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Cardamom Spiced Apple Cake with Candied Oat Crunch

Whoa, that’s a mouthful to say! But I just had to name this cake with all the delicious things that I baked into it! I’ve clearly had the baking bug, which makes sense to you if you follow my instagram feed. I’ve been baking all week long which in turn means I’ve been eating cake all week long. Not the worst problem to have!

With the onset of cool fall weather and all these beautiful apples and squashes at the farmers market it makes me want to put on a big sweater and leggings, light a fire and bake a cake. It’s such a cozy feeling, a special happy feeling that I find most people resonate with. Those first few weeks of fall with the crispness in the air and the crunch of leaves beneath your feet. Baking, whether it is for yourself or family or friends, becomes a sort of comfort. A welcome into the new season that your home embraces with the scent of cinnamon and ginger wafting from the oven.

For some time I had put bundt cakes on the shelf, literally. I had to buy a new bundt pan because I couldn’t find where mine was! I suppose for a while I felt like bundt cakes were outdated, boring, something that had been done over and over. But here I am-back in love with bundt cakes! First of all, they’re easy as hell. Second, they’re beautiful. And they feed a lot of people. And they last. I can keep going and going on all the reasons why I’ve welcomed the bundt back into my life. I guess my final reason is, who doesn’t like a cake?

Of course, mine is filled with some nutritional sneaks. Instead of all eggs I use a mixture of egg and flax egg. There are fiber rich oats as well as nutrient dense walnuts or pumpkin seeds. I also go relatively low in the sugar content of the cake compared to other bundts because HOLY MOLY, if you look some recipes out there they call for 2 or even 3 cups of sugar. And then they add an icing! I wanted to make a cake that seemed indulgent but wouldn’t send you into a sugar coma after eating.

So go ahead, fill your home with cinnamon and apples baking and then cut yourself a nice big piece of this gorgeous cake. Wrap yourself in a blanket and enjoy this beginning of the season change with something cozy and delicious.

One final note about this recipe: it might look like it has a million ingredients, but it actually uses a lot of the same items just in different steps and different quantities! So be sure to read through it all before you brush it off, you use cinnamon 3 times + oats 2 times+walnuts (or seeds) 2 times, etc. I promise after you make it once you’ll realize it’s not a zillion ingredients because, well, that’s annoying 🙂

xo, Kendra

 

Cardamom Spice Apple Cake                                                                             with Seed Crunch and Candied Cinnamon Oats

Serves 10-12

Cake

  • 2/3 c. walnuts or pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 c. gluten free oats
  • 2 T. maple syrup
  • 1 T. coconut oil, melted
  • 2 T. hemp seeds
  • 2 c. favorite gluten free flour blend (with xanthan or guar gum included)
  • 2 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1 t. ground cardamom
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. baking powder
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 2 apples, finely diced
  • 1 c. cane sugar
  • 1 flax egg (1 T. flax meal + 3 T. hot water)
  • 2 eggs or additional flax eggs
  • 2/3 c. melted coconut oil
  • 1 t. pure vanilla extract

Glaze

  • 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
  • 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
  • 1-2 T. milk or favorite dairy free milk (I like unsweetened vanilla hemp milk)

Candied Cinnamon Oats

  • 1/2 c. gluten free oats
  • 1 t. coconut oil
  • 1/4 t. cinnamon
  • 1 T. cane sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan with oil and sprinkle with some gluten free flour, shake to coat and tap out the excess. Set aside.
  2. Place the 2/3 c. walnuts or pumpkin seeds and the 1/3 c. oats on a tray and bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Cool a few minutes. Add to the bowl of a food processor along with the 2 T. maple syrup, 1 T. melted coconut oil and 2 T. hemp seeds. Pulse a few times in a food processor to chop. Sprinkle into the bottom of the bundt pan.
  3. In a large bowl mix together the 2 c. gluten free flour blend, cinnamon, cardamom, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to blend. Stir in the diced apples.
  4. In another bowl mix together the sugar, flax egg, 2 eggs, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract.
  5. Pour the egg-oil mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until blended. Pour evenly over the walnut crunch in the bundt pan.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes, turn pan and bake another 20-25 until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
  7. Cool for 20 minutes then invert onto a wire rack to cool.
  8. Once cake is cooled whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze, set aside.
  9. Make the candied oats by preheating a small nonstick pan with the 1 t. coconut oil. Stir oats and shake pan until they are golden brown. Then sprinkle the cinnamon and cane sugar evenly over the oats, constantly stirring over low heat until the sugar has melted and coated the oats. Cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and it smells a little like caramel. Pour onto wax or parchment paper and let cool until crispy, about 7-8 minutes.
  10. When ready to glaze and top, drizzle the glaze over the cake and sprinkle the candied oats over the top using the glaze like glue to adhere. Serve and enjoy!

 

happy, healthy eating!