You will love this gluten-free Apple Honey & Ricotta Cake! With its fluffy, moist sponge cake, tangy apple bursts, creamy ricotta swirls, and subtle hints of honey, this healthy and delicious treat is sure to satisfy your taste buds. Try it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect balance of sweetness.
In This Post:
- ℹ️ Recipe Overview
- 🛒 Ingredients
- 📷 How To Make
- 📹 Watch The Video
- 🍨 Serving Suggestions
- 📝 Go Directly To Full Recipe
Apple Honey Ricotta Cake
When you bite into this delicious and healthy apple cake, you can expect fluffy, moist and slightly nutty sponge cake with bursts of tart apple, swirls of creamy ricotta and subtle hints of honey. Sounds delicious, right?
This is a gluten-free apple cake (I used almond meal and gluten-free flour) with no added sugar except for honey and the sweetness of apples. Don’t worry, it tastes delicious with that lovely subtle sweetness that’s just enough and means that if you like to serve this apple cake with vanilla ice cream (because you must), the combination is not overwhelmingly sweet.
Let’s get into the making of this tasty apple honey and ricotta cake. I hope you like it and if you do, make sure to rate this recipe and leave a comment to let me know.
What You Will Need
Here are the ingredients you need for this gluten-free apple cake:
- Dry ingredients: almond meal, gluten-free flour, baking powder and salt.
- Wet ingredients: unsalted butter, eggs, honey, vanilla and smooth ricotta.
- Fruit: 2 large apples (or 3 medium) and some lemon juice.
Want to make it dairy-free? Change up butter for coconut oil and ricotta for coconut cream or coconut yoghurt. If you’re looking for grain-free, dairy-free version, try this paleo apple cake.
How To Make Apple Honey Ricotta Cake
A full list of ingredients, instructions and nutritional info is in the recipe card below. Here are step-by-step pictures to guide you along.
- Step 1. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9-inch or 8-inch round springform cake pan with baking or parchment paper. I usually grease the bottom and sides liberally with butter but only line the bottom of the springform pan.
- Step 2. Cut the butter into large cubes and add to a bowl. Melt in a microwave on high for 1 minute (cover with a lid) OR you can do this on a stovetop. Only get it warm enough to melt most of the butter, then let it stand off the heat for the remaining butter to melt. Set aside to cool down slightly before mixing in with other ingredients.
- Step 3. Peel two large apples and cut them into quarters, remove the core. Cut one and half apples into cubes and cut the remaining half of the apple into thin wedges for the top of the cake. Drizzle the juice of 1/2 lemon over the cubes in a bowl and toss through. Drizzle a little over the wedges as well. Set aside.
- Step 4. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Mix through breaking up any lumps.
- Step 5. In a separate bowl, add eggs, melted butter, honey and vanilla. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks and incorporate the ingredients.
- Step 6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined – but be careful not to over-mix. Then add the chopped apples and ricotta and fold through gently.
- Step 7. Once ricotta and apple are added (which are cold), the batter will stiffen slightly. Don’t worry, everything will melt and settle inside the pan once baking! Spoon this thick batter into the prepared cake pan and spread evenly with a spoon. Drizzle the top of the cake with a little more honey and gently press the apple wedges into the top of the cake.
- Step 8. Place the cake into the preheated oven, middle shelf, for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a bamboo skewer to check if the cake is done. Insert it in the middle part of the cake and if it comes down clean, it’s done. Remember, the cake will continue to cook slightly while cooling down out of the oven.
- Leave the cake in the pan to cool down for at least 15-20 minutes before removing. I know it’s tempting to get into it while it’s warm but you need to give it a chance to settle, so to speak.
Watch The Video
Serving Suggestions
This apple cake is best served slightly warmed up but is also delicious at room temperature and even straight out of the fridge. As it’s not a very sweet cake, I love complimenting it with vanilla ice cream (I made this amazing Earl Grey ice cream the other day for this cake), also because I like the contrast of cold and warm in one bite.
You can serve this cake as is, with ice cream, cream, custard, and yoghurt. Enjoy it for a sweet breakfast, morning or afternoon tea, or as a dessert after the main meal.
More Gluten-Free Cakes To Try
Apple Honey & Ricotta Cake (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond meal 95 grams
- 1 cup gluten-free flour 125 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup honey about 125 grams, you can use less for even more subtle sweetness
- 2 large apples large or 3 smaller ones
- 1/2 lemon juice of
- 2 eggs large
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, cut into cubes, about 120 grams, melted
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese about 120 grams
- 1 tbsp honey extra for drizzle
Instructions
- Preheat oven & prepare cake pan. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9-inch or 8-inch round springform cake pan with baking or parchment paper. I usually grease the bottom and sides liberally with butter but only line the bottom of the springform pan.
- Prepare butter. Cut the butter into large cubes and add to a bowl. Melt in a microwave on high for 1 minute (cover with a lid) OR you can do this on a stovetop. Only get it warm enough to melt most of the butter, then let it stand off the heat for the remaining butter to melt. Set aside to cool down slightly before mixing in with other ingredients.
- Prepare apples. Peel two large apples and cut them into quarters, remove the core. Cut one and half apples into cubes and cut the remaining half of the apple into thin wedges for the top of the cake. Drizzle the juice of 1/2 lemon over the cubes in a bowl and toss through. Drizzle a little over the wedges as well. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Mix through breaking up any lumps.
- Mix wet ingredients.In a separate bowl, add eggs, melted butter, honey and vanilla. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks and incorporate the ingredients.
- Combine cake batter. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined – but be careful not to over-mix. Then add the chopped apples and ricotta and fold through gently.
- Transfer batter to cake pan. Once ricotta and apple are added (which are cold), the batter will stiffen slightly. Don't worry, everything will melt and settle inside the pan once baking! Spoon this thick batter into the prepared cake pan and spread evenly with a spoon. Drizzle the top of the cake with a little more honey and gently press the apple wedges into the top of the cake.
- Bake cake. Place the cake into the preheated oven, middle shelf, for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a bamboo skewer to check if the cake is done. Insert it in the middle part of the cake and if it comes down clean, it's done. Remember, the cake will continue to cook slightly while cooling down out of the oven.
- Cool cake. Leave the cake in the pan to cool down for at least 15-20 minutes before removing. I know it's tempting to get into it while it's warm but you need to give it a chance to settle, so to speak.
Notes
Nutrition
Flavour Essentials
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