep me posted!
Ava says
Hi Alanna, I would like to try and make this using pears but I'm not sure what kind would be best. Any chance you might be able to make a recommendation? Also, if I am using pears, which would better enhance the flavour.... the almond or the hazelnut flour?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Ava,
Oh good question. I would go with a softer pear such as bartlett. Ideally the pears would be firm-ripe (not mushy) and fragrant.
I'm leaning toward hazelnut since pears are so subtle and hazelnut has a richer flavor. On the other hand, the almond flour's delicate flavor might let the floral notes of the pear come through. Basically either way will be delicious! LMK what you end up trying.
Happy baking!
-A