We have a lot of apples. Apples that I have yet to turn into sauce, dried chips, canned apple pie filling or any number of other delicious options. They are being steadily munched on but not disappearing fast enough. For some reason every time I’ve passed the box of apples the past few days a craving for that baked apple flavor + cream cheese dances across my pregnancy addled brain.

So I started googling. Go-to move when I have a craving. Sooo many creative bloggers and brilliant chef’s and cooks out there freely sharing their inspired recipes. Nobody seemed to offer what I was looking for. Gluten Free. Apple and Creamcheese coffee cake type thing. What I did find called for ingredients I didn’t have or required way more work than I felt like doing.

When google fails me I pull out my favorite “unhealthy” cookbook of all time. The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. I found a recipe in there that had everything I wanted only it was for regular gluten laden flour and blueberries. That’s Ok. I’m fearless. I can adapt. And adapt I did with really scrumptious results.

Without further prefacing or disclaimers…

Apple-Cream cheese Gluten Free Coffee Cake

1/2 cup softened Butter

1 cup Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Cups Gluten Free Flour Mix

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon finely ground Sea Salt

1 Cup Whole Milk

1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese softened and cubed

1 Large or 2 small Apples finely chopped

2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Powdered Ginger

1/2 Cup (or less if your apples are more sweet than tart) large granule Raw Sugar

Crumb Topping

1 Cup Gluten Free Flour Mix

1 Cup Sugar

5 Tablespoons Butter

Sea Salt to taste

Caramel Topping Drizzle

1 Cup large Raw-unrefined Sugar

1/2 Cup Half and Half or Whole Cream

Instructions:

Pre-heat Oven to 375. Spray rectangle cake pan with Olive Oil or your favorite non-stick spray.

– Combine 1 Cup Gluten Free Flour Mixture and 5 tablespoons softened butter and mix well with a fork until nice and crumbly. Set aside.

– Beat 1/2 Cup of Butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 1 Cup sugar beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add Vanilla.

– Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt, stir well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternatively with milk beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix at low speed after each addition until well blended.

-Mix Apples with Raw Sugar, Cinnamon and Ginger. Toss until well coated and set aside. Can add a splash or squeeze of lemon juice if so desired. Should have two cups of finely chopped Apple Mixture.

– Gently stir into cake batter with spoon or spatula apple mixture and chunks of cream cheese. Gently pour cake batter into pre-sprayed cake pan. Coat the top generously with crumb topping and slide into pre-heated oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until done. This is a very moist, bordering on gooey cake so don’t expect the crumb free test to work. You just want to bake it long enough to ensure the middle is actually baked and not dripping dough.

– While cake is baking mix Raw Sugar and Cream together in heavy sauce pan on stove top. Whisk Raw sugar rapidly until it is completely dissolved. Allow sugar and cream to bubble together with close supervision until past the soft ball stage. The goal is to make a pourable caramel that is slightly crunchy when cool.

– Pull cake out of oven and while still hot drizzle caramel mixture over top. Can poke holes in cake to allow caramel to drip through. Eat warm with coffee or wait until cool and eat with coffee. Or drink with a hot black tea. This cake was made to be consumed with a pleasurable beverage.

So sorry I only got one lousy picture. This picture was taken before the rest of the caramel was drizzled over the top, that was just round one for the caramel.

The cake was devoured before I had a chance to get better pictures. Hate that you can’t see the moist amazing inside with the heavenly chunks of cream cheese scattered around. You’ll have to take my word for it that they were there.  I plan on making this again and hopefully I’ll be quicker with the camera next time around. 🙂