This paleo cinnamon apple coffee cake has it all! Perfectly moist grain free dairy free coffee cake topped with a layer of homemade apple pie filling and a crumble top. It’s one of my favorites for fall baking and I know you and your family will love it as well!
I’m always trying to outdo myself with coffee cakes.
First, coffee cake is one of my favorite things to eat, ever. Ever since I was a kid eating those heavenly Entennman’s cinnamon coffee cake muffins, I knew coffee cake was something very, very special.
Enter paleo (almost) 5 years ago – in truth I was ready to give up coffee cake, and really, all cake, in order to get my health on track. Little did I know at the time that was was very much a way to have my cake, and eat it, too!
So, I experimented quite a bit, and coffee cake has definitely become one of my favorite paleo desserts to bake.
Whether it’s a good old cinnamon coffee cake, or going fancier with my orange gingerbread coffee cake, cranberry orange coffee cake or lemon curd crumb cake, I just can’t say no to creating more coffee cake recipes!
All my favorites use the same flour combination – almond and tapioca (arrowroot works too) and every single time, it comes through better than the last!
This one right here, in particular, is special. Why? Mainly because of the layer of sweet, warmly spiced apple pie filling between the cake and crumble top.
I mean, the cake and crumble are awesome too, and hey – I even drizzled icing on top! This cake is just screaming everything delicious about coffee cake!
Since there are a few layers here, that does mean more steps, but trust me – it’s easy to make and worth every minute.
The easiest way to go about making this apple coffee cake (also outlined in the recipe) is as follows:
- make the apple pie filling
- prepare the crumble
- prepare the cake batter
- layer everything up
- BAKE! And prepare icing (if using)
- Cool, then drizzle with icing
The icing shown in the photos is not the “paleo” version, because I used organic powdered sugar for a lighter color (so pretty in photos!)
However, you CAN make a paleo icing with some maple or coconut sugar and a food processor. The food processor is how you turn any granulated sweetener into a powdered version!
So, if you make your own powdered sugar, you then sub it right into the icing – the color will be darker though – I prefer maple sugar since it’s a bit lighter and makes it caramel in color.
I’m completely wishing I still had some of this cinnamon apple coffee cake around right now, but man, it was gone WAY too soon!
I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did – now lets get those aprons on and get busy baking!
Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake {Paleo, GF, DF}
Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake {Paleo}
This paleo cinnamon apple coffee cake has it all! Perfectly moist grain free dairy free coffee cake topped with a layer of homemade apple pie filling and a crumble top. It's one of my favorites for fall baking and I know you and your family will love it as well!
Ingredients
Apple filling:
- 2 apples med/large, peeled and chopped into 1/4” pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 1/8 tsp fine grain sea salt
Crumble:
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup grass fed butter or ghee, or organic refined coconut oil solid
- 1/3 maple sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Cake:
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup maple sugar coconut sugar will work too the the color will be much darker
- 1 3/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Apple filling see above
Maple Icing (Optional)
- 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar or make your own paleo version with maple sugar*
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp organic coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Prepare the apple filling first:
-
Combine the water, lemon juice and apples in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, apples should be partially softened.
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In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then stir into the apple mixture until dissolved and mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.
Prepare Crumble:
-
Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine using a fork or pastry blender until a coarse crumbly mixture forms. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare Cake:
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8” square baking pan with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca, baking soda, salt and spices, set aside.
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In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla until very smooth. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet using a spoon or spatula until well combined.
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Transfer batter to the prepared cake pan scraping the sides of the bowl to get it all - the batter will be somewhat thick. Spread it out evenly in the pan, then layer the apple filling over it followed by all the crumble.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until center is set and a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean of batter.
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Allow cake to cool on a wire rack about 20 mins, then drizzle with maple icing if desired (see below).
Icing:
-
If making the icing, stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until very smooth. You might need more or less sugar to get a “drizzle” consistency. Drizzle icing over completely cooled muffins before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*To make your owned paleo powdered sugar, blend maple sugar or coconut sugar in a food processor until you achieve a powdery consistency/texture.
Nutrition
Shop Products and Ingredients:
Want More Paleo Fall Baking Recipes? Try One of These!
Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread {Nut Free}
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I love how this is like a coffee cake, apple pie, and apple crisp all in one!! YUM 🙂
This cake look perfect and has such an amazing texture! Delicious!
do you have a recommended substitute for the apple pie spice?
I used goat milk yogurt!
Pumpkin spice? That’s what I did.
Is the nutritional information with the icing?
Nutrition does not include the icing.
I’m sure the cake is delicious Michele, everything we’ve made from you is just amazing. Hey you folks out there, if you’re not going to follow the recipe, don’t criticize the results!
This cake turned out so moist and delicious. I will definitely make it again!
I tried this recipe and it came out very grainy and dry. The cake was not sweet at all. I did use 6 egg whites instead of whole eggs because of the cholesterol in eggs. I was very disappointed in the recipe and spent alot of money on the ingredients. The glaze was no better. I had to trash the whole cake. It was awful!!!
This is one of my favorite cakes so I’m really not sure what could’ve gone wrong, however since you subbed out eggs for egg whites that definitely contributed to the cake’s dryness. Yolks provide structure and moisture so you really can’t expect to yield the same results when the recipes was tested with whole eggs.
Janet needs to educate herself on the whole cholesterol myth. the egg yokes are where all the nutrition is and the egg whites cause a lot of the egg allergies. If you don’t eat cholesterol your body will make it due to the fact that it is a necessary hormone that fixes Inflammation!
I haven’t made the cake yet to comment but I am optimistic that it will come out delicious.
I agree and I do hope you enjoy this cake!
U r right. Same happened with me. It was very dry and lot of money got wasted
Looks so good! Do you have any idea if 3 flax eggs will totally ruin the cake? My daughter has an egg allergy. Thank you in advance!
I am making this now, when do you put the crumble on? I don’t see it in the recipe. Thanks!
Never mind I just missed it!!!
We had this today for Christmas breakfast. My husband took a bite and just said wow!! So its a keeper!! Super moist and not to sweet, perfect!!
Could powdered stevia be subbed for maple sugar?
Just made this. So delicious. It got eaten up in one sitting. So moist and filling. Thanks for the great recipe.
Hi! This cake is amazing, congrats! I did it twice. The 2nd time, I tried to use only 2/3 of the sugar but then had to put in more almond flour to compensate for the lack of solids and turned out a bit drier (but still super yummy). How would you compensate if say, we used half the sugar mentioned in the recipe?
So good! Really almost too sweet and wondering about cutting back on some of the sweeteners. Next time I’ll try to decrease a bit and see what happens. Excellent recipe!
First time in my life I failed cake recipe. Very bad recipe.
Cake base layer was not at all spongy , it was hard. Cake mixture is too thick.
Very good! The only downside is where my apples met the cake, the cake was soggy, too wet. I baked longer, tried roasting a piece in the toaster oven, but still too wet just where the apples came in contact w the cake. Not sure how to fix next time?
In the instructions it tells you to add the lemon juice but in the ingredients It’s not listed.
So good! Doubled the recipe and served for a Christmas brunch gathering. Definitely moist…I needed to cook an extra 10 min in the 9×13 pan.
How much lemon juice is in the filling? Another person asked also. But you say lemon juice in the directions, but don’t list it as an ingredient. Maybe juice of one lemon? Half? A Tablespoon or 2? It seems a lot of people have made this without noticing the missing amount of lemon juice! But I love your work. Make your recipes all the time.
same question, didn’t see how much lemon juice.
How much sugar for the crumble- it just says 1/3
Hi, trying out your recipe. Set out to start in step 1 and got stuck because your recipe mentions to combine lemon juice with apples on stovetop and there’s no mention of lemon juice on the ingredients list! Oops!
How much lemon juice for the filling? It isn’t specified. Thanks. 🙂
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I made it last night. Can you tell me how much lemon juice you recommend using with the apples? I used two tablespoons. My apples were on the small side, I should have used four. I loved the flavor, texture and taste of this cake. My husband enjoyed it too and didn’t miss the loads of sugar in a traditional coffee cake. I did add chopped pecans to the crumble topping.
How much lemon juice goes in with the apples?
My family loves this coffee cake!!! It has become part of our Christmas Eve tradition. Can I make it ahead of time and freeze it? Or maybe just the filling?
How much lemon juice do I use? It’s not listed on the list.
I tried to start with step 1, but I couldn’t because your recipe says to mix lemon juice with apples on the stove, but lemon juice isn’t on the list of ingredients.
I tried to start with step 1, but I couldn’t because your recipe says to mix lemon juice with apples on the stove, but lemon juice isn’t on the list of ingredients.
Did anyone get an answer about the lemon juice???!
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There’s is no lemon juice mentioned in your ingredients, only in the instructions, so I don’t know how much to use.
All of your paleo baking recipes are fabulous – I’m very grateful to you for these, as a person who can’t eat any grains at all. However, I’ve had some trouble with the baked goods being too wet or too dry. I suspect it’s because flours weigh out differently from time to time. Have you ever considered converting your dry ingredients into grams? Or grams in addition to cups? It would be a great boon for those of us looking for consistent results. Again, thank you for your wonderful website.
Hi there. Recipe looks amazing but I’m wondering how much lemon juice because it’s not listed in the ingredients?
Still looking for how much lemon juice, listed in instructions but not the ingredient list, can you update? Thank you!
i just made this cake and it is lovely – the whole family are enjoying it. I did not do the icing but added crushed pecans to the crumble mix. I wll try the icing next time. One question – I am new to paleo and discovered you online but am frustrated at the lack of metric options on some sites. I have to keep referring to a conversion chart for every ingredient. Could you possible include metric meanurements in the future?
This Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake looks absolutely delicious! I love how it’s Paleo-friendly, making it a great option for my healthy lifestyle. Can’t wait to try this recipe and enjoy it with my morning coffee. Thank you for sharing!
Hi! Wanting to make this recipe but we have an almond allergy. Is there another flour you would recommend for this?? Thank you!
Can you please tell me how
Much lemon juice to use In The apple mixture?