Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

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Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

These sweet cakes just sing fall. Chock full of sweet tart apples and smothered in a rich caramel glaze, it’s hard to stop after just one.

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Intro and recipe card updated 9/12/23

What does this gluten free apple cake recipe taste like?

Caramel apples are a fall favorite everywhere. But devastatingly, one cannot consume them whilst wearing braces (like my almost teen and her brothers before her). The solution? These gluten-free mini caramel apple cakes! I know that they aren’t exactly the same as a sticky caramel apple, but the flavor profile is. The cakes are moist and full of sweet tart apple chunks, and the sauce that’s drizzled over the top is, as my husband put it, like crack (as if he’d know).

Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes
Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

How to Make Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

These apple cakes are truly easy to make (no stand mixer required) and your kitchen will smell of sugar and spice and everything nice. You’ll need these ingredients for the cake batter:

  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains it)
  • 1/2 teaspoon each sea salt, baking soda, nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons canola oil (or melted coconut oil)
  • 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced granny smith apples

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini bundt pan (the kind with 6 wells) with cooking spray. (Alternatively, make cupcakes and line a muffin pan with liners). Set aside.

Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown and fragrant. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugars, cinnamon, xanthan, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Gently mix in the apples and pecans by hand.

Spoon the mixture equally into the wells of your prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

How to Make the Most Amazing Caramel Glaze Ever

The secret is really no secret at all – you’ll need butter and brown sugar. This glaze is obviously great on this cake, but I’ve also  used it as an ice cream topper or for dipping sliced apples into. Yum! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
  • 3 tablespoons milk or half and half
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Heat the butter and brown sugar together in a medium saucepan. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, and remove from heat. Stir in the milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the cakes.

These would be perfect to make for your fall bake sale, or a fantastic dessert for adults on Halloween night. Don’t forget about Thanksgiving…and Christmas…and Tuesday (because really they are easy enough to make on a weeknight). I made a larger version of this in my bundt pan (just double the recipe) and served it to the ladies on book club night.

And you know what? It was perfect for that too.

Need more gluten free apple recipes in your life?

If you make this gluten free apple cake recipe, or any other recipe from my blog, drop a comment below and be sure to tag me on Instagram, and use the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes! Thank you!

Gluten Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

Gluten-Free Mini Caramel Apple Cakes

These sweet cakes just sing fall. Chock full of sweet tart apples and smothered in a rich caramel glaze, it’s hard to stop after just one. If you don’t have a mini-bundt pan, make cupcakes instead. To feed a larger crowd, double the cake recipe and use a large bundt pan.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 6 cakes
Calories 508 kcal

Equipment

  • Mini Bundt Pan

Ingredients
 
 

For the Caramel Glaze

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini bundt pan (the kind with 6 wells) with cooking spray. (Alternatively, make cupcakes and line a muffin pan with liners). Set aside.
  • Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown and fragrant. Set aside.
  • Mix the flour, sugars, cinnamon, xanthan, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Gently mix in the apples and pecans by hand.
  • Spoon the mixture equally into the wells of your prepared pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
  • Make the glaze. Heat the butter and brown sugar together in a medium saucepan. Boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly, and remove from heat. Stir in the milk, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the cakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cakeCalories: 508kcalCarbohydrates: 104gProtein: 7gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 357mgPotassium: 168mgFiber: 5gSugar: 78gVitamin A: 147IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Gluten-Free Apple Cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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14 Comments

  1. How long do you recommend baking this recipe as a bundt cake?

    1. Hi Pat! To fit in a standard bundt pan, double the recipe and bake it for about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes. 🙂

  2. These look awesome! Can’t wait to try and make these. Thank you!

  3. How would I alter the cooking time if I just made these as muffins?? I’d love to try it!

  4. I just bought some Granny Smiths from our local orchard. ( we recently moved out to the country ) I am super excited to give these a go… your pancakes, zucchini & banana have all been fabulous!

  5. Will egg substitute be sufficient for those of us with an egg allergy, or will it gum up the recipe?

    1. I haven’t tried it with the substitute. But if you do, let me know how it turns out! 🙂

  6. These are way too cute! I especially love the caramel glaze, that takes them to a whole new level 🙂 Thanks for such an awesome recipe!

  7. I have never tried any gluten free recipe but after reading your post, I am thinking of to go ahead. Thanks for the recipe.

  8. It’s winter in Zimbabwe and I have just made these as cup cakes – yum!!! I have to agree with your husband about the caramel glaze – it is completely addictive. Thank you for the recipe.

  9. Candy P Scanlon says:

    I made these apple cakes as one of my first gluten free bakes. They were very good. As proud baker going gluten free has thrown me a bit. The cakes were yummy and I will make again but I do feel the texture change, it’s not just the same. I hope I get better at this I really love to bake.
    Also I put them in a Tupperware container for the night and they were wet and sticky the next day. Should I have stored them in refrigerator. Thank you.

  10. Is it possible to make the caramel glaze dairy-free?

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