Healthy Apple Cake

This Healthy Apple Cake packs all the good apple cinnamon flavors in a moist dessert. Made with oats and wholesome ingredients, this easy apple cake recipe makes the perfect guilt-free treat for desserts, breakfasts and snacks! Oil-free, dairy-free and gluten-free.

I’ve been waiting for this moment for the entire Summer: APPLE SEASON! Together with pumpkin, apples are one of the joys of Fall, and for this reason they can never miss here at home. Besides saving my morning snacks, they are great mix-in for pancakes, topping for oats, and fruit to make desserts. From healthy dessert bread to cinnamon muffins, I was just missing this oatmeal cake to crown my apple dessert collection.

The ingredients for healthy apple cake

This easy apple cake recipe only requires wholesome ingredients like oats, applesauce, maple syrup and almond butter. But you should not worry, all ingredients are whole foods that you can easily find at your local grocery store.

• Apples. I recommend Honeycrips, Granny Smith, Fuji, or gala apples – depending on your preferences. Those are the varieties that gives the best result both in terms of taste and texture.
• Oat flour. For a healthy apple cake with no refined ingredients, this recipe uses oat flour. You can purchase it from the store or conveniently make it at home – just blend the oats until flour.
• Rolled oats. Combining oat flour and rolled oats is a fantastic way to enhance the texture of your apple cake. I highly recommend rolled oats, but you can also use quick oats.
• Applesauce. Prefer unsweetened applesauce to whip up a sweet and moist cake that has less sugar and is healthier. If you prefer, use regular sweetened applesauce. 
• Eggs. Use two large, fresh eggs to enhance moisture, flavor and texture. Besides binding the batter, eggs ensure that your oatmeal cake doesn’t get crumbly when it’s baked.
• Maple syrup. With applesauce, maple syrup is going the be the main sweetener in this recipe. Besides tasting delicious, it is a healthier alternative to refined sugar with a lower glycemic impact and plenty of healthy benefits.
• Almond butter. When it comes to baking healthy apple desserts, almond butter is my first choice. It has a nuttier, creamier and more delicate taste than peanut butter.
• Cinnamon: A teaspoon cinnamon is an essential spice for crafting a delicious apple oatmeal cake. While ground cinnamon is highly convenient, you can also grate cinnamon sticks for a more distinct flavor.
• Vanilla extract: Combining vanilla with cinnamon enriches every bite of this healthy cake with warm and spicy flavors.
• Baking powder. This ingredient works as a leavening agent and helps our oat cake rise. If you don’t have it at home, feel free to replace with 1 teaspoon of baking soda.
• Salt: A pinch of salt brings about all good flavors and aromas while balancing sweetness.

Replacement options

Are you missing something? No reason to worry, here is how to substitute the main ingredients in this recipe.

• Replace eggs with two flaxseed eggs (“flaxeggs”) or vegan egg alternatives of your choice.
• If you don’t have oat flour, substitute with wholewheat flour, spelt flour or all purpose flour. As an alternative you can also make your own oat flour by grounding rolled oats in a blender.
• Great alternatives to maple syrup include honey, agave syrup, date syrup and coconut syrup. As they would change the batter consistency, granular sweeteners are not suitable for this recipe.
• Replace almond butter with your favorite nut butter such as peanut butter, cashew butter or hazelnut butter. If you have a nut allergy, opt for tahini or sunflower seed butter.

How to make oat flour at home

Making oat flour at home is very quick and simple. All you should do is adding rolled oats to a high speed blender and process until they have become flour. Depending on your type of blender, this may take from one to two minutes. The result should be a finely grounded powder, just like flour!

How to adapt the recipe to your diet

Whether gluten-free, high protein or vegan, here is how to adjust this recipe to match your dietary preferences.

• Gluten-free. Use certified gluten-free oat flour, rolled oats and baking powder. I also encourage you to check that all other ingredients are safe to eat as well.
• Vegan. Replace the two eggs with plant based alternatives such as flaxseed eggs, chia eggs or other vegan egg replacements.
• High-protein. If you follow a high protein diet, substitute 50 grams (or 1/2 cup) of the oat flour with the same amount of protein powder (vanilla protein powder is my favorite).
• Low carb. Replace 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) of the flour with almond flour. As it absorbs more moisture, do not use coconut flour.
• Nut-free. Choose tahini or sunflower seed butter instead of almond butter.

Recipe variations

Here are a couple of extra ingredients you can add to make the most delicious apple cake with oats. Pick and choose your favorite or mix and match. I suggest trying the combo chocolate chips and walnuts!

• Chocolate chips: Dark chocolate chips, semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips or sugar-free chocolate chips. 
• Nuts: Crushed walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts.
• Seeds: Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, poppy seeds.
• Dried fruits: Raisins, cranberries, dried berries, dried apple.

How to make healthy apple cake with oats

Get ready for baking. First of all, heat oven to 180°C (350°F) and fold a 15 cm x 15 cm (7 inch x 7 inch) baking pan with parchment paper. Peel and dice the apples into small pieces, keep aside for later.

Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, combine applesauce with eggs, maple syrup, almond butter and vanilla extract. Once combined, whisk in ground cinnamon and mix until smooth.

Incorporate the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula or fork, stir in oat flour, rolled oats, baking powder and salt. Mix wet and dry ingredients together until you get a smooth batter. Fold in the peeled apples, cut into small chunks.

Bake the dessert. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Bake in hot oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of your apple cake comes out clean. Let cool over a baking rack or dish before slicing.

Storage directions

This healthy apple cake tastes delicious warm, as you pull it out from the oven, or in the following days in case you have leftovers. To preserve freshness and taste, follow my simple storage instructions.

• At room temperature. Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight food container. At room temperature, this healthy oatmeal cake stays fresh for up to 3 days.
• In the fridge. For a longer preservation, let cool, place it in a food container and refrigerate for a maximum of 4 days.
• In the freezer. This apple dessert freezes well. Slice and wrap in zipper bags; in the freezer, it will last for as long as 3 months. When you want to serve it, thaw and reheat in hot oven until soft and fluffy

When to eat apple cake?

If you ask me when it’s the best time to eat apple cake I would probably say ALWAYS. Whether it is for breakfast, dessert or snack, this oatmeal treat is always perfect. I really like enjoying mine for breakfast alongside a good bowl of Greek yogurt and more flour. But sometimes I also love having it as a satisfying snack or dessert with a drizzle of maple syrup and almond butter on top.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions

More healthy desserts

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