Recipe Notes
- You can use any apple variety you prefer, but sweet/crisp apples work best in this recipe (honey crisp, fuji, jonagold, golden delicious, braeburn, etc)
- Make sure not to dice the apples too small, as this can release too much liquid into the cake while baking - somewhere around ½-inch to ¾-inch pieces work well.
- Ground mace lends a subtle classic doughnut flavor to this cake, but you can omit it if you can’t find it.
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (2g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) ground mace (optional)
- 2 medium honeycrisp apples, cored, peeled, and diced large (should yield about 250g of diced apples)
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- ¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons (12g) ground cinnamon
- 8 tablespoons (112g) unsalted butter, melted
Cake Batter
- 1 ¾ cups (219g) reclamation gluten-free cake flour
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (6.2g) table salt
- 8oz (227g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 large (200g) eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (108g) vegetable oil
Fritter Glaze
- 2 ½ cups (300g) powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (80g) whole milk
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or grease a 9 x 13 inch metal baking pan, then line with a parchment sling and butter or grease the parchment.
Step 2
Make the apple filling - whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace in a medium bowl. Add the diced apples and stir until evenly coated in the sugar/spice mixture.
Step 3
Make the cinnamon swirl filling - in a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and cinnamon, then add the melted butter and mix until combined. Put the mixture in the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes to chill, until it has thickened some but is still soft and spreadable.
Step 4
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Step 5
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until fluffy and smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each one. Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and flour mixture to the bowl. Mix on low speed for about 1 minute, until smooth and well combined.
Step 6
Fold in the apple mixture with a spatula, then pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top, making sure the apples are evenly distributed and go all the way to the edges.
Use a spoon to dollop the cinnamon mixture evenly over the batter, then use a skewer or chopstick to swirl the cinnamon mixture with the cake batter (drag the skewer through the cake batter in overlapping loops, making sure to cover all parts of the cake).
Step 7
Bake the cake for 36 - 39 minutes, until it is a rich golden brown color. The internal temperature should register around 210°F.
When the cake is almost done baking, make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and milk in a medium bowl.
Step 8
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Poke the hot cake a few times with a knife, then pour the glaze evenly over the cake (you can carefully tilt the cake pan to help the glaze spread into the edges and corners). Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm.