How To Make Applesauce

No matter how old I get, I love applesauce. I eat it plain, on top of cottage cheese, or often with a bit of peanut butter mixed in. Of course, there’s nothing better than fresh made applesauce in the fall. (Need a recipe? Follow these steps on How to Make Applesauce from The Stay at Home Chef.) Whether store bought or homemade, I always keep it on hand.

However, one of my favorite ways to use applesauce is in gluten free baking. When I saw Vegetarian Mamma’s Easy Apple Cake, I knew I needed to make it. However, I wanted to cut down on the amount of fat in the recipe. Therefore, I substituted a portion of the oil with natural applesauce.

Substituting Oil with Applesauce

This gluten-free Applesauce Bundt Cake has less fat and sugar and than the original recipe. There are loads of suggestions on the internet about substituting applesauce for oil in baked goods.

While Musselman’s suggests a 1:1 substitution, I prefer a 50/50 swap. I do this in my buckwheat pancakes and my blueberry zucchini bread as well. Since applesauce is naturally sweet, I often reduce the sugar as well.

Another benefit of substituting applesauce for this gluten-free Applesauce Bundt cake recipe is that it provides lift. Applesauce is considered slightly acidic. When that combines with the baking soda in the recipe, it produces carbon dioxide, which allows baked goods to rise. This is ideal in gluten-free baked goods which tend to be more flat and dense than its gluten-filled counterparts.

6 inch Bundt Pans and Other Recipes

Vegetarian Mamma’s original Easy Apple Cake calls for 3 cups of flour, which is appropriate for a standard 10 inch bundt pan. They hold between 10-12 cups of batter.

However, I live in a household of 2. (Three if you count the dog, but she’s not getting my cake.) That’s why I love the 3 cup Bundt Pan from Nordic Ware. It holds 3 cups of batter, approximately one quarter of a standard recipe, and is perfect for our small household.

Any recipe that uses 3/4 cup of flour should work fine in this pan. I’ve made Off the Wheaten Path’s Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake in this pan, by cutting the recipe in half. I’ve also made Gluten Free Palate’s Easy Gluten Free Lemon Bread in it, again, cutting the recipe in half. I may need to try NordicWare’s 3 Cup Vanilla Pound Cake in it next!

Can I Use A Different Pan?

You can also use a 6″ round cake pan. Learn more about Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

How To Make Powdered Sugar

Did you know you can make your own homemade powdered sugar? When recipes call for a cup of powdered sugar or less, I like to make my own. While most recommend adding cornstarch to homemade powdered sugar, I left it out for this cake.

So how do you make powdered sugar? Simply put regular white sugar in a spice grinder, and let it spin until it becomes a powdered consistency. Truth be told, I use a coffee grinder, and put it on the finest grind setting, and that’s usually long enough. To make the glaze for this cake, simply add your liquid to your homemade powdered sugar, and you’re all set!

Can I Make This Without Dairy or Eggs?

Need an apple cake without dairy or eggs? If you can tolerate eggs, but not dairy, try this Gluten-Free Apple Cake from My Gluten-Free Kitchen. Need it to be completely vegan? Try this Gluten Free Vegan Caramel Apple Bundt Cake from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free. It looks amazing!

Can I Make This With Coconut Flour or Almond Flour?

NO. These two flours have drastically different absorptive properties than gluten free all-purpose flour blends made with rice. Instead, I highly recommend specifically searching for recipes using those ingredients.

If using almond flour, try this full size Glazed Apple Bundt Cake from Paleo Running Momma.  Want to use coconut flour? Try this full size Apple Bundt Cake with Apple Glaze from Keto Adapted.

Recipe

Print

Small Gluten Free Applesauce Bundt Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Equipment

• Wilton FLUTED TUBE PAN 6, Gray, 6.58 x 17.1 x 17.1 cm
• Wilton Small and Tall Aluminum 2 x 6-inch Layer Cake Pan Set, 2- Piece
• DASH Safe Slice® Mandoline Slicer, Julienne + Dicer for Vegetables, Meal Prep & More with 30+ Presets & Thickness Adjuster – Grey

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 c. gluten free flour I used King Arthur for this recipe.
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice

Mix Ins

• 3/4 c. thinly sliced apples cut into thirds (3/4 of a small apple)
• 1/4 c. cinnamon chips I used these instead of the butterscotch chips Cindy used.

Wet Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 tbsp applesauce
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. granulated brown sugar

For the Glaze

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp apple cider

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil your bundt pan. This recipe is 1/4 of Vegetarian Mamma’s original. I used a Wilton’s Copper Retro Round Fluted 6″ Pan, which is only 2 1/2 in. deep and holds approximately 3 cups of batter.
• In a large batter bowl, combine oil, applesauce, egg and sugar. Whisk together, and set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to fully blend. 
• Thinly slice and quarter apples of your choice. VegetarianMamma prefers Granny Smith while I prefer Gala apples. The apples do not need to be peeled, but you may do so if you wish. Add sliced and quartered apples and cinnamon chips to the dry ingredients.
• Add wet ingredients to dry and thoroughly combine. The batter will be very thick. Allow to rest while preheating the oven.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. (This is shorter than VegetarianMamma’s recipe as I’m using a smaller pan. Allow cake to cool before removing from pan. Serve with a coating of powdered sugar or a simple glaze of your preference. It’s tasty with ice cream too!

What’s your favorite cake recipe? What recipes have you converted by substituting applesauce? Please share your tips with me below!

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made through those links help support this blog with no extra expense to you. Thank you for your continued support!**

Originally Published June 2017

The post Small Gluten Free Applesauce Bundt Cake appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

Everyone Should Learn to Bake

I think everyone should learn to make banana bread. When I was a nanny for my niece and nephew, they learned math and measuring and procedure by making banana bread with me all the time. My niece is now old enough to drive a car. However, I still hear sweet 4-year old voice saying, “Aunt Maggie, do we have the right ‘gredients?

The basis for these gluten free banana cinnamon chip muffins is Carol Fenster’s “No Hassle Banana Bread.” I snagged it off the back of the Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Baking Flour.

Back then, I was brave and made one small change. I cut back on the 1/3 cup of oil her recipe called for, and replaced it with applesauce. (Like in my gluten-free applesauce bundt cake!) I remember the first time I made it for a Celiac Support group picnic. Everyone LOVED it!

Gluten Free Banana Bread – Improved

Now I’ve made a few more adjustments to that original gluten free banana bread recipe. In these Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chip Muffins, I used Krusteaz gluten-free all-purpose flour. They generously sent me some of their products. Their flour already has xanthan gum added to it. Therefore, I left if out of Carol’s original recipe.

I also had leftover self-rising flour left from my Gluten-Free Mason Jar cakes, so I used that and left out the baking powder called for in the original recipe. (I’ve included the original guidelines in Carol’s recipe below if you just want to use straight all-purpose gluten-free flour.) Other than that, my gluten free banana cinnamon chip muffins stick pretty close to Carol’s original recipe.

How To Turn Any Quick Bread Into Muffins

However, the most obvious change in the recipe is the size and the additional mix-ins. I am ADDICTED to these Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips. I really appreciate that the bag is specifically labeled gluten-free, and the helpfulness of Hershey’s website on the issue. They are available at Walmart.

As for scaling back the size for these gluten free banana cinnamon chip muffins, I relied heavily on the expertise of King Arthur Flour. They have an excellent post on how to make muffins from a quick bread recipe.

In addition, their article on “Boosting Banana Bread” was helpful as well. Feel free to adjust my gluten free banana cinnamon chip muffins recipe with one of their tips. Let me know if you do and leave me a note in the comments!

More Banana Bread Recipes

Looking for more creative banana bread recipes? Try this Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread recipe from My Gluten-Free Kitchen. Get creative and turn bread into breakfast with this vegan recipe for Banana Bread French Toast from Allergylicious. Finally, transform muffins to cupcakes with this recipe for Grain-Free Banana Toffee Cupcakes from Gluten Free Palate!

Print

Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. applesauce
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp canola oil
• 2/3 c. brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. mashed RIPE bananas about 3 bananas
• 1 3/4 c. gluten free all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• * 1 tsp xanthan gum if your gluten-free flour blend doesn’t have it
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips If you want to also use nuts, do 1/2 cup of chips and 1/2 cup of nuts.

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, blend wet ingredients. If your three bananas equal slightly less than 1 1/2 cups, make up the difference with applesauce.
• In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, etc.) and baking chips (+nuts if using.) 
• Slowly add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened. 
• While the batter rests, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line standard muffin tin with silicone or paper muffin liners. My silicone liners were sturdy enough that I could place them on a cookie sheet.
• Pour batter into muffin liners.I suggest using a 3 tbsp scoop.
• Bake the gluten-free banana cinnamon chip muffins for 23-28 minutes. I believe I baked mine closer to 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool and then devour!

**Although Krusteaz gave me their gluten-free flour for free, I was not otherwise compensated for my post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post does contain Amazon affiliate links. I make a commission through purchases made with those links.  However, it does not impact your cost.**

The post Gluten Free Banana Cinnamon Chip Muffins appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.