Warm Hug Apple Cake

I have been experimenting lately with alternative ingredients. Well, an alternative to me - I grew up with old-fashioned wheat flour, full butter, eggs from the chickens outside, you get the idea. My grandmother had one of those washing machines that squeezed all of the water out of the fabric until I was maybe 10 years old? And we didn't have a hand mixer for a while, that was a luxury.

This recipe is from a British blogger. However, I modified it and baked it with all of my alternative ingredients. I first baked it the traditional way. Let me tell you, the alternative cake turned out identical to the original. I was thrilled. If I can convince you of anything, look for Expandex modified tapioca starch. It's not regular tapioca starch or flour. It changes everything. Some of the gluten-free flour mixes, including Better Batter, tend to be gritty because of the rice flours, so the addition of the Expandex cancels out most of that grit. Also, the cultured vegan butter played a big part as well, because it browns like butter, which makes the batter brown as it bakes (and that's a lot of alliteration, folks!).

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients for warm hug apple cake

• 1/2 cup cultured vegan butter (I used Miyoko's brand) + 1 Tablespoon to grease springform pan
• 3/4 cup granulated monk fruit sugar
• 15 drops stevia liquid
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons extra soft goat cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Better Batter or other cup-for-cup gluten free baking flour mix
• 1/4 cup cassava flour
• 1/4 cup Expandex modified tapioca starch
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 diced Granny Smith apples

Directions for warm hug apple cake

1. Grease 10" springform pan with vegan butter. This is actually comprised of oils and they will drip when they heat up, so I suggest making a nest for the pan out of tin foil so the oils don't drip onto your oven floor and make a smoky mess.
2. You don't have to wait for the vegan butter to soften. Cream butter, monk fruit sugar, and stevia.
3. Add goat cheese, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined and smooth.
4. Sift together baking powder, salt, flours, Expandex tapioca starch flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon, and stir with a spoon until just mixed.
5. Add diced apples and stir until distributed evenly. This will be a very thick cake batter.
6. Pour into the springform and smooth down without overworking so the flour doesn't get gummy.
7. If your springform pan is dark or coated with non-stick coating, bake at 325. If it's bright and shiny, bake at 350. Total bake time will be around 35-40 minutes, a toothpick should come out clean.