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This gluten-free honey apple cake is the perfect fall cake for your autumn gatherings or Rosh Hashanah! It’s made with almond flour, honey, apple cider, and apple sauce and is topped with honey apple toppings.

If you’ve never had honey cake, you’re missing out! It’s a staple for the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, and one of my personal favorites to make. It’s a fluffy cake made with lots of honey for natural sweetness, and crisp caramelized edges. Apples and Rosh Hashanah also go hand in hand, so I decided to combine the two and make an apple-forward honey cake for Rosh Hashanah.

This recipe is gluten-free, simple to make, and you and your guests are going to absolutely love it.

Why you’ll love this Honey Apple Cake

  • A fall treat! The apple and honey combo makes this cake perfect for fall when you want a break from pumpkin.
  • The apple topping! The cake is delicious on its own, but the toppings sets this cake apart.

The ingredients

  • Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour. I highly recommend using this gluten-free flour! This is the flour that I have the most success baking with for a 1:1 GF swap. There are other options out there for 1:1 GF flour, but they’re all a little different.
  • Almond Flour. I haven’t tested any other flours in place of the almond flour.
  • Apple Cider and Apple Sauce. This all adds to the depth of the apple flavor!
  • Coconut Oil.
  • Egg. You can likely also use an egg substitute like flax egg, though I haven’t tested it myself.
  • Fresh Apples. I like using honey crisp apples.

How to make  gluten-free honey apple cake

  • Step One. Combine all the wet ingredients for the cake and in a separate bowl all the dry ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients to wet and stir to combine.
  • Step Two. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake.
  • Step Three. Make the topping by simmering the apple, apple cider, honey and cinnamon on the stove then add the arrowroot starch slurry to the mixture and allow to thicken.
  • Step Four. Add the topping to the cake and enjoy!

 

Tips & Tricks

  • Don’t skip the topping! The cake is delicious by itself, but the topping pushes it over the edge!
  • Use a square pan if needed. A square pan of a similar size will work just as well.

Can you make this cake ahead of time?

The cake is definitely best fresh, but you can store leftovers in glass, covered in the fridge for about 2 days.

Can you make this cake vegan or egg-free?

Honey is a main ingredient, so the cake definitely can’t be made vegan, but you can easily use an egg substitute like a flax egg in place of the egg to make it egg-free!

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Gluten Free Honey Apple Cake

  • Author: Michelle
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients

Scale

For the cake

  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 3 tbsp apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

For the topping

  • 2 cups honey crisp apple, peeled and chopped into a large dice
  • 1/3 cup apple cider
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp arrowroot starch
  • 1 tsp water

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9” round baking pan with round parchment paper, and grease well.
  2. Using a large bowl, combine the eggs, coconut sugar, apple cider, coconut oil, apple sauce, and honey. Whisk well to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the GF all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir well, folding into a cake batter.
  3. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes or until baked through. Set aside and carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
  4. While the cake cools, prepare the topping by combining the apples, apple cider, honey, and cinnamon in a small pot. Set over medium-low heat and allow to simmer on low for about 7-8 minutes, stirring often. The apples should be fork tender, and the liquid should be mostly reduced. Combine the arrowroot starch with the water in a small bowl and whisk well. Add the slurry to the apple mixture and stir to combine. This will thicken up the remainder of the liquid to more of a honey consistency. If your topping is still too runny for your liking, add a second batch of slurry. 
  5. Allow the topping to cool slightly before adding it on top of the cake. Slice into 8 slices (or more, or less) to serve! 

Notes

All nutritional facts are estimated and will vary.

  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 299
  • Fat: 6.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 50.5g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 4.3g

Keywords: honey apple cake