This tender and delicious apple bundt cake is made with almond and cassava flour, but even your pickiest eaters won’t ever suspect that it’s totally grain free, gluten free, and paleo-friendly!
This showstopper of a cake is super simple to throw together, especially if you have an abundance of apples. Better yet, my paleo version tastes like a “real” gluten-packed bundt cake, with a moist and tender crumb dotted with apples and infused with cinnamon.
Paleo and gluten-free apple bundt cake!
When autumn rolls around, I start dreaming about uncomplicated apple and cinnamon infused treats, and this paleo cake made with almond and cassava flour hits the spot!
I modified my Berry Snack Cake recipe to create this fall-inspired paleo dessert that’s pretty enough for company. Although I prefer using lactose-free ghee in this recipe, softened coconut oil or palm shortening also works great if you prefer a dairy-free version.
What are the best apples for baking?
To make sure the apple slices don’t dissolve completely into the baked apple bundt cake batter, choose an apple variety that holds its shape during the baking process. Some of the best baking apples are Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Braeburn, and Pink Lady. Feel free to mix and match the varieties, too!
Can you substitute other ingredients?
Yes, I know I’ve been baking more paleo desserts lately, but that doesn’t make me a paleo baking expert. I’m not sure if you can use an egg substitute or use another flour in place of almond flour or cassava flour in this apple bundt cake recipe because I haven’t tried out all the different possible permutations. But if you have success with any ingredient substitutions, please let us all know in the comments section below!
Where’s the glaze?
I know most bundt cakes are topped with an icing or glaze, but I think this apple bundt cake tastes perfectly sweet unadorned. It may be an Asian thing where we don’t love super sweet desserts, but give it a try, ’kay?
How do you store the cake?
You can keep this apple bundt cake in a sealed container at cool room temperature for up to two days. However, because the cake is very moist, I like to store it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for a few months. You can thaw the frozen cake overnight in the fridge and take the cake out an hour before serving it to bring to room temperature.
Let’s Make Apple Bundt Cake!
Serves 16
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds (680.4 grams) apples (Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Braeburn, or Pink Lady), peeled and cored
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 cups (224 grams) finely ground almond flour
- 1½ cups (192 grams) cassava flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup (224 grams) ghee, coconut oil, or palm shortening, softened
- 1⅓ cups (192 grams) maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (158 mL) full-fat canned coconut milk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Equipment
- All my favorite tools are listed here, including my favorite mixer and bundt pan.
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Lightly grease the sides and bottom of a 10-inch non-stick bundt pan with some ghee, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
Use the large holes of a grater or food processor to shred half of the apples.
Use a sharp knife to thinly chop the other half into small thin rectangles, about the size of your thumbnail.
Place the apples in a large bowl and toss with the apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk the dry ingredients together, and set the bowl aside.
Plop the softened ghee (or coconut oil) and maple sugar (or coconut sugar) in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer.
Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until lighter in color and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, coconut milk, and vanilla.
Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined.
Next, add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
Slowly add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in any dry flour with a spatula.
Carefully fold the apples into the batter.
Transfer the batter to the greased bundt pan and smooth the top.
Pop the pan in the oven.
Bake until the cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 70 minutes.
Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
Invert the cake on a wire rack and remove the pan.
Cool the apple bundt cake completely, about two hours.
Slice up and enjoy!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Apple Bundt Cake (Paleo, Gluten Free, Grain Free)
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds apples peeled and cored. Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Braeburn, and Pink Lady are good baking apple varieties.
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 1½ cups cassava flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup ghee softened (or coconut oil or palm shortening)
- 1⅓ cup maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- ⅔ cup full-fat coconut milk at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Lightly grease the sides and bottom of a 10-inch non-stick bundt pan with some ghee, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
- Use the large holes of a grater or food processor to shred half of the apples and use a sharp knife to thinly chop the other half into small thin rectangles, about the size of your thumbnail.
- Place the apples in a bowl and toss with the apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Plop the softened ghee (or coconut oil) and maple sugar (or coconut sugar) in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl if you are using a hand mixer.
- Use the paddle attachment to blend the mixture on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes or until lighter in color and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, coconut milk, and vanilla. Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined.
- Next, add half the flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined. Slowly add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in any dry flour with a spatula.
- Carefully fold the apples into the batter with a silione spatula.
- Transfer the batter to the greased bundt pan and smooth the top.
- Pop the pan in the oven and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 70 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake on a wire rack and cool completely, about two hours. Slice and enjoy!
Kelly says
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I’m gonna make this cake to celebrate you 😀
Rachel McLean says
Perfect for Fall and great idea to shred half of the apples! I can’t wait to make this!
Shawnee says
Looks delicious. My mom used to make a fresh apple cake for my dad often. I always thought it was so heavy and dense, but this cake looks nice and light. I’m going to give it a try. Thanks for keeping the gf recipes coming!
Ellen says
I just made this today and it has been a very good day. I don’t bake a lot so it took me a lot longer to prepare it and it was hard knowing how much 1.5lb of apples really is since I don’t have a food scale. The end result is so amazing!!!! pure-goodness. (also, I only use 1 cute of coconut sugar as it was what I had and it very sweet)
Amber says
This was really yummy! I used honey crisp apples and didn’t have a Bundt pan, so instead made 2 loaves. My husband and 2 year old loved it!
Tami says
I cannot wait yo repeat the basic and use rhubarb!!!
Larise Charlson says
I made this yesterday and it is so yummy!!! I made it with Granny Smith apples. I wonder if nuts were added if it would make it better. We like it the way it is and it is especially good now that it is officially Fall!!!!
Andrea says
My son has a nut allergy. Can I replace the almond flour with a different type of flower?
Michelle Tam says
I’m not sure! Some people have used tiger nut flour but I haven’t tried it.
Kimberly H says
My son has an almond allergy, I used cashew flour & it came out wonderful. I don’t know if in your situation that helps or not bc it’s still technically a tree nut, even though it’s an apple seed…
Helen says
We made this cake for my birthday this week. So delicious! Thanks Michelle!!
Kelly says
Excellent! I didn’t have a Bundt Pam so made it in two loaves. Super moist and delicious. The apples I used were really good which I’m sure makes a difference. I left the peel on the two apples I grated.
Amy says
Hi Michelle, do you think I could use all cassava flour? I have an almond allergy.
Michelle Tam says
A few folks have said cashew flour works well!
Blake says
just made this. Took me much longer to prep but it smells amazing. I had to sub a lot of things so my end result is somewhat irrelevant here. Hope it tastes good though. Thanks for the inspiration
Kimberly H says
Whole family loved it! It’s delicious!! I subbed cashew flour for the almond, & used coconut sugar rather than maple. Came out wonderful.
Jessica says
Made this today and it was a huge hit! I used Tapioca Flour instead of Cassava Flour (equal measurement) and honey crisp apples. Thank you so much for the recipe and helping us to get in the fall spirit 🍁
Jessica says
Also I didn’t have a Bundt pan so I used three mini loaves and a 9 x 6 baking dish (which did much better than the loaf pans).
Blanche says
I made this and it tastes delicious. Prep time is much longer than 15 minutes as others have said. My cake however does not slice but crumbles. I did not bake 70 minutes but longer than 55. I removed the cake from the oven as the sides were separated from the Bundt pan.
T says
A question that I feel like I should already know: can I substitute maple syrup for maple sugar?
Michelle Tam says
I haven’t tried it! I’m not sure if you need to decrease a little liquid to compensate for the syrup…
Kathy says
This recipe took awhile to make but was worth it! The family enoyed it without a glaze!
Kendra says
It smells wonderful and tastes delicious but mine fell apart coming out of the pan. I baked in a Bundt pan greased with coconut oil for 60 minutes. Inserted a skewer and it came out clean. Cooled in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. When I went to invert it on the cooling rack, the top half stayed stuck to the pan. What did I do wrong? I’ve stayed away from my Nordicware Bundt pan because it’s disappointing to put in the time and effort for mess. I was hoping this time would be different. We will still enjoy it
Michelle Tam says
Sounds like your bundt pan is not as non-stick as it could be! How frustrating!
Terri HarpLady says
OMG, this is delicious! I don’t have a bundt pan, but I have a mini angel food cake pan that makes 6 small cakes, so I used that and gave it about 40 minutes. I had leftover batter, so I also made some mini muffins. This would also make regular muffins, or any shape you want! Everyone loves it.
Happy belated Birthday!
leslie nixon says
I made this cake recipe two days in a row. I’m not a baker at heart though I love cooking. It took a long time to make the first time and my kitchen was a big mess. I was cursing the whole time. HOWEVER, the cake was delicious. So, I decided to make it again the next day to ‘tame the monster’. I was much more organized, and since I had already returned the borrowed bundt pan, I used my angel food cake pan…….probably for the second time in many, many years. Again, it turned out beautifully. I like the angel food pan better as it is easier to clean. The loaf pan is a great idea, too. By the way, I froze most of it.
This recipe goes faster if you have the right kitchen appliances and get organized before beginning. Actually, dont they all? But this one really requires being organized. I also cut back to one cup of coconut sugar which still seemed like a lot to us, but it was lovely. I used local Honey Crisp apples that were huge so three were plenty. I used my food processor to grate and then I used the chopping blade to roughly chop the other half.
This is a wonderful cake.
Thanks!
Candace says
Do you weigh the apples before or after you peel and core them?
Michelle Tam says
Weigh before peel and coring them!
Jen G says
Tasty recipe! The cooling instructions didn’t work out well for me. My cake was still very hot at 15 minutes and it broke apart quite a bit removing it.
Janine Hannis says
Hi there ! I made this cake, but with a few minor alterations. I used apple and grated quince (as I have a HUGE quince tree and was trying to use them up), and I made it as apple/quince cupcakes/muffins. It was absolutely delicious! I probably baked it in the muffin tins for about 25-30 minutes and it was moist and flavourful. Thank you for the excellent recipe!