Grain-Free Apple Coffee Cake (Paleo)

Moist, sweet, buttery apple coffee cake made entirely without grains, refined sugar, or dairy. This easy, approachable almond flour coffee cake recipe is perfect alongside your morning coffee or tea.

This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.

Coffee shop coffee cake has always played a magical tune to my mind, body, soul strings. Sitting down with a huge hunk of cinnamony squish to go alongside my steamy morning Joe in amidst a bustling shop with the sound of milk frothers steaming, hurried chit chatter, and relaxed acoustic music playing in the background is my idea of the perfectly romantic morning.

Because coffee cake has been one of my go-tos since I was a small child, I {{humbly, not-so-humbly}} consider myself a bit of an aficionado. I like my coffee cake sweet, but not too sweet, rich in cinnamon flavor, thick but not overly dense, hot, buttery, and melt-in-your-mouth-y. Within those specifications, there also needs to be a good salt balance to really tie all of the flavors together in heavenly matrimony.

Well, I {{humbly, not-so-humbly}} proclaim: By George, I think I’ve got it!

This coffee cake is what I consider to be perfection. It has a nice textural element from the apple-walnut topping, is healthful enough to eat for breakfast, yet tantalizing enough to enjoy for dessert. Plus, it’s grain-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, and paleo-friendly! How, oh how, is all of this possible, you ask? A fine balance between almond flour, eggs, coconut oil, and honey.

Oh, oh, oh, it’s magic!

Which brings me to my next topic of conversation:

Coffee cake componentry. Lettuce chat.

I used Bob’s Red Mill’s Almond Meal/Flour for this Apple Coffee Cake, along with coconut oil and honey. You’ll never believe how moist and dense-yet-airy this cake turns out – you’ll have to taste it to believe it! I fed this cake to my hooligan friends and the consensus was you couldn’t tell it was gluten-free, much less grain-free. Plus: the words, “addicting” and “perfect” were tossed about like a hacky sack.

The last Paleo Coffee Cake recipe I posted, I used tapioca flour to fluff it up and hold it together, but I found via this recipe that’s not necessary. In essence, this version holds together very well and still has a light texture without the use of tapioca flour. Fist bump, good talk.

To summarize: this warmly-scented and spiced breakfast cake is perfect for the chilly fall and winter months. It’s cozy, it’s approachable, it’s even super simple to prepare! If you’re super into coffee cakes like me, let this be your gateway to all of your coffee cake needs – you can easily morph it from apple to pear, blueberry, strawberry, etc, etc.

Tools I used to Prepare this Recipe:

To amplify your mornings…THIS!

Apple Coffee Cake (Paleo)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond flour, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, paleo

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 9 to 12 servings

Author: Julia

Grain-free apple coffee cake made with almond flour and pure maple syrup

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Ingredients

Grain-Free Cake:

• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup honey or pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill almond meal/flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups Granny Smith Apple peeled and finely chopped

Apple-Cinnamon Walnut Topping:

• ¼ cup coconut oil softened
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts chopped
• 1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper.

2. Add all of the ingredients for the cake except for the apple to a blender or a food processor. Blend until well combined (note: the batter will be very thick). Stir in the apple. Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth into an even layer.

3. Stir together the ingredients for the apple-cinnamon walnut topping in a bowl until well combined. Distribute the topping over the coffee cake, gently pressing the apples into the cake batter.

4. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Turn off the heat and keep the coffee cake in the oven an additional 15 minutes, until the center feels firm when poked. Remove from the oven and allow cake to cool 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

More apple treats:

• Grain-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Paleo)
• Spiced Apple Carrot Muffins
• Grain-Free Morning Glory Muffins
• Grain-Free Waffles with Spiced Apples and Caramel Sauce
• Baked Brie with Maple Spiced Apples