Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: About 50 minutes
🍎 Apples: Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith, though any variety works
🌾 Flour Used: Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour
💡 Helpful Tip: A mandoline makes it easy to slice the apples very thinly and evenly
🎉 Best For: Fall baking, apple season, brunch, or a simple dessert
This is one of my favorite gluten-free fall recipes, when apples are at their peak and I’m ready to warm my home with tasty, comforting treats.
Best of all, you can make this with any type of apple. Go apple picking as a family or simply head to the grocery store and choose the very best apples you can find. Then head home to make this easy gluten free apple spice cake!
The cinnamon crumble is one of my favorite parts of this cake! I use a similar buttery crumble topping on my gluten-free apple crumble too.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free apple cake. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Oil: A neutral oil, like vegetable oil, adds richness and tenderness without weighing down the crumb of this gluten-free apple cake.
- Yogurt: Whole milk yogurt works with the oil to create a soft, tender apple cake. When I need a dairy-free option, I like to use Kite Hill Unsweetened Almond Milk Yogurt.
- Apple: Any kind of apple will work for this cake! My favorites are Pink Lady, Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. I also love using Granny Smith apples to make gluten-free baked apples. It’s such an easy fall recipe!
How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Slice the Apples: How you cut the apples really matters in this cake! Big chunks of apple will cause the crumb to clump up, while grated apples will disappear into the cake. Very thinly sliced is best!
Add the Apples: I add them to the dry mixture and give everything a quick stir. I like doing this before adding the wet ingredients so the apple slices end up spread throughout the batter.
Add the Wet Ingredients: Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl, then gently stir them into the dry mixture until the batter is evenly mixed and ready for the cake pan.
Add the Crumble: Sprinkle the cinnamon crumble over the top of the batter in the pan. I try to spread it so every bite ends up with the buttery, cinnamon topping.
Do I Need a Mandoline to Slice the Apples?
No. A mandoline makes it quick and easy to get very thin, even slices, but you can absolutely use a sharp knife.
Why Doesn’t This Recipe Call For Butter?
I use a combination of oil and yogurt or sour cream in many of my gluten-free cake recipes because I find it gives gluten-free cakes a lighter, more tender crumb. In my experience, butterfat tends to make gluten-free cake clump up.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: I’ll typically make this cake up to 1 day ahead for the best texture when serving. I wait to add the glaze until just before serving.
To Store: Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: This cake freezes well without the glaze. Make sure it’s completely cool, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag or airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature while still wrapped, then unwrap and add the glaze before serving.
More Gluten-Free Apple Recipes
Gluten-Free Fresh Apple Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cups (200g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Other:
- 1 large apple (160g), very thinly sliced, then chopped into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup (120g) whole milk yogurt
- ½ cup (120ml) neutral oil
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Topping:
- ⅓ cup (71g) brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- pinch of kosher salt
Glaze:
- ⅓ cup (60g) powdered sugar
- 1 –2 tablespoons milk of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon and nutmeg
- Add the sliced apple to the dry ingredients and stir briefly to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, oil, eggs and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- FOR THE CINNAMON TOPPING: Make the topping by combining the brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and salt. Gently mix with a fork, keeping the mixture crumbly. Do not over-mix. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake batter
- Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- FOR THE GLAZE: Once the cake is fully cooled, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in September 2022. It was updated with new photos and instructions in August 2026.
Someone save meā¦..I may eat the whole cakeā¦ā¦sooooo goooood! Thank you, Erin!!
Perfect recipe, nice treat with coffee in the morning. I think you could get away with half the sugar and it still be delicious. I added pecans and it was so good
We’re so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing your feedback with us!
I usually reduce the amount of sugar in all dessert recipes by at least half as I donāt like overly sweet. For this one I did a 1/4 cup for the batter and it was perfect for me. Yum!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the apple cake, Yoko! It’s good to know that adjustment worked well for you too. Thanks for sharing!
Great recipe! This came out perfectly! I followed the recipe except I added much more cinnamon than called for. I also used half monk fruit sweetener. I used the mandolin as expected and had no problem with the apples sinking. Thank you for the recipe!
Just perfect!
Thank you, Brittany! We’re glad you loved it!
Can I use non fat yogurt in this recipe?
Thanks.
Hi Vivian, we recommend using whole fat yogurt in this one. If you decide to try the nonfat yogurt, keep in mind it may cause the texture to be slightly drier and little less rich. We hope this helps!
I just made this and ā¦ā¦ WOW! I made is as instructed and wouldnāt change a thing. Itās like a fall party in your mouth. Also, my family had no idea it was gluten free!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved this recipe and that it was a hit with your family! Thanks for sharing, Jocelyn.
Do you have any suggestions for egg substitute? I need this cake to be gluten, dairy and egg free.
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tried any egg replacers with this cake to say if any would work or how it would change the texture. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Has anyone doubled to use in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Beth, that should work great! We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this cake yesterday and I have to say that if those apples are not sliced thinly enough the cake’s bottom does not firm up. I sliced them as thinly as I could using a knife but didn’t chop them up much. The result was that all the apples fell to the bottom of the cake along with most of the crumb topping! It was one soggy cake! My husband said it was still delicious and I’m going to give this recipe another try.
Hi Gwen, we’re sorry you had this experience. We’re glad your husband still enjoyed the flavor! Yes, paper-thin slices that are then chopped into even smaller slices is key. We like using a mandoline slicer to achieve super thin slices. We’re happy to hear you’re going to give this recipe another try though. We hope it goes better for you next time!
This was SO GOOD!!!! The crumb texture is fabulous! Made the cake exactly as described, and left off the glaze and cinnamon topping, and it was still stellar. Thanks so much!!!
Very good for GF; I’ve made this cake about a half-dozen times. I’ve changed the fruit and spice profile, such as using cherries with almond extract, pear with cardomon, raspberry with coconut. I’ve also subbed out the yogurt with sour cream. Extremely easy, quick, and versatile cake. I elected to not use the glaze as I found the cake sweet enough without it.
Those all sound delicious, Lynda! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
So delicious! I’ll definitely be making this again!!
Really tasty and even my very picky kid loved it! She usually turns her nose up to gluten free recipes, not all, but most! Iām going to try this again with less sugar and see if itās still ok.
Had a gluten free friend coming for lunch & wanted to impress. Absolutely delicious cake! So impressed by this recipe, the texture, the moisture & taste. Thank you so much for developing sharing.
I’m so glad your enjoyed the cake!
I made this for my fiance’s sister who is GF and everyone demolished this cake. It is so light and flavorful. This is the best GF recipe I have ever had. I am not even GF and I was in love with this cake.
I’m so happy to hear that! So nice of you to make it for everyone!
Can coconut oil be used in place of vegetable oil?
Yes that will work great!