Around this time of year, I get a hankering for the famous Dutch apple “pie” that I’ve enjoyed many times in Amsterdam. I endeavoured to make this gluten-free version with natural sweeteners, but with that same, rich spice taste and plenty of fruit. I use olive oil as the fat in this recipe, because I love how it plays with almond flour and creates such a tender crumb, but don’t be tempted to grease the cake pan with it too, as I find it burns even at a low oven temperature.
I sweetened the cake with honey, and two versions with and without coconut sugar – both were delicious. If you like your cake on the sweeter side, you can go all the way up to half cup / 70g coconut sugar in addition to the honey.
When you cover the cake around the 45-minute mark, lightly lay the foil flat across the top of the cake pan. If you make a tight seal, the cake will steam and we don’t want that.
This keeps for a few days in the fridge, but is best enjoyed freshly baked and cooled. Enjoy this slice of the season!
Apple Almond Spice Cake
Ingredients
- Coconut oil ghee, or butter for greasing the pan
- 3 Tbsp. cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 5 Tbsp. raw honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups / 170g almond flour
- ¼ cup / 30g oat flour
- ¼ cup / 35g coconut sugar optional
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- generous pinch or two ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- 2 large apples Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Granny Smith are great
- 1 Tbsp. flaked almonds
- Flaky salt as desired
- Powdered sugar for garnish if desired
Directions
- Heat oven to 325°F / 160°C. Grease a 7” / 18cm round springform cake pan with a little bit of coconut oil or butter.
- Peel the apples, leaving about a half of one un-peeled (for garnish). Remove the core, and slice thinly into half-moons. Slice the unpeeled portion into the same shape; set all apples aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil, honey, egg, and vanilla to combine.
- In a separate, large bowl mix the almond flour, oat flour, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda until well combined. Pour in the wet ingredients, and stir to combine. Fold in the peeled apple slices, allowing some to break into smaller pieces as you go.
- Spoon batter into the prepared cake pan, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top. Knock the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Garnish with the unpeeled apples slices, fanning out small groupings of three or four, and sinking them into the batter. Sprinkle with the flaked almonds, and flaky salt.
- Bake on the centre rack of the oven for 45 minutes, then lightly cover with foil (to prevent burning) and bake for another 20 -35 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Run a sharp knife around the inside edge to release the cake from the edge of the pan, unlock the outer ring, and remove.
- To serve, dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Say thank you and enjoy.
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days.
Notes
