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.
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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 Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Gala, and Granny Smith apples. 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 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?
UPDATE: I have since created an amazing paleo and vegan cream cheese frosting that works perfectly with this apple bundt cake!
Ingredients
- Apples: My favorite kinds to use in this cake are Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Mutsu, Braeburn, Pink Lady, or Gala apples.
- Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- Finely ground almond flour
- Cassava flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Ghee, coconut oil, or palm shortening, softened: Yes, you can use butter if you tolerate it.
- Maple sugar or coconut sugar: Both of these sugars are good brown sugar substitutes!
- Large eggs
- Full-fat canned coconut milk
- Vanilla extract
How to make apple bundt cake
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 pour in the eggs, coconut milk, and vanilla.
Beat the mixture on medium speed for 30 seconds or until combined.
Next, add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients 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!
How do you store the cake?
You can keep this apple bundt cake in a sealed container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap 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 refrigerator 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.
More paleo apple dessert recipes
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes 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 2022).
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!
Video
Notes
- For the best results, weight out your dry ingredients with a kitchen scale. Hit the metric button to get the gram measurements for dry ingredients.
- You can keep the apple bundt cake in a sealed container at cool room temperature for up to two days. However, because the cake is very moist, I prefer 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I’m gonna make this cake to celebrate you 😀
Perfect for Fall and great idea to shred half of the apples! I can’t wait to make this!
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!
Made it this morning! Yum! Didn’t weigh the apples but used 4. For the ghee I used 1/2 cup of organic butter, 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/3 cup of applesauce organic unsweetened. I used half maple sugar and half coconut sugar organic. I used organic unsweetened almond milk instead of coconut milk. And it was great! Baked it for 70 minutes!
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)
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!
I cannot wait yo repeat the basic and use rhubarb!!!
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!!!!
My son has a nut allergy. Can I replace the almond flour with a different type of flower?
I’m not sure! Some people have used tiger nut flour but I haven’t tried it.
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…
We made this cake for my birthday this week. So delicious! Thanks Michelle!!
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.