Sweet bits of apple and honey are layered together with warm spices to make a cake that’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert!
Whenever I stop by Mom’s house, her kitchen is pretty much always guaranteed to be stocked with two things: coffee and coffee cake. It’s been her breakfast and afternoon snack combo of choice for as long as I can remember. In fact, some of my earliest food memories are of my sisters and I stealing slices of her coffee cake and pretending to have a tea party (pinkies up, of course). It’s no wonder I always feel a rush of nostalgia anytime I eat a slice of coffee cake as an adult.
While my mom favors store-bought coffee cake (you know, the one that comes in a white box with a see-through plastic window), I love to make it from scratch. And sometimes, I love to put apples in it, especially when it’s apple season. This spicy-sweet cake is loaded with cozy cinnamon goodness, but the best part is each bite contains a delicious burst of apples! It’s sweet but not too sweet, and it goes great with a steaming hot cup of coffee for breakfast.
I love to bring this as a “wow-worthy” dish whenever I’m going to a brunch. But it’s also the type of cake that’s super tasty as a midday snack or dessert, too.
Is This Paleo Apple Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Healthy?
This cake is both gluten-free and Paleo-friendly. Instead of refined flour to make the batter, it calls for almond flour, which contains fiber, protein, and healthy fats. It also relies on a combination of natural sweeteners, including honey, coconut sugar, and monk fruit, to sweeten the cake instead of refined sugar. This recipe is already dairy-free, but it’s easy to make it fully vegan by substituting the honey with maple syrup or date syrup. Though this cake contains less refined ingredients, keep in mind it’s still a cake that contains a fair amount of fat and calories, so it’s best to enjoy it in moderation.
Baking With Almond Flour 101
Baking with almond flour is a lot different than baking with your typical wheat flour or even gluten-free flours like oat flour. Essentially, there are three important things to keep in mind:
1. It isn’t very absorbent, so you need a lot less liquid. That means that if, when you’re baking this cake, your batter appears to be too thick or gloppy, or you begin to fear that you did something wrong, don’t worry. You are doing it right.
2. It’s quite heavy compared to wheat flour, so you need to increase the amount of leavening agents.
3. Since it is made of nuts, which are higher in (good for you!) fat, you don’t need to add a bunch of fat to make it moist.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
Allow the cake to cool completely, and store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The cake also freezes beautifully! I suggest wrapping it in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of tinfoil and storing it in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before warming it up in the microwave or in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
You can’t have coffee cake without a cup of coffee, am I right? A strong cup of Café De Olla would be a match made in heaven. Prefer your coffee on the sweeter side? Try this Caramel Macchiato Recipe or perhaps a Coffee Smoothie. Tea lovers would also love a slice of cake to go with their Chai Latte.
Looking for a coffee cake recipe that has a crumble topping instead? Try this Gluten-Free Coffee Cake, which has all the classic buttery brown sugar goodness on top.
Ingredients
For The Filling:
- 2 1/2 apples
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon honey
- Pinch of cinnamon
For The Cake:
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup monk fruit (1/4 cup if you like it less sweet)
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine 2 chopped apples, 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of honey, and a pinch of cinnamon to make the filling. Cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes.
- Once the apples are soft, lightly mash them with a fork. You want them mostly mashed, but with some bigger chunks for texture. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the almond flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger. Stir until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla extract, almond milk, coconut sugar, monk fruit, and honey using an electric hand mixer.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Cut the remaining 1/2 apple into thin slices.
- Lay the apple slices on the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Overlap the bottoms of the apples and fan out the tops to form a pretty spiral shape.
- Pour half of the batter into the pan and spread it carefully, making sure not to move the apple slices around too much.
- Spoon the apple filling over the cake batter and spread evenly.
- Carefully spoon the remaining cake batter over the apple filling and spread evenly.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cake completely cool in the pan. Then run a knife along the edges before opening the springs to remove the cake.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition information are estimates only and may vary based on the specific brands, ingredients, and portion sizes you use. This data is provided for informational purposes only.
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