I recently got a recipe for apple grunt from a friend and just had to try it! It’s a cake like twist on apple crisp (or similar to a pineapple upsidedown cake) and this time of year just screams apples around here! Of course I made some adjustments in order to make it just a little bit healthier. But don’t get me wrong, this is not a health food. It’s one of those things you indulge in every once in awhile. So no eating this apple cake for breakfast. 😉
Apple Grunt
- 4 medium apples, peeled, cored, sliced
- 1 1/4 cups sugar (sucanat, rapadura, or maple syrup)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8×8 pan with butter. Peel, core, and slice apples.
Place apples in pan and coat with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the 1 tsp cinnamon. For this I used Rapadura, although I would have loved to use maple syrup had I had it in the house! Stir mixture around until well coated.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, the remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder, butter, 2/3 cup of the milk, and salt until well combined and smooth.
I used spelt flour, but you could also use whole wheat with good results or a gluten free baking mix as well. I also used 1/2 organic white sugar and 1/2 whole cane sugar (sucanat) for the sugar, aluminum free baking powder, coconut oil, raw milk, and sea salt.
Then mix in the remaining 1/3 cup milk, egg, and vanilla until smooth again.
Spoon cake batter over apples.
Bake for 50 minutes or until slightly browned and toothpick comes out of batter clean. (if you test with a toothpick, don’t hit the apples or it’s not going to be clean!)
Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!! Definitely perfection when warm out of the oven!
And as much as I really, really wanted to spoon out some homemade vanilla ice cream on that plate next to it, I refrained. Because I am the model of self control. But mostly because I didn’t have any. But secondly because all that sugar – totally not good for you! So it’s a good thing I didn’t have any.
Apple Grunt Cake
Ingredients
- 4 medium apples peeled, cored, sliced
- 1 1/4 cups sugar sucanat, rapadura, or maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil softened
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8×8 pan with butter. Peel, core, and slice apples.
- Place apples in pan and coat with 1/4 cup of the sugar and the 1 tsp cinnamon. For this I used Rapadura, although I would have loved to use maple syrup had I had it in the house! Stir mixture around until well coated.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together flour, the remaining 1 cup sugar, baking powder, butter, 2/3 cup of the milk, and salt until well combined and smooth.
- I used spelt flour, but you could also use whole wheat with good results or a gluten free baking mix as well. I also used 1/2 rapadura and 1/2 sucanat for the sugar (again, would love to try this out with maple syrup next time), aluminum free baking powder, coconut oil (adds sweetness without more sugar), raw milk, and sea salt.
- Then mix in the remaining 1/3 cup milk, egg, and vanilla until smooth again.
- Spoon cake batter over apples.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until slightly browned and toothpick comes out of batter clean. (if you test with a toothpick, don’t hit the apples or it’s not going to be clean!)
- Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!! Definitely perfection when warm out of the oven!
Donielle Baker
Gluten Free Pizza Crust
Omigoodness, Donielle! All I can say is “GET IN MY BELLY!” :).
Can you tell I have been sick and stuck at home on the couch for a week? I am a little crazy?!?
Anyway, we sickness I haven’t sent your prize yet but I am on it. This week, I promise!!
By the way, did I happen to mention this recipe lots oh so yummy!?? 🙂
@Jodi, Hope you feel well soon! Being sick is NO fun. And it is amazingly yummy, I just wish I would have had my husband take the rest to work. It keeps calling my name.
This sounds wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds YUMMY!!! YUM!!! and looks just as YUMMY!!!
Geri
That looks so delicious!! Thanks for the recipe and joining us for TMTT, this week.
I have never had a grunt but this looks great. I love desserts with fruit, especially apples.
Question about spelt – isn’t it a species of wheat? I know it has gluten in it – I don’t have celiac disease but I’m gluten-free. I don’t have to worry about cross contamination. But I can’t eat wheat in any form. I took a baking class and the instructor told me to use spelt, which is why I looked into it. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Everyone has their own diet for their own reasons and I love learning about why other people eat the way they do.
Thanks so much for linking up to Slightly Indulgent Mondays!
@Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, You’re right, spelt is an ancient form of wheat. But spelt also contains more protein than wheat, and the protein in spelt is easier to digest. This means that some people who are allergic to wheat may be able to tolerate spelt. I’ve also heard that it contains less gluten and because it isn’t as hybridized as our modern wheat, it’s also easier to digest.
We went on a completely gluten free diet for my husband last winter to see if it in fact was causing him issues. After 3 months he ate a little bit of wheat bread and suffered a bad headache and aches and pains for a week. Soon after I found out about spelt and thought we might give it a try. Much to our surprise, he did just fine with it! We now use spelt for our sandwich bread and some baked goods, though we try and limit our intake to just a couple times per week. So while none of us suffers from actual celiac, my husband does have a sensitivity to wheat and for me and my kids we eat mostly GF for precautionary reasons. I have 2 cousins w/ celiac, my sister is borderline (and SHOULD be eating GF!) and another sister has sensitivities as well. And the more I research, the more I believe we shouldn’t be eating so many grains in our diet – especially unsoaked grains.
You’re going to show me this beautiful photo and tell me I CAN’T eat it for breakfast? No fair. 😉
Teach me something about sucanat/rapadura. Let’s say I’m in the mood to be unhealthy and I only have white sugar in the house. Can I substitute that? Is s/r liquid or granules? I hate skipping recipes just because I don’t have alternative sweeteners yet (someday I’ll “Try It Tuesday” with those!).
Thanks for linking into the October Fest carnival – this is the perfect example of a “healthier” dessert!
Katie
@Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship, I am not making that for a loooong time! I’m ashamed to admit how quickly I finished it off….
I’ve got a post in the works – should be up by the end of the week. Long story short – both are granules, both are even substitutions! (fyi – I buy mine from Country Life Natural Foods)