Maple Almond Spice Cake

This Maple Almond Spice Cake is perfect for any fall or winter celebration or gathering. It’s gluten-free as well as dairy-free with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Sweetened with maple syrup, there’s so much to love about this dessert recipe.

When it comes to fall entertaining, I love experiments with desserts. The warm spices just make all the flavors even more rich and comforting. This Maple Almond Spice Cake has become my go-to easy dessert recipe that your friends and family will think you spent hours making.

This cake is both gluten-free and dairy-free, but you’ll never know, everyone will be a fan. It’s spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, plus sweetened naturally with maple syrup. Plus, it’s made in one bowl and you can use a square or round 9-inch baking pan for ease.

This Maple Almond Spice Cake ideal for the holiday season, I can’t wait to serve it at Thanksgiving this year. In order to prepare for the big day I’m partnering with Now Foods, my go-to source for pantry staple ingredients. So many of their ingredients are used to make this delicious cake.

If you want to order from Now© Foods, use my discount code, RUNNINGONVEGGIES for 20% off your order.

Choosing the Right Type of Maple Syrup

There are so many types of maple syrup at the store, let’s break them down. There are four types based on flavor:

• Golden Delicate or Light
• Amber Rich
• Dark Robust
• Very Dark

These different types of maple syrup go from light in flavor to extremely strong and rich in flavor. All of the syrups on the market are now considered grade A. If you see grade B maple syrup, it’s the same quality as grade A just means it’s very dark and strong in flavor.

We recommend using Amber Rich maple syrup for this recipe. It’s also the flavor of maple that you’ll want to serve on pancakes or waffles.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• One Bowl Cake Recipe. With just one bowl and no fancy equipment, this cake recipe is so easy to prepare. You can have dessert on the table in no time!
• Gluten-free Cake. You will never know this cake is gluten-free. By using a blend of almond flour and oat flour, it’s a tender combination that’s so delicious.
• Perfect for Entertaining. This cake is a total crowd-pleaser. Anyone will love it! You can make it in advance to and bring to a party so easily.

Ingredients

Cake:

• Now Foods Avocado Cooking Oil in Glass Bottle: The fat that binds the cake together. This gives the cake it’s moisture.
• Organic Almond flour: The flour for the cake, it’s gluten-free.
• Oat flour: I like to use a blend of flours, oat is the second flour to use. Be sure it’s marked gluten-free on the package. You can make your own by pulsing Now Foods Organic Rolled Oats in a food processor or blender until finely ground, I explain more here.
• Baking powder and baking soda: The leavening ingredients for the cake. They help it rise and also make it super tender.
• Ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg: The spice trio that makes this cake so addicting with fall flavors.
• Sea salt: Required for every dessert recipe, the salt enhances the other flavors in the cake.
• Eggs: Binds the cake together.
• Favorite nut milk or apple juice: We love both here, use whatever you have on hand.
• Now Foods Organic Grade A Amber Color Maple Syrup: Naturally sweetens the cake and adds a hint of molasses flavor.
• Vanilla extract: Gives the floral and caramel-like flavor.
• Slivered almonds: Adds some crunch on top to garnish.

How to Make Maple Almond Spice Cake

For the Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with olive oil and line with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the eggs, 1/2 cup avocado oil, nut milk or apple juice, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
4. Whisk together the wet ingredients in the well of the dry ingredients.
5. Gently fold together the wet and dry ingredients using a rubber spatula until the batter is well combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the center of the oven for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the cake pan, then flip onto a baking rack. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Allow the cake to cool completely.

Expert Tips

• Don’t over-mix the cake batter. It’s plain and simple, just use a whisk and a spatula and whisk everything together until is just comes together.
• Make your own oat flour. It’s so easy, just add oats to a food processor or blender and blend until the consistency of flour.
• Test the cake with a toothpick. To make sure the cake has finished baking, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and if the crumbs are dry and not wet, you’ll be good to go!
• Brush the maple syrup over a warm cake. The helps the syrup to actually soak into the cake itself and infuse the dessert with so much flavor.

Storage

Store this cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze this cake if you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter until soft again.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

• Lemon Olive Oil Cake
• Super Seed Cookies
• Gluten-Free Fudgy Brownies
• Maple Sesame Peach Crisp