Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider Cake

My gfe readers, who are also friends, are the very best. So much so that you can thank one loyal reader, Michelle, for the idea for today’s delicious gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Cider Cake recipe.

And it seems so timely as we’re in pumpkin season and National Cake Day just passed. I had hoped to share it before Thanksgiving so it would be another dessert option for you, but alas I got busy. Busy with all kinds of stuff but also busy with my dogs and my grand dog. I share a video of my silly pups and my grand dog as proof!

Here are Sandy and Dozer trying to get my attention as I make my bed. They employ these antics any time they want me to attend to them!  

And here’s a photo of my grand dog, Mochi—who can make it really hard to get anything done at times—because how can one get up when she’s nestled in like this?

Mochi, My Grand Dog, Settles In

Anyway adorable dogs and other life distractions aside, because I’m late in sharing this recipe perhaps you’re finally “unstuffed” from your Thanksgiving meal and will be ready to make and enjoy gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider Cake. It’s a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving weekend, the beginning of December, and the kickoff of the holidays!

But before we get to the recipe, let me quickly tell you more about how it came to be. Today’s cake recipe is the result of yet another occasion where a reader has seen one of my tried-and-true recipes and said to themselves, hmm, I’m going to try to make this one little substitution (or two) and see how it goes. Another reader did the same thing recently when she “converted” my Applesauce Muffins to Peanut Butter Muffins.

In Michelle’s case, I posted my Pumpkin Bread on Facebook in early October and she thought:

“Hmmm, I’m going to substitute apple cider for the water in this recipe and instead of two loaves of bread, I’m going to make two sheet cakes.”

She replied to my post to tell me:

“This is in my oven right now!

I used apple cider instead of water for a small hint of added amazingness!

I’m trying to cook my way into fall!!!”

My response:

“Michelle! I love the idea of using apple cider in place of the water! Can’t wait to hear how that worked. Oh, and yes, let’s all cook our way into fall.”

Later, she reported:

“The apple cider worked great!!! It’s fantastic. The texture is perfect! I cooked it in a sheet cake type pan because I wanted to cut it into square.”

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider Cake by Michelle K.

Quick breads and cakes can be sooo close as I’ve shared before on gfe,—sometimes the only difference is the use of a loaf pan for quick breads—so Michelle’s decision to go the cake route wasn’t totally surprising. When I saw her photos and asked about the pans she used, she replied:

“So these pans are some of the “seen on TV” perfect brownie pans. The grid is a pain to clean but I Love them!

I found them at Bed Bath and Beyond.  But I’ve seen them on Amazon, too.

Oh, and I used a dairy-free margarine to make to recipe dairy free.”

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Apple Cider Cake (Doubled Recipe) Baked in Special Brownie Pans with Dividers from Michelle K.

I asked Michelle how she cleaned the pan and if the dairy-free margarine that she used was Earth Balance as I typically use soy-free Earth Balance in such recipes when I need a dairy-free option. She told me:

“We usually just soak and use a little scrubby thing we have.

I’m actually just using a margarine from Aldi’s right now.  It’s a fraction of the price of Earth Balance but it does contain soy.”

I also asked Michelle about the flour mix she used. I was so pleased to learn that she used my Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix. She also told me that she did not add xanthan gum to the recipe.

I note that because in the post for my flour mix recipe, I recommend that you should add a certain amount of xanthan gum per each cup of flour mix. But it’s wonderful to know that xanthan gum is not required in this recipe for those who don’t care to use it or can’t tolerate it.

However, if your flour mix already contains xanthan gum, you can still feel free to use that mix. The presence of the xanthan gum will not change the texture or taste significantly. I know because I’ve made the original recipe with and without xanthan gum and when I made this new version, the Pumpkin Spice Cider Cake, I added a small amount of xanthan gum again just to ensure that all would work fine and it did.

I also made Michelle’s version so I could enjoy it myself (while writing a few Thanksgiving cards) and so I could share a few more photos of this lovely cake, especially with the “snowy” powdered sugar topping. 

Oh, and by the way, this gluten-free Pumpkin Spice Cider Cake was wholeheartedly approved by Mom, Son, and Son’s girlfriend. A trifecta of approval is always a good thing!

More Reader-Created or Reader-Inspired Gluten-Free Recipes on gfe

~ Flourless Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

~ The Best Ever Pumpkin Pie

~ Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips Muffins

~ Molasses Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider Cake Recipe

Yield: One 9 x 13 cake

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Apple Cider Cake

Print

Adding apple cider to pumpkin cake takes it to the next level!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup shortening or butter (I use butter---dairy or non-dairy)
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) or fresh pumpkin puree (well drained)
• 1/3 cup apple cider
• 1 2/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour mix (see notes)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• Powdered sugar (maybe ¼ cup), optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan.
2. In large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar until
   fluffy. Stir in eggs, pumpkin, and cider. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt,
   baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Pour batter into baking pan. Bake about 40 to 50 min.
4. Test for doneness using toothpick at the 40-minute mark. Continue baking if needed.
5. Cool before cutting and serving.
6. Once cooled, you may sift powdered sugar over the cake if you wish but I recommend that you do this step immediately before serving (see notes).
   
   
   
   

Notes

I use my Two-Ingredient Gluten-Free Flour Mix in this recipe. It does not include
xanthan gum. Feel free to use whichever flour mix you use most often for
baking.

I’m pretty sure that coconut/palm sugar would work well as a substitution for the granulated sugar but I have not tried it.

I recommend that you sift the powdered sugar onto the cake right before serving because it tends to “melt” into baked goods that are made using a gluten-free flour mix. So, the longer the cake sits before serving, the less attractive it will become if you’ve already sifted powdered sugar on it. Of course, you can sift additional powdered sugar onto your cake if this should happen to your cake. Note that the melting of the powdered sugar does not affect the flavor of the cake.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Free Email Updates to gfe Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries