Gluten Free Apple Cake

Apple ricotta cake on a wooden plate next to a small plate with a slice of cake on it.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Polish, Ukrainian

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: Apple ricotta cake, gluten free apple cake

Prep Time: 35

Cook Time: 35

Cooling time: 1

Total Time: 2 10

Servings:

Calories: 440kcal

This simple gluten free apple cake cake recipe is light and moist. Made with cornmeal instead of flour, it makes a perfect fall treat.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Ingredients

Caramelized Apple Topping

3 medium apples such as Pink Lady or Gala
3 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Gluten Free Cake Batter

11 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup sugar divided
1 lb whole milk ricotta cheese
3 eggs separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup fine yellow cornmeal
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter an 8 inch x 8 inch square cake pan. Place a piece of parchment in the bottom and butter that as well.
Cut the apples into ¼ inch thick slices, discarding the core.
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches if necessary, melt 3 tablespoon of butter in the skillet and once it gets foamy, add the apple slices. Turn them occasionally and when they get golden brown, add the brown sugar. Toss to coat until the sugar melts, then remove to a bowl to cool slightly.
Once the apple slices have cooled enough to handle, place them in the bottom of the cake pan. You don't have to make any sort of pattern, just get them as close together as possible without overlapping.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream 11 tablespoon of butter and ¾ cup of the sugar together at medium-high speed until very fluffy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time and whisk until incorporated. Then add the vanilla extract.
Next add the ricotta cheese and whisk for about 3 minutes. This is important because whisking it for this long will help the cake to be a bit lighter.
Transfer batter to a bowl, then fold in the cornmeal mixture and make sure it is well incorporated.
Thoroughly wash and dry your mixer bowl and whisk, then add the egg whites and whisk on medium high speed. When they start to get foamy, gradually add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and beat until you have soft peaks.
Add about ¼th of the egg whites to the cornmeal mixture and stir vigorously to loosen it up. Then add the remaining egg whites and gently fold into the batter until completely incorporated, being careful not to deflate the volume of the egg whites.
Add the batter to the cake pan, gently smoothing out the top and making sure it reaches all edges and corners.
Bake in the center rack of the oven for 30 - 35 minutes, until the center is set, the edges are golden brown and a knife or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Once the cake is completely cool, turn it out apple side up onto a serving plate.

Notes

You may not use all of the apple slices on top of the cake, but better to have too many than too few.
Careful - the apples can go from golden brown to burnt very quickly so keep an eye on them.
If you need to do the apples in two batches, you might have to add a bit more butter to the skillet.
Don't bang the pan to spread out the batter before baking! This will deflate all the volume you've been working to create. Gently smooth it out and into the corners without pressing down.
You can store this cake covered on the counter for 2 - 3 days, or in the fridge for about 5 days.

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Nutrition