Easy Gluten-Free Apple Snack Cake

Fall officially begins in two days! Do you plan to go apple picking? Here’s a tasty way to enjoy your haul. And this easy gluten-free apple snack cake is a piece of cake to prepare! (See what I did there? ?) 

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Have you ever bought boxed cake mix? I use to be a fan. Then I realized mixing ingredients isn’t all that difficult. And it’s good to know what’s in your baked goods. Have you ever read the ingredients on those boxes?

More Snack Cake Recipes

I make my snack cakes with simple plant-based ingredients, and mix and bake them in the same pan! (Translation: fewer dishes to wash!) I enjoy exploring different versions of the same basic recipe. You may also like:

• Pumpkin Snack Cake
• Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
• Blueberry Snack Cake
• Chocolate Snack Cake

(I ice the chocolate snack cake with dark chocolate avocado frosting to make it extra special.)

All of the recipes share these common ingredients:

• Gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Bob’s Redmill)
• Xanthan gum (Acts as a binder and keeps the cake moist – I’ve tried substitutes and haven’t been as pleased with the results)
• Baking soda
• Sea salt
• Grapeseed oil and applesauce
• Maple syrup
• Apple cider vinegar
• Water

Easy Gluten-Free Apple Snack Cake

This easy gluten-free apple snack cake adds cinnamon, vanilla, diced apple, and chopped walnuts to the basic mix. A winning combo, in my humble opinion!

I’m trying to subdue my sweet tooth, so I reduced the maple syrup to 1/2 cup. However, if you prefer a sweeter cake, you can use 2/3 cup.

Never be afraid to adjust ingredients to your taste. I like the mild mix of flavors this cake offers. You may decide it needs a little more cinnamon, vanilla or… I encourage you to experiment and make it your own. What if you used pears instead of apples?

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Easy Gluten-Free Apple Snack Cake

Mix and bake this simple vegan recipe in the same pan!

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 9

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil plus enough unsweetened apple sauce to equal 1/3 cup
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 apple peeled, cored, and diced
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped

Instructions

• Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 350º F
• Add dry ingredients to an ungreased 8×8 baking dish and mix with a fork until well blended.
• Add wet ingredients and continue to mix with a fork – making sure to scrape along bottom and edges of baking dish – until well combined.
• Bake approximately 30 minutes at 350ºF (if using convection setting) or 35-40 minutes (if using conventional oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack for at least one hour prior to cutting.

Notes

I bake these snack cakes in my Breville toaster oven. It heats up quickly and cooks perfectly!

 Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.