Gluten Free Apple Crumb Cake
Whether it’s for brunch or Thanksgiving dinner, you need to try this cake!
Moist gluten free cake layered with a homemade apple filling then topped with an obscene amount of crumbs is sure to satisfy. Top it with ice cream or whipped cream and you have a dessert of your dreams minus the nightmare ingredients.
Do I need to say gluten free in my recipes or do y’all just KNOW at this point?? Let me know. Moving on.
I usually pick desserts to bring to functions especially those that are not gluten free so I can have a little sweet treat to myself (and everyone else). But I want to make it epic right? I want everyone to be raving over it. I also want to not feel too bad munching on the leftovers should any come home. Which is a feat to make something BOTH mouthwatering and healthier, but not taste healthier. So some compromising on both ends needs to be done.
First off, 90s almond moms would FLIP by me saying this is “better for you” than it could be so let’s clarify what I mean by that. I meant it’s made with really good ingredients. I’m talking real butter, not shorting. I’m talking real sugar alternative (though I’m not against a good cane sugar and am a sucker for dark brown sugar). And truly, anything with Greek yogurt as an ingredient in it is basically a health food in my opinion.
Second, we want it to taste GOOD. So I did use brown sugar in the crumb topping. It not only tastes better but it also helps with the structure of the crumb.
You can peel your apples if you hate your life, but I wouldn’t and didn’t. Turned out just fine.
Lastly, It’s life changing if still a little warm, but is still great room temp if you need to make it ahead of time!
Gluten Free Apple Crumb Cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
1/2 cup butter, browned and cooled (can just be melted too, but if you’re going to melt, you might as well brown)
1 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup gluten free flour
1 1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
For the apple layer:
6 tablespoons butter
6 medium apples sliced thin (I used granny smith)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch
For the crumb topping:
2 cups gluten free flour
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions:
* It works best to brown your butter then place in the fridge. Then move to the apple layer so that can cool a bit then make the cake then the topping. *
For the apple layer, place all the apple layer ingredients EXCEPT the arrowroot starch in a large skillet. Cook for a few minutes until the apples soften and it’s nice and juicy. Make a slurry with a couple tablespoons of water and the arrowroot starch in a small bowl. Make sure the juices are boiling a bit before adding in the slurry. Add the slurry and stir until all the juice is nice and thick. Turn off heat and let the apple mixture cool.
For the cake, set aside 1/2 a cup of the Greek yogurt. Mix the rest of the yogurt with the eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, with a hand mixer, mix up all of the dry ingredients together. Add the reserved 1/2 cup of yogurt and the brown butter to the dry ingredients. It will not hydrate the dry ingredients fully. Then add in the egg mixture and beat well. Set the cake batter aside to rest for about a half an hour.
Start preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
Next work on your crumb topping. Mix everything but the butter together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the softened butter and cut in using a pastry knife. The topping will be crumbly. You want that.
Grease a 9x13 with butter or olive oil. Pour in the cake batter and spread out. Add the apple layer spreading the apple filling out evenly over the cake. Add the crumb topping spreading it out evenly over the apples.
Bake at 350 for 55 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm or let it cool and serve later or the next day. Enjoy!
