Gluten-free Almond Flour Apple Cake, Paleo

This gluten-free Almond Flour Apple Cake is a satisfying lighter apple cake recipe made with an almond flour, tapioca flour and coconut flour base. It is flavored with apple sauce, apples and cinnamon.

We love this Fall inspired, cinnamon-filled fluffy cake that is brimming with apples. It smells great and tastes great with a cup of tea or coffee. Because of the ingredients in this lighter apple cake recipe, it is naturally Paleo, Grain-free, Gluten-free, and Dairy-free.

The base of the cake is made with an almond flour, coconut flour and tapioca flour mixture. And the flavors of the cake are enhanced by cinnamon, apple sauce and fresh apples. There is also only natural sugars used, which makes it an overall healthier recipe.

If you love apple recipes, try our apple gummies, Fall chocolate bark or apple pie energy balls.

What makes this recipe great

• It captures the essence of autumn in cake form.
• It uses olive oil instead of butter. (If you like baking with olive oil, check out our Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake, it is divine).
• It uses maple syrup and honey instead of sugar.
• There are no refined sugars or flours in the recipes.
• It is the just right apple snacking cake.

Ingredients needed:

• almond flour– blanched almond flour is best here because it is thinner in texture.
• coconut flour– this helps absorb the liquid in this recipe.
• tapioca flour– this gluten-free flour pairs well with almond flour and coconut flour.
• baking soda– used to make the cake rise.
• salt– sea salt or Himalayan salt works.
• cinnamon– compliments the apple flavors. Ceylon cinnamon tastes wonderful.
• maple syrup– we use a combo of maple syrup and honey to replace refined sugar here.
• honey– adds a nice sweetness to the recipe.
• eggs– they help to bind the ingredients together.
• extra light olive oil– this is used to replace butter and milk.
• apple sauce– helps replace some of the fat needed in the recipe, along with adding apple flavor.
• apples– fresh apples help give the flavor to this cake.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Additions/ Substitutions

• Instead of tapioca flour, you can use arrowroot powder at a 1:1 ratio.
• Instead of maple syrup, you can use honey.
• Instead of honey, you can use maple syrup.
• Instead of olive oil, you can use avocado oil.
• Instead of apple sauce, you can use pear sauce.
• Instead of apples, you can use pears.

Step by step instructions

Step 1

Step 1: Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in one bowl.

Step 2

Step 2: Mix the maple syrup, honey, eggs, olive oil, and apple sauce in another bowl.

Step 3

Step 3: Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Then fold in the diced apples.

Step 4

Step 4: Bake and then put on a drying rack. Then, serve.

Recipe FAQs

Honey crisp, Pink Lady, Gala, Granny Smith.

We like adding some sliced apples in a circle on top. Adding some pumpkin seeds or even a sprinkle of chia seeds could work as well.

This almond flour apple cake is great on its own with some tea or coffee. It’s also great with some whipped coconut cream on top or served warm with ice-cream. We also like to add an extra sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

In an airtight container at room temperature on the counter for 3 days or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.