Gluten-Free Apple Cake

Happy March!! I think spring may be right around the corner........

It was snowing here yesterday & today - really only a dusting - we weren't high enough:

...I don't know if you can even see it in this pic. - it's not sticking, but it is cold:) 

 - well, cold for me I guess.  I mean, it's not Alaska cold or anything but definitely the coldest winter experience I've had in awhile.  And, so we've been trying to keep the wood stove going. 

Here's Hugo by a pile of nice dry stuff a few days ago:

We did get more wood since then, but a lot of it is wet & filled with moisture from all the rain we've been getting.  Soooo, it's a little hard to get the fire going after you let it go out.  I have to say I really feel for the guy on this Alaska wilderness frontier show I saw who said "all winter long, I'm a slave to my wood stove".  Well, I know it's not that extreme here, but I really do feel like a slave to my woodstove:) - I know my bf does too!  

So while we try to keep the fire going, I had to do something else to keep the cabin fever away.  And what better way than baking - PLUS it gave me a good reason to keep the oven going! - you know I had myself planted close by:)  I was so into the heat, I even baked some doggie treats (recipe in next posting).  Check 'em out too if you want. 

But first, check out this delicious gluten-free, dairy-free apple cake.  I adapted the recipe from the 'Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook' my mom got me.  Thanks mom - this cookbook is amazing! ....and has recipes for all the seasons.  Plus the pictures are beautiful. You may have heard of the Beekman boys  - they have a farm in upstate NY, & this great website: http://beekman1802.com/.  Check it out  - it is full of great info. & recipes.   And the apple cake was sooooo good (even with my dietary adjustments)!

Vegan Gluten-Free Apple Cake

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F & lightly oil a 9x13 inch baking pan. 

2.  Beat up 2 sticks (8 oz.) earth balance butter substitute.  Add in 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed.

3.  Mix together 1/2 cup of warm water & 2 Tbsp. flax meal & let it sit for a minute.  Beat this in, or add 2 eggs instead (if you can & want to have them).

4.  In a separate bowl, mix together: 2 and 1/2 cups rice flour, 3 tsp. ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 3/4 tsp. salt:

5.  Now, mix part of this dry mixture into the wet mixture.  Mix in 1 cup of almond milk.  And then mix in the remainder of the dry ingredients until it's all light & fluffy & well combined:

6.  Stir in 4 peeled & chopped apples.  You can chop them either into chunks or slices. 

Pour it all into the baking dish.

7.  To make the topping, chop up about 1 cup of walnuts:

and add in 1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 3 Tbsp. rice flour and 1/2 cup of granulated sugar.  Cut in 3 tbsps. of butter substitute with two knives until it's all crumbly.  Sprinkle this on the top & bake for about 50 minutes:

You can check to see if it's done sooner or later when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Yum!  This was so good, try it out.  And if your oven's still on you can make some delicious dog treats too - just check out the next recipe:)  Stay warm & happy baking!

"In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy." 

- William Blake