Oat Flour One Bowl Apple Cake (Gluten Free)

Ingredients You'll Need

Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions.

• Eggs - Use large or medium eggs in this cake.
• Granulated sugar 
• Olive oil - I LOVE olive oil in this cake! However, I know it's not for everyone because it imparts a slightly stronger flavor than a more neutral oil. Use extra-virgin olive oil or substitute vegetable or canola oil.
• Orange juice - Use 1 freshly squeezed large orange, or pre-made orange juice. Apple juice is also nice.
• Vanilla - Pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste adds that touch of subtle sweetness.
• Whole grain flour - I used oat flour, and you can use any whole grain gluten-free flour of choice such as brown rice flour or sorghum flour. Or, if you can eat gluten, use whole grain pastry flour. You can also substitute a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend like my homemade gluten free flour blend if needed.
• Baking powder
• Salt - I use fine sea salt, and table salt works, too.
• Apples - Your favorite apple is great here. I used Gravensteins because they were ripe on our tree.
• Cinnamon - A little ground cinnamon adds warmth, or try ground ginger.

Tips & Substitution Suggestions

• What type of apple? My answer: Any type! In my opinion, any type of apple you have will work fine in this recipe, or do a combination of different varieties of apples.
• Prepare batter in order of ingredients. The reason this recipe works so beautifully as a one-bowl method is that the batter is prepped following the order in the ingredient list. For example, add the eggs to the bowl first, whisk them, then proceed with adding the rest of the ingredients.
• Another pan. If you don't have a tube pan, use a 10-inch springform pan or similar.
• Place the cake on a baking sheet. When using a tube pan, batter can sometimes leak out the bottom. To prevent any spillage and yucky burnt bits on the bottom of the oven, place the pan on a baking sheet to catch any extra batter.
• Try brown sugar. For a lovely hint of caramel complement to the apples, use brown sugar instead of the granulated sugar to mix with the apples (you'll swap ½ cup of the granulated sugar for brown sugar when you mix up the apple pieces).
• Use butter. While I dearly appreciate that this cake is dairy-free, if you're yearning for a super-rich, buttery undertone, use 1 cup of unsalted butter instead of the olive oil. If you go this route, cream the butter and sugar first before adding the rest of the ingredients.
• A little almond flour. Swap ¾ cup of the oat flour for almond flour for extra moisture and protein.
• Add nuts. Stir in some chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter for crunch.

Serving Options

• Dessert sauce - My salted caramel sauce was made for this cake! Either add a few spoonfuls to each slice, or drizzle it in a pretty pattern over the top of the finished cake.
• Whipped cream - Lightly sweetened homemade whipped cream is perfect here.
• Ice cream - A big scoop of vanilla bean or salted caramel ice cream added to each slice takes this cake over the top.

Proper Storage

• Counter - Cake may be kept, loosely covered, on the counter for up to 3 days.
• Fridge - Cover the cake with foil and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - Wrap the cooled cake in a layer of plastic and a layer of foil, then store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before serving.