Guest Post – Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake

Rose Zellmer wrote to me that she was keen to do a guest post on my blog. She recounts her food adventures on www.gimmetasty.com and aims to spread happiness through food.Her idea of doing a gluten-free cake sounded delicious and healthy and so here it is for all you cake lovers. She has included a small informative note on making your own gluten-free flour mix. Happy reading! 

Living in a tropical country, apples are expensive. So it is special when they are available. My Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake, is highly anticipated by friends and family because it is not often that they have such a treat. I seldom make Gluten-Free Cakes but if I am expecting guests that I know can’t consume gluten, I make sure to have something that they can enjoy as well. I have used flax seeds as  binders in the cake since there is no gluten.

Here’s my Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend

Ingredients:

400 g – millet flour

300 g – sweet rice flour

300 g – potato starch

Making your own gluten-free flour is fairly simple. In a large container, mix the flours together until  the whole mixture is a single color. If you do not have the flours I used, you can make your own version with alternative flours in the following ratio: 40% whole grain flours + 60% white starches.

Here is a list of gluten-free flours available in the market.

WHOLE GRAIN FLOURS:

• Brown rice flour
• Corn flour
• Mesquite flour
• Millet Flour
• Oat flour
• Sorghum Flour
• Teff Flour

WHITE FLOURS/STARCHES:

• Arrowroot Flour
• Cornstarch
• Potato Flour
• Potato Starch
• Sweet rice Flour
• Tapioca Flour
• White Rice Flour

When I was preparing the ingredients, I got a little sentimental. I have been baking for my family since they were young. Their reaction is always the same. They never changed. Every time I put something in the oven, it is the same wide-eyed smiles. And when I am in the process of baking, there will be 4 pairs of little feet eager to lend a helping hand. Now, they are no longer young (each has their own original recipes as well), and it already feels a little crowded inside my small warm kitchen.

I always buy  a few extra apples since I know that my kids can’t resist them while bake. They disappear quickly just like the cake. I do not have a shredder so I used the grater instead. I have used Granny Smith apples since they are the best apples for baking.

While baking cakes, I like to experiment with fruits. Aside from the fact that fruits are healthy, I like the natural taste of the fruit in the cake. There are a lot of recipes for cakes with fruit and they also look fantastic on the buffet table at any celebration.

Gluten-Free Caramel Apple Cake

A healthy gluten-free apple cake with caramel sauce

Servings 6

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 16 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 35 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 360 g gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 350 ml vanilla yogurt
• 200 g white sugar
• 180 g brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 10 ml vanilla extract
• 20-25 g ground flax seed substitute for gluten
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp tspground cloves
• 1 tspground cloves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 4 apples

For the caramel sauce

• 120 g butter
• 90 g brown sugar
• 10 ml milk

For the vanilla frosting

• 12 g cornstarch
• 15 g gluten free flour blend
• 150 g granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 180 ml milk
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 180 g unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions

 

To make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 165 degrees C.
• Grease a fluted tube pan or Bundt pan. I usually use margarine for greasing or the butter wrapper.
• Beat yogurt, white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients) together in a bowl using an electric mixer until it is smooth.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, flax seed, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg (all the dry ingredients)
• Make a well (my favorite part) in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the yogurt mixture.
• Stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture just until batter is combined;
• Fold apples into the batter.
• Pour batter into prepared greased pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 70-75 minutes
• Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean, it is done!
• Turn cake onto a serving plate. Let it cool.

To make the caramel sauce

• Melt butter, brown sugar, and milk together in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved (liquid form), 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the saucepan from heat and cool until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Pour sauce over cake. Make sure the whole cake surface is covered with it. The sweet taste of the caramel makes the cake more yummy!

To make the vanilla frosting

• Whisk the dry ingredients together in a saucepan (cornstarch, flour blend, sugar, salt).
• Add milk and continue whisking until smooth.
• Cook over medium-high heat and continue whisking until it is thick.
• Remove the saucepan and put the mixture in a bowl.
• Put the bowl on top of ice just to stop the heat (or you can put it inside the fridge for a minute).
• Whisk in the vanilla, and let it cool down.
• When it has cooled down (room temp), put it in in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer and mix it on medium speed until smooth.
• Cut the butter into 3 parts, add it (while the mixer is still running on medium speed), then turn it to high speed.
• Continue until the mixture turns white, light and fluffy.
• Apply it how you like on your cake!

Author: Gimme Tasty