This gluten free caramel apple cake was made with inspiration from the stereotype of the USA, which is the apple pie. For the momentous occasion of the Inauguration Day today – which was a great sigh of relief for us – I decided to make a small cake as something sweet to eat. As the cake is smaller than the standard, being only 6 inches across, it’s perfect for a dessert for only a few people which works well in this pandemic world. Today of all days, We are proud to call ourselves Americans and to say that we voted and look eagerly forward to the coming changes.
The cake is a simple, spongey spice cake with shredded granny smith apples added in. It’s then layered and topped with my favorite cream cheese frosting and our delicious apple brandy caramel sauce (Which I can just eat straight with a spoon)! Apples have long been a staple and symbol of America, with NYC being called the Big Apple, the much loved fable of Johnny Appleseed, and the stereotypical American experience being nicknamed the “Apple-pie lifestyle”. Now that the rotten apples in our basket of a country have been picked out and discarded, we now have a relatively good bushel of apples that we can now do so many things with! With a sigh of relief, please sit down and enjoy this gluten free caramel apple cake with much love from us.
If you enjoyed this mildly patriotic celebration cake, make sure to check out some of our other recipes like: Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Cupcakes, or our Caramel Apple Brandy Bundt Cake, or our Black & White Cupcakes inspired my MLK Jr. Drop us a comment if you do try out this recipe!
Gluten Free Caramel Apple Pie Cake
Equipment
- Electric mixer
- 6" round cake pans
Ingredients
For the Apple Cake:
- 1 Cup gluten free 1-1 flour mix plus 2 Tbsp.
- 3/4 Tsp baking powder
- 1/4 Tsp baking soda
- 1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 Tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 Tsp salt
- 1/4 Cup canola oil plus 2 Tbsp
- 3/4 Cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 Cup buttermilk
- 3/4 Cup granny smith apples grated
For the Apple Brandy Caramel
- 1/4 Cup salted butter
- 3/4 Cup heavy cream
- 1 1/3 Cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp apple brandy
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 16 Oz. cream cheese softened, room temperature
- 1/2 Cup salted butter softened, room temperature
- 2 Cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease two 6" round cake pans and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, and buttermilk. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all spices and stir until fully combined. Finally, peel and core your apples, and grate them. Add all of the grated apples into the batter and stir until smooth.
- Pour batter into the cake pans and smooth top, then bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool nearly completely before putting into the fridge or freezer to chill.
- While the cakes are chilling make the apple brandy caramel. In a small saucepan melt the butter, cream and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for about one minute, stirring constantly to prevent the cream from curdling. Remove from heat and the apple brandy, mix fully. Chill for at least 20 minutes.
- When the cakes and caramel are fully chilled, make the cream cheese frosting. Beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until frosting is fully mixed and smooth.
- To assemble the cake, put one layer of cake on your platform and pipe a ring around the top of it with the frosting to make a barrier so the caramel doesn't leak out of the sides of the cake. spread a thin layer of frosting in the circle and then pour about a 1/4 cup of the caramel on top of that in the circle. Place the other cake layer on top and crumb-coat the cake with the frosting. Chill in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and frost the entire cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Drizzle the top of the cake with more caramel. Serve and enjoy!
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cake!
Food photography and styling by Kendra Farber
