Jewish Apple Cake: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free, Low Fat & AMAZING!

For the month of January our family has sworn off "white" . . . white sugar, white flour, white potatoes, white rice . . . you get the picture.  We, like so many other families out there, are watching what we eat.  Truth be told, since I already eat GF and watch my sugar intake this isn't much of an adjustment for me personally, but for my hubby and kids this has been a sacrifice.  However, it has inspired me to seek out some new healthier recipes and dig out some old ones that I have not yet adapted since going GF three years ago.

Last night my women's group at church had a Bunco/healthy recipe exchange night.  We were each to bring a healthy appetizer or dessert, along with copies of the recipe to share.  I instantly knew what I wanted to bring, a Jewish Apple Cake that a friend of mine introduced me to many years ago when she invited our family over to celebrate Hanukkah.

Let me tell you, I LOVE this cake (even though I am not normally a fan of apple desserts) & as an added bonus it is full of healthy ingredients!  I have always made it with sugar substitutes: fructose, stevia, juice etc, but I have not made it since maintaining a GF diet.  This event was just the inspiration that I needed to make the adaptation.  Unfortunately, when I went in search of the recipe . . . I couldn't find it!  Thanks to Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/ I found a similar recipe and was able to adapt it.

Hope you enjoy my GF & SF version!  I promise, it is AMAZINGLY good!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease a 9x13 rectangle or a spring form tube pan.

3. Peel, core and chop apples into thin slices or use an apple-peeler-corer-slicer (I LOVE my Pampered Chef version.  Evenly sliced apples makes a BIG difference in the final result.)

4. In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with cinnamon, nutmeg and Splenda.  Set aside.

5. In a separate mixing bowl stir together GF baking mix, baking powder and salt.

6. In a third bowl, whisk together apple sauce, orange juice, Splenda (or sweetener of choice), apple juice concentrate and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat well.

7. Finally, combine wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well.

8. Layer batter and apple mixture by thirds into your prepared pan. (1/3rd batter, 1/3rd apples, batter, apples etc)  Notice the ding in the side of my pan . . . don't ya just love hand-me-downs from grandma?  Vintage kitchen items are a personal favorite of mine :-)

9. Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean.  (Note, if baking with regular flour & sugar the baking time may be longer - up to an hour and a half.)

10. Remove pan & run a knife around the outer edges to release the cake.

Serve warm or cold, but my personal favorite it warm topped with cool whip or vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

Jewish Apple Cake
Laura Schaaf’s Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free & Low Fat version
4 to 6 apples
3 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
5 Tablespoons Splenda (may use Stevia, fructose or sugar)

2 3/4 cups GF baking mix or flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple sauce (or vegetable oil)
1 cup Splenda (may also use Stevia, fructose or sugar)
½ can frozen apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup orange juice (depending upon your GF baking mix you may need to increase liquid so batter is not too thick)
3 Tablespoons vanilla (yes, I did say TABLEspoons - this is the secret ingredient!)
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a spring form tube pan or a 9x13 rectangle.

Peel, core and chop apples into thin slices.

In a large bowl, toss the apple slices with cinnamon, nutmeg and Splenda.  Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl stir together GF baking mix, baking powder and salt.

In a third bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, Splenda (or sweetener of choice), apple juice concentrate and vanilla.  Add eggs and beat well.
Finally, combine wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix well.

Layer batter and apple mixture by thirds into your prepared pan. (1/3rd batter, 1/3rd apples, batter, apples etc)

Bake for about an hour, or until a tester comes out clean.  (Note, if baking with regular flour & sugar the baking time may be longer - up to an hour and a half.)

Remove pan & run a knife around the outer edges to release the cake. 

Serve warm or cold, but my personal favorite it warm topped with cool whip or vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.