My gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe was inspired by my fave Halloween/Bonfire night treat… toffee apples! And who could resist a little crumble sprinkled on top for good measure?
Yep, the central heating is on, the clocks are going back and that only means one thing… it’s time for my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe! With warming cinnamon, sweet toffee and juicy chunks of apple, this cake will banish the winter blues before they even start.
So let me breakdown my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake for you…
Firstly, the sponge is a moist, almost caramel-like flavour, spiced with warming cinnamon and nutmeg – oh and don’t forget tons of chunky Bramley apple cooked to perfection.
Next up is the toffee and cinnamon buttercream, which is sweet, creamy and fluffy.
I then finish it with my homemade toffee sauce and crispy, golden crumble for a little added crunch in every bite. How does that sound?!
And I know what you might be thinking – ‘homemade toffee… can I really make that myself?!’
Yes you can! It really is so dangerously easy to make, especially when you’ve got a Thermapen in your kitchen drawer.
It’s a digital cooking thermometer which can produce an accurate temperature measurement within 0.1 of a degree after just 3 seconds of probing.
Having a Thermapen totally eliminates the guesswork out of your day-to-day cooking and is especially handy when you’re making my homemade toffee sauce!
Why? Well if you heat your toffee sauce mixture to exactly 107C on your Thermapen, it’ll be the perfect thickness and without any guess-work, you’ll know it’s done.
Yep, no need to rely on vague descriptions like ‘heat it until it’s thick like custard’ or ‘heat it until you feel like it’s done’.
(because when you’ve never made something before, it’s actually very hard to know when it’s actually done!)
With a Thermapen, I can guarantee that I’ll make perfect toffee sauce, every time. And that just takes all the stress out of making it for me!
So there’s four separate parts you’ll need to make for my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake: the cake, the buttercream, the toffee sauce and the crumble.
Here’s what you’ll need for everything:
Ingredients for my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe
For the cake
- 350g apples (I use Bramley cooking apples – this is the weight once peeled and chopped)
- 350g butter, softened
- 350g light brown sugar
- 7 eggs
- 350g gluten free self raising flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking powder (ensure it is gluten free)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the toffee sauce
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 85g butter
- 95ml double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream
- 200g butter, softened
- 320g icing sugar
- 80g toffee sauce (homemade ideally using recipe in this post)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the crumble
- 50g butter, chilled and cubed
- 100g gluten free plain flour
- 35g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Ok, so here’s a few frequently asked questions before we get started…
Here’s some tips/FAQs for creating the perfect gluten free toffee apple crumble cake…
Can I make this recipe gluten free?
It is gluten free!
Can I make your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake dairy free?
Of course you can!
Firstly, you’ll need to use Stork hard margarine instead of butter. That’s an easy change! But then there’s one more thing too.
In the toffee sauce, instead of using double cream, try using soy cream instead. And that’s soy cream, not soy milk!
Then you should be good to go.
Is your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe nut free?
Yep, this is a nut-free recipe. But of course, make sure you check the ingredients label on all the products you use to bake this cake.
Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.
You can never be too careful so always read the labels on everything first!
Can I make your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake in a food processor or standing mixer?
Of course you can – and it’ll save you on elbow grease! I don’t use a standing mixer or food processor to make the cake mixture personally – I use an electric whisk. Just because I’m used to it!
When it comes to buttercream, I prefer to use my standing mixer though. As you have to mix it for a longer period of time (around 10 minutes) it’s much easier to just let the mixer do the hard work.
You can of course, bake this without any assistance from any appliance – just a good ol’ fashioned wooden spoon will do. Just make sure you give it a lot of welly, otherwise your mixture won’t be consistent and might not bake properly.
Do I need any special equipment to bake your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake?
I would definitely recommend using a Thermapen to make the toffee sauce as we’re aiming for quite a specific temperature!
Otherwise you should be good to go.
Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake?
In short… yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any my recipes without them. One of the worst things you can do in any baking recipe is alter the quantities by mistake or on purpose.
(unless you know what you’re doing of course)
Why? Well, you’re sort of just gambling with the recipe and praying that it turns out ok. And I’ve generally already done the hard work there for you!
A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities so I wouldn’t mess around with them unless you really know your stuff.
Can I use different apples to make your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake?
Yup and if they are different, I’d recommend going for Braeburns or Granny Smith apples.
But being honest, Bramley apples are the best by a mile for taste and texture!
Can I bake your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake with less sugar?
I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise it.
Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness – it’s an integral part of the structure of the cake.
If you’re conscious about this, you can always reduce the amount of icing you put on top of the cake, as well as less toffee sauce and less sugar in the crumble.
The great thing about a traybake/sheet cake like this is that you get nice small portions too if that helps!
How long can I keep your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake for?
I’ve kept my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. We usually eat it well before then to be honest!!
If it’s any longer than that then I’d highly recommend reading the next question…
Can I freeze your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake?
Of course! I’ve frozen it for up to a month and after allowing them to full thaw, you’d never know they were frozen.
Just make sure that you slice it up before freezing though – possibly even separating them out into separate bags. That way, you don’t need to defrost the entire cake and waste any.
Plus, it’ll defrost much quicker that way!
Can I make your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake vegan?
Yep! If you follow the instructions above to make this cake dairy free, then all you’ve got left to contend with is the eggs.
Here’s a few ideas you can use as egg replacements, so each of these = 1 egg.
- 3 tablespoons of aquafaba – water from a can of chickpeas. Keep the chickpeas for a future dinner!
- Egg replacement powder – I’d recommend using Orgran as it’s gluten free.
- 1 tablespoon of chia/flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- 3 tablespoons of applesauce.
So use one of those egg replacement options and you’ve got gluten free AND vegan cake! I haven’t tried all of these egg-replacement options with this cake, but if you do, please comment below with how it goes.
How can I tell when my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake is done?
Grab a skewer and give it a poke in the centre. If it comes out clean, then it’s done! I’d recommend doing it a few times to make sure you didn’t hit a piece of apple.
If the skewer comes out moist and cake-like, it’s best to pop it back in for a bit longer.
Can I print your gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe?
Of course! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below ?? (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)
Ok, so here’s my gluten free toffee apple crumble cake recipe…
Gluten free toffee apple crumble cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 350 g apples I use Bramley cooking apples - this is the weight once peeled and chopped
- 350 g butter softened (or dairy free alternative)
- 350 g light brown sugar
- 7 eggs
- 350 g gluten free self raising flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking powder ensure it is gluten free
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
For the toffee sauce
- 75 g dark brown sugar
- 85 g butter or dairy free alternative
- 95 ml double cream you can use a thick dairy free cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the buttercream
- 200 g butter softened (dairy free alternative such as Stork Hard Baking Block is an option - you might need more icing sugar if so)
- 320 g icing sugar
- 80 g toffee sauce homemade ideally using recipe in this post
- 1 tsp cinnamon
For the crumble
- 50 g butter chilled and cubed (dairy free alternative if necessary)
- 100 g gluten free plain flour
- 35 g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
To make your toffee sauce
- Melt your butter in a saucepan on a low heat.
- Once melted add your sugar and double cream and allow to bubble until it reaches 107C. I found this took about 7 minutes
- Remove from heat and add your vanilla extract - stir it in. Pour into a heat proof bowl to cool down fully.
- You will use this for your buttercream and to drizzle on top later.
To make your cake
- Preheat your oven to 160C Fan / 180C. Prepare a rectangular baking tin - mine is approx 32cm x 21.5cm. I grease the tin and then use baking paper - the baking paper should go over the edges so you can lift out the cake once it's cooled.
- Peel and chop your apples into about 1cm cubes and coat in a little brown sugar whilst you make the rest of the batter. I always find this gets quite a bit of moisture off the apples, which is a good thing!
- Cream together your butter and light brown sugar. Do this until fully combined and fluffy.
- Add the rest of your ingredients - your eggs, gluten free self raising flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until fully combined.
- Fold in your apple cubes to the cake mix and then spoon the mixture into your preprepared baking tin.
- Bake for about 50 minutes until cooked through and golden.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin.
For the buttercream
- Place your softened butter into a stand mixer and mix on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until the butter has gone a lot more pale in colour.
- Add your icing sugar gradually. I add it in 2 stages and beat for about 3 minutes between each addition. Start your mixer slowly to save your kitchen from a real icing sugar mess, but then increase the speed to medium / high for each of your 3 minutes. Also add in your cinnamon at this point.
- Add your cooled toffee sauce, and mix for a minute or two to fully combine.
For the crumble
- Rub together your chilled cubed butter and gluten free plain flour, until an almost bread crumb consistency is formed.
- Stir in your light brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Pour onto some baking paper on a baking tray and allow to bake for abou 10 minutes at 160C Fan / 180C until more golden in colour. Allow to cool.
Putting it all together
- Remove the cooled cake from the tin and onto a surface to ice it.
- Spoon on your toffee buttercream and spread it all over the cake evenly.
- Use a spoon or a piping bag to drizzle some toffee sauce all over the top.
- Sprinkle over your crumble.
- Cut the cake into squares and enjoy!
Nutrition
Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!
Thanks for reading,
Becky xxx
This is a sponsored post with Thermapen.
Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!
