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When it comes to autumnal baking, my gluten free apple and salted caramel cake is perfect.
Some pairings in life are just meant to be, and apple and salted caramel is certainly one of them.
Apple and caramel has always be a favourite of mine but change it for salted caramel and you’re onto a winner.
An easy autumn dessert recipe
This gluten free apple and salted caramel cake is a super easy loaf cake which everyone will love.
The easy gluten free loaf cake is filled with chunks of apple and the subtle spice of cinnamon.
It’s then slathered in a salted caramel buttercream frosting and drizzled with salted caramel and crunchy pecans.
I love cakes that have an edge of sweetness to them but aren’t too overpowering or sickly.
This gluten free apple cake has the perfect balance the apple chunks are subtly sweet and if you use cooking apples, can add a tang too.
Then the salted caramel frosting is just the right amount of sweetness to make this indulgence without being sickly.
An easy gluten free loaf cake
You’ve probably guessed by now that I do love a gluten free loaf cake recipe.
They’re just so easy to bake and I love the fact you can just slice off as much as you want.
You could bake this cake in a round tin instead but you may need to keep an eye on the cooking time.
A round tin might need slightly less time than the recommended 50 mins to 1 hour, as it’s not as deep.
However, you’ll want to be careful not to open the oven too soon.
Opening the oven before the cake is ready is one of the common reasons why cakes sink!
An easy gluten free apple cake
Of course, if you wanted a simple gluten free apple cake recipe, you could make this without the frosting.
The apple chunks add moisture and flavour to the cake and you could just dust it with some cinnamon sugar on top.
Using brown sugar in the cake recipe also gives it a lovely rich flavour and more of a sticky texture.
I find this makes for a lovely autumnal bake which is exactly when apples are in season.
Cooking apples work best in this recipe as they hold their texture but you could use any sort of apple you have to hand.
If you can find some freshly fallen apples in the garden, even better – everything tastes better when it’s home grown and homemade.
What ingredients do I need for this apple cake?
To make this cake, you’ll need your cake basics, as well as apples and some extras for the salted caramel.
There’s a recipe card below with a printable recipe card, but for the shopping list, you’ll need:
- 175g unsalted butter (softened)
- 100g caster sugar
- 75g dark brown sugar (plus 1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 175g gluten free self-raising flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp milk
- 2 apples
For the salted caramel buttercream frosting and topping you’ll also need:
- 100g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 200g icing sugar
- A tin of Carnation caramel
- Sea salt flakes
- 1 tbsp milk
- 40g pecans (roughly chopped)
Keep on reading if you want to substitute any of these ingredients, as I have some tips and ideas.
Tips and substitutions
You can use any kind of ready-made caramel or dulce de leche for this recipe, but I find the Carnation one is great and readily available.
If you’d rather not have salted caramel, you can omit the sea salt and just make it a caramel apple cake instead.
And if you’re out of self-raising gluten free flour then simply add 2 tsp of baking powder to plain gluten free flour for a substitute.
If you don’t have apples to hand then this cake also works brilliantly with pears – or you could do a medley to mix it up a little.
I haven’t tried this recipe dairy free – you’d need to use a substitute like Stork baking block instead of butter, and a dairy free milk.
You’d also need to make sure you use a dairy free or vegan caramel to ensure the toppings are safe.
My apple and salted caramel cake recipe
If you’re looking for the perfect autumnal bake then my gluten free apple and salted caramel cake is ready to rock and roll!
Of course you could make this all year round, but I love using seasonal produce and this is a great way to use up any apples off the tree.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!
And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
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Apple and Salted Caramel Cake
This gluten free apple and salted caramel cake is a perfect autumnal bake. An easy gluten free loaf cake which feeds around 12 people, using a 2lb loaf tin.
Ingredients
- 175g unsalted butter (softened)
- 100g caster sugar
- 75g dark brown sugar (plus 1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 175g gluten free self-raising flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp milk
- 2 apples
For the frosting:
- 100g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 200g icing sugar
- 2 tbsp Carnation caramel
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp sea salt flakes
For the topping:
- 2 tbsp Carnation caramel
- Pinch sea salt
- 40g pecans (roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180'C / Fan 160'C / Gas Mark 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin with a loaf liner or baking powder.
- Peel and core the apples and chop into approx 1cm cubes. Add to a bowl with 1 tbsp dark brown sugar and stir so the sugar is coated. Set to one side.
- Add the butter, caster sugar and dark brown sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until creamed.
- Next add the vanilla extract and eggs and whisk again until combined. Don't worry if it starts to curdle, the flour will fix this.
- Next sift in the gluten free flour and add the cinnamon. Add the milk and then beat again with the whisk until it forms a smooth batter.
- Fold in the apple pieces and pour into the lined loaf tin. Smooth the top and bake for 50 minutes to one hour. When done, a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean. Allow to cool completely on a rack.
- Make the frosting by beating together all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until they form a smooth, fluffy frosting. Use a spatula to smooth the frosting onto the cooled cake.
- Mix together the caramel and sea salt and then drizzle over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and serve.
Notes
This cake will keep for approximately 3-5 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze it before frosting.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 411Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 96mgSodium: 329mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 2gSugar: 38gProtein: 4g
More apple bakes...
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Gluten free apple crumble cupcakes
These gluten free apple crumble cupcakes are the perfect autumn treat. Chunks of apple, crunchy crumble pieces and a sweet cinnamon frosting.
Sticky toffee apple upside down cake
This gluten free sticky toffee apple upside down cake is the perfect gluten free dessert. Serve it up with ice-cream or custard for extra indulgence!
Need some more gluten free baking inspiration?
Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free baking recipes on the blog?
Give some of these other gluten free sweet recipes a try!
There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple of autumnal baking ideas to get you going:
- Cherry and ginger oaty crumble bars
- Apple and blackberry crumble
- Plum and amaretto crumble
- White chocolate chunk cookies
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
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Like this recipe? Make sure you pin these recipe cards below for later!
Dear Sarah , Another great recipe just a query with the Salted & Caramel loaf cake recipe it says 2 apples what weight should be used. Thank you for your wonderful blogs, l make the bread every wk also the bread rolls they are both the best recipes, l use 3 different flours 200g of plain, and 100g of brown and buckwheat Dove farm bread flours, and it.looks like a loaf of bread, and not as my son used to say with the other recipe ‘’ a brick’ Thank you again for all your hard work