Gluten-Free Apple Cake

This super moist gluten-free apple cake is filled with fresh apples and topped with caramel drizzle. It’s perfect for any party or gathering and served best with ice cream.

Made with simple ingredients and basic instructions, this cake is perfect for fall and the holidays. Fresh red apples from the apple orchard for farmers market make this cake to die for.

I love using Kodiak Cakes baking mix for this recipe because it’s gluten-free and turns out so well. My chocolate orange cake is another gluten-free cake that turns out wonderfully every time.

In addition to this apple cake, my egg nog cake with cream cheese is another holiday hit. I love bringing desserts to the holiday gatherings because they’re more fun to make and everyone enjoys them.

If you’re an apple fan, then you’ll love these gluten-free apple cider cupcakes and my crockpot apple cider. It’s the perfect way to use up old apples and fill you belly with warm fall flavors.

What’s are the best apples for apple cake?

My favorite thing to do when making an apple cake is using a variety of different kinds of apples. This allows for all kinds of apple flavor. Honey crisp, granny smith, golden delicious apples, pink lady, etc. combine nicely to give you sweetness, tartness, and a crisp taste.

What’s in a gluten-free apple cake?

There’s a lot of different ways to make an apple cake but using kodiak cakes and other simple ingredients is my favorite way. See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients.

Kodiak Cakes Mix

I love the gluten-free baking and flapjacks mix from Kodiak Cakes for this easy recipe. Kodiak cakes is a gluten-free flour blend made with oat flour which bakes nicely and tastes great. If you don’t have kodiak cake mix, gluten-free all purpose flour will work just fine.

Sugar

A combination of brown and white sugar gives this cake the perfect amount of sweetness. The brown sugar adds a rich flavor while the white sugar gives it that classic dessert taste.

Spices

A combination of cinnamon, allspice, and salt gives this recipe a warm fall flavor that everyone loves. Feel free to add more or less of any spice.

Milk

Whole or 2% milk seems to work best in this recipe but if you want a gluten-free and dairy free cake, almond milk will work as well.

Eggs

Eggs give this cake structure so don’t forget to add them!

Apples

As stated before, a variety of apples gives this cake a nice flavor but you can use whatever apples you have on hand.

How do you make a gluten-free apple cake?

This gluten-free apple cake recipe is super easy and need for fancy equipment or professional baking skills! See the recipe card for the full list of instructions.

Step 1: Combine all dry ingredients together in a stand mixer or large bowl.

Step 2: Add in sugar and 1/2 C butter and mix well.

Step 3: With an electric mixer beat in the rest of the wet ingredients.

Step 4: Meanwhile use nonstick spray to spray a 9 inch standard cake pan or bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray

Step 5: Place 1/2 C butter into the bottom of the pan then sprinkle with 2/3 brown sugar evenly

Step 6: Place sliced apples in concentric circles on top of the brown sugar and press them down

Step 7: Pour the cake batter over apple slices

Step 8: Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out crumby but clean

Step 9: Meanwhile, bring 1/2 C butter, 1 C brown sugar and 2 T cream to a boil while whisking constantly

Step 10: Drizzle caramel over top of the cake

Pro tip: You can skip steps 9 and 10 if you’d rather use store-bought caramel over homemade caramel.

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Gluten Free Apple Cake

4.84 from 6 votes

This super moist gluten-free apple cake is filled with fresh apples and topped with caramel drizzle. It's perfect for any party or gathering and served best with ice cream.

Made with simple ingredients and basic instructions, this cake is perfect for fall and the holidays. Fresh red apples from the apple orchard for farmers market make this cake to die for.

PRINT RECIPE

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

Course: Dessert, Sweet Treats

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple upside down cake recipe, caramel apple upside down cake, gluten free caramel apple upside down cake

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 715kcal

Author: Chandice

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 1/4 cups Kodiak Cakes gluten-free baking and flapjacks mix or gluten-free all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups sugar
• ▢ 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoons xanthan gum
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoons allspice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2/3 cup whole or 2% milk
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter softened
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
• ▢ 2/3 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 small apples cut into 1/4 inch slices
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter
• ▢ 2 tabelspoons heavy cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine all dry ingredients together in a stand mixer
• Add in sugar and 1/2 C butter and mix well
• Beat in eggs then milk and vanilla
• Meanwhile spray a 9 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray
• Place 1/2 C butter into the bottom of the pan then sprinkle with 2/3 brown sugar evenly
• Place sliced apples in concentric circles on top of the brown sugar and press them down
• Pour the cake over apples
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out crumby but clean
• Meanwhile, bring 1/2 C butter, 1 C brown sugar and 2 T cream to a boil while whisking constantly
• Drizzle over cooled cake

Notes

Pro tips:

• I recommend using really good quality butter like Kerrygold since it is a big star in this recipe.
• You can skip steps 10 and 11 if you’d rather use store-bought caramel over homemade caramel.

Can you freeze gluten-free apple cake? Yes you can freeze this easy gluten-free apple cake wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container. The cake freezes very well but I do recommend cooling the cake on a cooling rack before freezing.

Why is my gluten free cake so dry? Sometime gluten-free cakes soak up the moisture more than traditional cakes but the fix for this is adding more fat. This recipe calls for enough melted butter and whole milk to ensure this cake is anything but dry.

Nutrition

Calories: 715kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 156mg | Sodium: 886mg | Potassium: 477mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 82g | Vitamin A: 1035IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 317mg | Iron: 1.7mg

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