One of our favorite fall activities is picking apples. Creating new recipes to use them in is a fun challenge, and my new Gluten Free Honey Apple Cake is a success story I don’t mind sharing with you.
Whether you’re looking for new ways to use bushels of overly-ambitiously-picked apples or are in need of a truly delicious Rosh Hashanah recipe, this moist, flavorful gluten free cake will make everyone happy!
Honey is not only a wonderful baking ingredient (did you know it keeps cakes and breads soft and helps them stay fresh longer?) for a touch of sweetness, it’s also used in Jewish recipes at Rosh Hashanah to signify hope for a “sweet” new year.
Paired with apples, which ancient Jews believed had healing properties and which are mentioned as a symbolic fruit throughout the Bible, these two ingredients are not only delicious, they’re meaningful.
I like baking this beauty in a bundt pan, but a couple loaf pans would do the trick, too. Or even bake them as muffins to spread the love.
You can even bake this cake in a decorative honeycomb pan, apparently! How beautiful is this cake baked by reader Lynne K-L? She said the only key is to be sure to spray the pan well with oil and lightly flour (do not use oil sprays that already contain flour or starch, as they are NOT gluten-free!)
However and whenever you choose to make this cake, enjoy it in good health and may it bring you all sweet things in your new year.
Gluten Free Honey Apple Cake
This divine bundt is the perfect combination of honey and apple flavors tucked into a moist, just sweet enough cake drizzled with glaze that will only make you want a second slice.
Ingredients
Gluten Free Honey Apple Cake:
- 2 cups peeled & thinly sliced crisp apples like Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp (~ 1-2 apples)
- 1 Tbs. lemon juice
- 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 3 ¼ cups gfJules™ All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (439 gr)
- 1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 3 eggs, room temperature (suggested egg substitution: 3 TBS flaxmeal plus 6 TBS warm water (let steep 10 minutes) plus 1 Ener-G egg replacer recipe)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup natural applesauce (no sugar added)
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup coconut oil, melted (or other vegetable oil)
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup apple cider or juice
Glaze ingredients:
- ¾ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbs. milk of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Oil a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan well, then set aside.
- Slice apples and place in a bowl filled with water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Stir, then drain in a colander. Return to the bowl.
- Whisk 2 tablespoons of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, then pour over the apples while stirring.
- In a separate bowl, measure then whisk together the gfJules flour, baking powder and salt.
- In another mixing bowl, beat together the eggs with granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, honey, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Once incorporated, stir in the dry ingredients, mixing slowly and pouring apple cider on top. Continue mixing for one minute.
- Pour one third of the batter into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Arrange apple slices to cover the batter; pour more batter on top to cover the apples, then arrange the remaining slices on top of the batter and top with remaining batter. Make sure the batter covers all the apple slices.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (bake for up to 1 hr 20 minutes at high altitude).
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool for 10-15 minutes. Gently turn the cake out onto a wire cooling rack and let the cake cool completely before icing.
- Whisk glaze ingredients together in a small bowl, adding more or less milk until the icing is able to be drizzled over the cake without being watery. Add more confectioner’s sugar if the icing gets too thin; add more milk if it’s too thick.
Notes
Bake for up to 1 hour 20 minutes for high altitude.
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Find more gluten free Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur recipes here on gfJules.com!
This recipe was so easy and so delicious! It was definitely a hit at Rosh Hashanah this year! …I have a feeling I will be making it again!
So happy to hear it, Katie! Thanks so much for letting me know. Wishing you a sweet new year!
~jules
Several people in my family can’t eat sugar or just very little sugar. Honey seems to be ok for them. How can I reduce the sugar without ruining the cake? I use sugar subs sometime.
Hi Jacki you should be able to use baking sugar substitutes in this cake (like Baking Stevia or Wholesome Sweetener’s Sweet & Lite). Also coconut palm sugar would make a nice brown sugar sub here. Enjoy!
~jules
I live in Colorado and am concerned, as always, about baking at high altitude. Any recommendations about that?
Hi Kathy – check out my high altitude baking tips. I don’t think you’ll need to make an adjustment, but it all depends on how high you are. If you typically adjust, then do it for this cake, too. Let me know how it goes!
~jules
This is my kind of cake! It is a dessert which deserves place into my diet, Jules!
Glad it sounds yummy to you, Agness! I can’t wait to hear how you like it when you whip one up!
~jules
How many eggs? It’s not on the list of ingredients.
Never mind, now it says 3 eggs. It didn’t print that way. Weird.
Yes it is, it states three eggs room temperature
Can this be done egg free? I always get nervous when replacing more than 2 eggs in a cake. Thanks!
I refer to this GFJules page: https://gfjules.com/egg-free-vegan-gluten-free-baking/ all the time!
I plan to use the yogurt base (Sub #3) for 2 of the eggs and the Namaste Egg Replacer (or Ener-G Egg replacer) for 1 of the eggs.
Delish! A great cake to usher in the fall season. I substituted canola oil for the coconut oil and added 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the batter. I also made my glaze with apple cider instead of milk and only a pinch of cinnamon. I needed to tent the cake with foil to avoid over-browning. This recipe is a winner….great texture and taste! Thank you!
Love your modifications! My motto is “cinnamon makes everything better!” I mean, really! Thanks so much for taking a minute to jot down your changes, Lisa!
~jules
Thank you for putting the number of grams of flour on your recipes as my recipes seem to be better when I weigh the flour. We never had that with the old web site and I think it helps all of us.
Judy
Hi Judy,
I prefer weighing my flour, as well. It takes out the huge variable of mis-weighing flour that can upset recipes for folks. I’m so glad it’s helpful to you, as well. Thanks for taking a moment to let me know!
~jules
This recipe was great!!! I tried another recipe the day before that came out wayyyyy to eggy and gelatinous and then I saw this recipe in my email and yours was perfect!!!! I cut down on some of the sweet ingredients, due to personal preference. The texture was perfect!! Thank you for all you do and I look forward to purchasing more of your flour when I run out.
That’s so wonderful to hear, Judy! Thanks for taking the time to write in about your experience with this recipe!
~jules
Just took mine out of the oven; it’s not as pretty as yours and I did a major boo boo (forgetting the apple cider) so my batter was thick. I sure hope it tastes as good as it smells.
Oh I hope so too, Nancy! If it’s too dry without the cider, I’m sure the flavor is still good — serve it warm, smothered in ice cream or whipped cream or crumbled on top of ice cream. Yum!
~jules
Did you add the lemon to the apples because you wanted to prevent browning or did you do it to add a little lemony taste? I worked for a caterer for a while, and this is the most useful tip I learned. Using VERY lightly salted water works WAY better for preventing fruit oxidation (i.e. browning) than lemon juice does. For most apples, it works for at least a day. Not so with lemon juice. And with lemon you get that lemony taste, which may or may not be a good thing depending on what you are making. So anyway, I was just asking because I was wondering if you were doing it for the taste or the appearance. Because if it is for appearance, I will do the water trick. Thanks. Your GF flour is the best.
Hi Julie – I LOVE learning tricks! Thanks for sharing! In this case it is to help keep the apples from browning, but with the honey, I think the slight lemon flavor works nicely. I can see how that wouldn’t be the case in all recipes though, so thanks so much for writing in and sharing that salted water tip!
~jules
I hope I can be as successful in cooking as you when I grow up, Jules!
This is a really great recipe! As a 10 year old girl who loves cooking, this is definitely one of my favorites! It turned out great, and everybody loves it. Thanks so much for this recipe, Jules!
Annie, nothing makes me happier than to hear about a young baker with a passion! Maybe one of these days you can join me on a cooking stage! Keep at it and send me some pictures of your creations sometime!
~jules
It is in the oven right this very minute.
Leah, I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!!!
Let’s see. They had it for dessert and begged for seconds. Then they each had a slice for breakfast. Then I had to put a slice in each of three lunches. I have the very last slice saved for a hot cup of tea when the two youngest take a nap very soon. It was definitely a hit!
So wonderful to hear, Leah! Guess you’re going to have to make it again soon!
~jules
Hi you may want to have a print button on the page. Thanks
Thanks Jan – I always appreciate suggestions! If you go to the recipe card at the bottom of the page and click on print there, you should have some good options for condensing the text. I hope that helps!
~jules
This recipe looks Fantastic! I have a question for you – Any time I’ve used fruit in a cake/muffin/bread recipe (apples, strawberries), the baked result is gelatinous-like and it’s not very palatable. Am I doing something wrong? I would absolutely LOVE to try this recipe, but am tired of throwing away my final product.
To note, I exclusively use Jules flour. Thanks for your help!
Hi Patti,
Are you using an egg substitute? That’s the only thing that could typically cause what you’re describing. Often folks use too much fruit which can make the result more dense and heavy, but not gelatinous-like. Let me know or email us at [email protected] and we can walk through recipes with you to help you get them just right!
~jules
I use eggs, never egg substitute. I will write to the email you provided. Thank you!
Is It Kosher?
Hi Lynn, yes, my flour is certified kosher. Hope that helps!
~jules