Gluten-Free Apple Cake (Paleo)

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This gluten-free apple cake is the best apple cake recipe ever! It’s an easy, healthy paleo dessert that’s made without refined sugar and bursting with cozy fall flavors.

overhead view of a paleo gluten-free apple cake


Fall is my favorite season. While I definitely enjoy summer, I am always ready for the cooler temperatures, scarves, boots, and all the fall recipes – including this Gluten-Free Apple Cake!

This paleo, gluten-free apple cake recipe comes together in no time and is packed full of nutritious ingredients! Eat it for breakfast, eat it for brunch, serve it warm for dessert smothered with some Paleo Vanilla Ice cream.  You really can’t go wrong.

This Paleo apple cake is irresistible! It’s perfectly sweet, seriously moist, and bursting at the seams with bits of apple goodness!

Front view of a piece of paleo gluten-free apple cake on a plate with a bite taken out of it

Gluten-Free Apple Cake: Ingredients & Substitutions

As always it is best to follow this gluten-free Paleo Cake recipe as it’s written, but here are a few potential substitutions!

  • Tapioca Flour.  Arrowroot powder is an acceptable substitute for tapioca flour! You can also use corn starch but it’s not paleo.
  • Coconut oil. Butter is a super yummy (but not dairy-free) substitute for coconut oil! Ghee is also a great substitution!
  • Coconut sugar. Any granulated sugar works great in this recipe, just be sure it complies with your dietary needs.
  • Pecans. I have used walnuts with delicious results as well!
front view of a paleo gluten-free apple cake before being sliced

How to make Gluten-Free Apple Cake

  1. Finely dice the apples. This will ensure that the apples in the cake are fully baked (and not hard and crunchy)
  2. No Peeling Required. Since peeling is unnecessary, this best Apple Cake recipe is SUPER easy to make. I love that keeping the skin on the apples adds nutrition and fiber to this fabulous fall dessert!
  3. Making the topping. I know I say that the topping is optional, but really the sweet and salty crunch of the pecans is SO good I don’t recommend skipping it! I use a nut chopper to finely chop the pecans, but you can use a knife and cutting board if you don’t have one of those!
  4. Let it cool before removing from the cake pan. Please be sure to give this gluten-free apple cake recipe plenty of time to cool in the cake pan. This ensures that it will hold it’s shape and not fall apart when it’s removed from the pan.
overhead view of a collage of six pictures showing the steps in making this paleo gluten-free apple cake recipe

Serve

Serve this healthy apple cake warm with a scoop of paleo vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream!

Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 5-7 days.

Overhead view of a paleo gluten-free apple cake with one slice cut from it, resting on a pie server ready to be pulled off the serving platter

Recipe FAQs

What are the best apples for baking this recipe? 

Any who. I believe the absolute best apples for baking are Pink Lady apples. They are a little sweet, and a little tart, and absolutely perfect in this Gluten-Free Apple Cake recipe! Some suggestions include (but are not limited to):
Pink Lady Apples. Must mention again because they’re my favorite!
Honey Crisp Apples. These are a sweeter variety, but super crisp with amazing flavor.
Granny smith. The traditional tart baking apple! They hold up well and add a nice little sour kick to the recipe!
Jazz apples and Gala apples. These varieties are very similar. They are great for baking but are mostly sweet with little (if any) sour taste!

Front view of a slice of gluten-free apple cake on a plate with a bite taken out of it sitting on a fork next to the piece of cake

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Gluten-Free Apple Cake (Paleo)

Laura
This gluten-free apple cake is the best apple cake recipe ever! It's an easy, healthy paleo dessert that’s made without refined sugar and bursting with cozy fall flavors.
4.98 from 47 votes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 9 Slices of Cake
Calories 216
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes

Ingredients 
 

Cake:

Topping:

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round cake pan, set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix together almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, and ½ tsp of cinnamon; set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix together melted coconut oil, coconut sugar.
  • Mix in egg and and vanilla until well combined.
  • Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
  • Stir in the apples, pour into prepared pan.
  • Sprinkle pecans on top.
  • In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over pecans.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven until the cake springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Then slice and enjoy.

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions

  • Tapioca Flour.  Arrowroot powder is an acceptable substitute for tapioca flour! You can also use corn starch but it’s not paleo.
  • Coconut oil. Butter is a super yummy (but not dairy-free) substitute for coconut oil! Ghee is also a great substitution!
  • Coconut sugar. Any granulated sugar works great in this recipe, just be sure it complies with your dietary needs.
  • Pecans. I have used walnuts with delicious results as well!

Serve

Serve this healthy apple cake warm with a scoop of paleo vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream!

Store

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 5-7 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 3.7g | Fat: 15.4g | Saturated Fat: 6.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 43mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 14.6g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question? Leave a comment below!

More delicious apple recipes: 

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Recipe Rating




81 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve made two batches of this apple cake now. In the first I used only 2 tbsp of sweetener in the cake mix (went with organic cane sugar since I don’t have coconut sugar) and only 1/2 tbsp of sugar in the topping, plus I used Kerrygold unsalted butter instead of coconut oil (since I’m out of it right now). Diced 2 fairly sweet apples for it, which were more than 2 cups worth.

    The second batch I just doubled (based on the amount of sugar and butter I used in the first), but I stuck with using only 2 apples again. Both turned out great! Didn’t stay together terribly well, but that’s fine. They tasted good so that’s what matters most. 🙂

  2. 4 stars
    I made this cake last week and shared it with others. Everyone loved the taste! However, my version was very crumbly and falling apart. Maybe I didn’t cut the apples small enough? Any suggestions?

  3. 5 stars
    Wow! What an amazing cake! I love the sweet and crispy top! I have dietary restrictions, so I made some substitutions and it came out wonderful – looked just like the photo! My gluten loving family ate it up as well! I used 50/50 coconut and avocado oil blend (when that is gone I will be using only avocado oil). I used granulated golden Latanko monkfruit sweetener, walnuts, added more cinnamon plus some ground ginger and ground cardamom plus I used 1 3/4 cups diced apple. I am also an apple nerd and only get my apples from a local orchard. I used Stayman Winesap for this recipe. Some of my favorite varieties are Pixie Crunch (which won a blind taste test at our farmer’s market), Sansa which is a late summer variety and a long keeper called Keepsake (the orchard uses this variety for their applesauce). I used an 8″ round pan that has a silicone edge so it pops out easily. I will be making this often! Thanks!

  4. 5 stars
    Best fruit cake ever!!! I was in doubt if I’ve made it correctly as the batter seems dry, but it turned up super tasty, love it! I’ll continue to try other recipes from you, Laura! Thanks for the great recipes sharing.

  5. This apple cake is a real sweet pleasure, the explosion of flavor it gives with the very first bite is nothing short of amazing, fresh and delicious this is a treat to enjoy with your friends and family.

  6. This recipe was amazing! I doubled it and made it with coconut flour instead since I’m sensitive to anything almond and it worked out great. I had to of course just about half the coconut flour to almond flour and I was afraid it’d come out dry but it was perfect. I like the idea of less sugar and more cinnamon and other spices so I’ll try that next time. I have made many paleo dessert recipes and I think this one might (by far) be the best yet! Thank you for sharing!

    1. I can’t have almond flour also and I was thinking of using coconut flour. So for one batch I should use 1/2 a cup of coconut flour instead of 1 cup almond flour? I am a bit new to this and I worry about screwing up and wasting time and ingredients.

  7. This recipe is fantastic! I even used less sugar and (kind of) sour apples from our apple tree and it still turned out SO yummy. It’s so simple to make, it’s going to be a staple in our household. Thank you so much!

  8. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! I only used a third of the sugar and I serve it with a drizzle of maple syrup! OMG! It’s amazing! I will definitely try it with some nutmeg as well. Thank you so much for sharing this!