Moist, sweet, Paleo Apple Coffee Cake made grain-free, refined sugar-free, and dairy-free. This easy, approachable almond flour coffee cake recipe is perfect alongside your morning coffee or tea.
I originally posted this Paleo Apple Coffee Cake recipe in October of 2016.
Because coffee cake has always played a magical tune to my mind, body, and soul strings, I wanted to re-make the recipe with a couple small changes and re-share it with new photographs.
If you’ve been around The Roasted Root for a while, you may have tried my Paleo Blueberry Coffee Cake, Dairy-Free Keto Coffee Cake, or my Chai-Spiced Paleo Coffee Cake, all of which have been well-loved by my readers.
Moist, cinnamony coffee cake with that delectable crumble streusel topping is everything one could possibly want out of a sweet treat!
Well, here we are with an Apple Coffee Cake recipe that will sooth that craving for something sweet.
Friends and family approved, child approved, and always great for sharing, this grain-free Paleo Apple Cake is a lovely household staple.
Grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, it is rich in flavor and really hits the spot when you’re craving a coffee shop vibe.
Let’s vibe this coffee cake and chat about the ingredients!
Ingredients for Paleo Apple Coffee Cake:
Almond Flour: I use Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour for this recipe to keep it grain-free. When combined with the right amount of eggs and liquid, almond flour becomes nice and fluffy in baked goods and can be nearly indistinguishable from regular flour.
That’s what we achieve in this case. A moist, dense yet fluffy coffee cake that will fool all who try it!
Eggs: That all star ingredient that helps make the cake rise and keeps it nice and fluffy. I haven’t tested the recipe using an egg-replacement, but if you try it, feel free to drop a comment below letting us know how it turned out!
Coconut Oil: Making the coffee cake nice and moist and adding to the richness, coconut oil gives a natural sweetness to the coffee cake that is just so enticing. If you aren’t dairy-free, feel free to swap the coconut oil with melted butter!
Pure Maple Syrup: Keeping the treat refined sugar-free, pure maple syrup is used to sweeten the cake.
You can use honey as a replacement, but be sure to keep close watch on the cakes as it is closer to being finished, as honey does burn at a lower temperature than other sweeteners.
Baking Soda + Lemon Juice: Used to leaven the coffee cake, we use baking soda. The addition of lemon juice or cider vinegar or rice vinegar activates and neutralizes the baking soda to help it do its job.
Sea Salt: Necessary for flavor enhancement, a little sea salt goes long way in making any baked treat taste even more delicious. Sea salt also helps baked goods taste sweeter without needing to add more sweetener.
Apple: The supporting actor! Apple is really why we’re here, because apple-infused cakes and desserts are just so magical! I use 1 large gala apple, but you can select any apple you love for your baked goods. Granny Smith apples work great!
For the Streusel Topping: Almond flour, ground cinnamon, raw walnuts or pecans, coconut sugar (or regular brown sugar), and coconut oil.
The cinnamon streusel topping is what gives coffee cake its alluring crumble and produces that warm and inviting flavor! It’s what makes a coffee cake a coffee cake!
Let’s bake it!
How to Make Paleo Apple Coffee Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8” x 8” square baking pan with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and lemon juice until well-combined.
Add the almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt and stir well until a thick dough forms.
Stir in the chopped apple until it is well-distributed throughout the cake batter.
In a separate bowl, stir together all of the ingredients for the streusel topping. It will be fairly dry and crumbly – this is normal.
Transfer half of the coffee cake batter to the lined baking sheet and smooth it into an even layer.
Follow this up by sprinkling half of the streusel mixture over the cake batter evenly. Repeat for the remaining cake batter and streusel mixture (it’s normal for the cake batter to be thick and sticky, so do your best to smooth the layers with a rubber spatula, but it don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect!).
Cover the coffee cake with foil and bake for 30 minutes. The foil protects the topping from burning. Remove the coffee cake from the oven and take the foil off. Place the coffee cake back in the oven and continue baking without the foil for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cake has set up and is golden-brown around the edges. Note: you can use the foil to cover the coffee cake later to store it.
Allow the coffee cake to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Does Coffee Cake Contain Coffee?:
Coffee cake does not include coffee.
The reason coffee cake is named so is because it is traditionally a baked good that is served with coffee. A sidekick to your morning brew, if you will.
While one can make a recipe for coffee cake that intentionally includes coffee, the traditional recipe is coffee-free.
I figured I would clarify this to avoid any confusion, as the question often arises when I post a coffee cake recipe.
How to Store Coffee Cake:
Store the coffee cake covered with plastic wrap on the counter for up to 5 days. You can also store the coffee cake in the refrigerator if you live in a very humid area.
I recommend freezing the coffee cake if you have leftovers past 5 to 7 days, as it keeps very well in the freezer!
And that’s it, folks!
Your gateway to a lovely apple-studded treat that happens to be paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free.
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!
Enjoy!
More Apple Treats:
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- Vegan Apple Scones
- Spiced Apple Carrot Muffins
- Grain-Free Morning Glory Muffins
- Grain-Free Waffles with Spiced Apples and Caramel Sauce
- Healthy Paleo Apple Cake
- Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler
To amplify your mornings…THIS!
Paleo Apple Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake:
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup pure maple syrup or honey
- ½ tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar
- 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Super Fine Almond Flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 Gala apple peeled, cored and chopped (about 1 cup)*
Streusel Topping:
- 2/3 cup Super Fine Almond Flour
- 3/4 cup raw pecans chopped
- 5 Tbsp coconut oil or butter, melted
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar**
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 ½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and lemon juice until well-combined.
- Add the almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt and stir well until a thick dough forms.
- Stir in the chopped apple until well-incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, stir together all of the ingredients for the streusel topping. It will be fairly dry and crumbly - this is normal.
- Transfer half of the coffee cake mixture to the lined baking sheet and smooth it into an even layer. Follow this up by sprinkling half of the streusel mixture over the cake batter evenly. Repeat for the remaining cake batter and streusel mixture (it’s normal for the cake batter to be thick and sticky, so do your best to smooth the layers with a rubber spatula, but it doesn’t need to be perfect!).
- Cover the coffee cake with foil and bake for 30 minutes. The foil will protect the topping from burning. Remove the coffee cake from the oven and discard the foil. Place the coffee cake back in the oven and continue baking without the foil for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cake has set up and is golden-brown around the edges. Cakes are fully cooked and have the best texture when they reach an internal temperature between 190 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake to check for doneness.
- Allow the coffee cake to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. The coffee cake falls apart easily if it is sliced while it is still warm, but if it slices into clean slices once fully cooled.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this Paleo Apple Coffee Cake recipe, feel free to snap a photo and share it on Instagram, tagging me at The.Roasted.Root!
I followed the recipe exactly and it was a little too moist but was better as it cooled and even better the next day. Next time I will cook a little longer because it wasn’t done in the middle. It was a good paleo fall treat!
Thanks for sharing, Jenn! I typically take the internal temperature of my coffee cakes to be sure they are fully cooked. Stick a thermometer in the center and if it is 190 or higher in the center, it is ready. If not, it should go back in the oven 🙂 I’ll make a note of this in the recipe card! xo
This coffee cake was amazing!! I have an egg allergy, so I substituted for flax eggs in this recipe and still loved it!
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Sara! It’s great to hear the coffee cake works out using flax eggs 🙂
Hi! Could I use coconut flour instead of almond flour for this?
Hi Hannah! Coconut flour is a wild creature that can’t be used as a 1:1 replacement for any kind of flour. For a version that uses coconut flour, you can make my Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe and replace the blueberries with chopped apples: https://www.theroastedroot.net/paleo-blueberry-coffee-cake/ There is some almond flour in that recipe, which can be replaced with 1/2 cup of tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour. Happy baking!
I doubled the apple, fat, and sugar in the topping. And I tossed in a little ginger and nutmeg with the cinnamon.
Doubled the sugar. Um. The original recipe has far too much to be called Paleo.
Is there a rule for how much sugar a recipe can contain to be considered paleo?
Great recipe, so tasty! Just one suggestion: the batter barely covers the bottom and middle layer. I would add another 1/2 cup almond flour and maybe a tad more liquid. Just so you know…I am an experienced gourmet cook, and delight in these recipes. Thanks!
Hi Annie! Thanks so much for the feedback! xo
Can you use applesauce instead of coconut oil. Too much saturated fat with the oil I am trying to stay away from but I want to make this?
Hi Jay! I would substitute part of the oil (not all of it) for applesauce to ensure there’s still moist texture and rich flavor 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Hi Julia!
I love your blog! It has been a great resource through my battle with IBS. I have grown to love the old version of this recipe. Is there a way I could access it now?
Thank you!
My family loved this coffee cake!! Thank you for sharing such a delicious, guilt free recipe!!
My pleasure! Thank you for letting me know everyone enjoyed it! xoxoxo
I have made this apple cake many times and it is always a hit!
I’m so thrilled to hear it! xoxoxo
Hi, thank you for this recipe. It’s in the oven now, confused about the apple topping though. Where are the apples in the topping? I made it as written with just apples in the batter. Is that right?
Hi Mary!
That’s correct – there are apples inside the cake, but not in the topping 🙂 Hope you loved it! xoxo
@Julia, thank you! I did, so tasty and the texture was wonderful. This is a keeper. Thank you!
Hi! Could this be made into muffins?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Selina!
I’ve never tried it, but I bet it would turn out great! I would bake for 20 minutes and see if they’re finished at that point. Bake longer if necessary! Hope you enjoy! xoxo
I served this to my two favorite cousins in an experiment for weekend company with special dietary needs. It passed with flying colors! I doctored it a bit by adding more apples (1-1/2 and a softer apple), added maple syrup to the topping and doubled the fat. I was nervous, but it was really yummy. I baked it about 20 minutes longer though. Kind of like an apple dessert with a moist cakey bottom.
I’m so thrilled to hear it! I’ll try the recipe again using a longer bake time…thank you so much for relaying all of that information! xo
This is my new favorite breakfast! I threw in an extra egg ( I had 3 left in the carton ) and subbed in some tapioca flour for about 1/2 cup of the almond flour just because I have a lot of tapioca flour on hand. Came out fabulous! What a treat — paleo or not (though I appreciate that it is paleo/low carb). Healthy comfort food and also quite satisfying. I wasn’t hungry until lunch, and that’s rare. My son said it’s the best thing I’ve baked in a long time. Thanks Julia! This is helping me adjust to a low carb diet and I’m super grateful.
I’m so thrilled to hear you like it, Jennifer!! Thanks for letting me know your changes – it all sounds delicious! xo