Cinnamon Oil Infused Gluten Free Apple Cake

Apples were made to be spiced!   And our delicious recipe for gluten free apple cake does precisely that.

But in a flavour-packed twist, we’ve included 100% pure and authentic Young Living Vitality essential oils as optional substitutes for dried spices.  These impart extra-intense flavours and all the added benefits that these potent gifts of nature bring.

Our oils of choice pair perfectly with apples: cinnamon and nutmeg.

And because citrus oils are full of feel-good happiness, we’ve squeezed in a few drops of Young Living Vitality Lemon essential oil, too.  To keep the liquids in the correct ratios, we’ve still included fresh lemon juice in the recipe along with the lemon essential oil.

One of the beauties of using Young Living Vitality essential oils in cooking is that you don’t need to alter the recipe quantities when you’re adding them into your favourite recipes: only minute quantities of oil are added, so they don’t throw anything out of whack.

Flavour-wise, it’s no surprise that we’ve included the cinnamon and nutmeg.  But what are these oils actually known for benefit-wise?  Let’s take a quick squiz at their impressive attributes – and you’ll find lots more technical information in a great essential oils reference book, which we highly recommend you buy post haste if you haven’t already done so.  Essential oils are a world of wonder and the more you learn about them, the more you’ll see how profound they can be when it comes to helping your health and vitality.

Cinnamon Bark (Cinnamomum zeylanicum/Cinnamomum verum) is steam distilled from the bark and is extremely high in the compound Trans-Cinnamaldehyde.  It’s this compound that gives cinnamon its distinctive, warm and comforting fragrance.  (Add one drop to your smoothie and you’ll love the flavour it brings.)

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is also steam distilled – in this case, from the fruits and seeds of an Indonesian evergreen – and it has high combined levels of Alpha-pinene and Beta-pinene.  Nutmeg is energising and stimulating.  And needless to say, it tastes amazing!

Good old Lemon essential oil (Citrus limon) is cold-pressed from the rind and fun fact: it takes around 3,000 lemons to yield just one kilo of pure, unadulterated essential oil.  Yet for all that, Lemon essential oil is extremely cost-effective and along with taking a simple glass of water from ho-hum to interesting, it’s so very useful all around the home.  And when it comes to diffusing, you’ll be hard-pressed (or cold-pressed in this case) to find a more serene, sweetly clean and cheerful oil than Lemon.  Today we’re focusing on taste but check out our top 9 tips for lemon oil here for plenty of non-culinary ideas.

Apples make up the bulk of this tasty cake.  And just like lemons, the humble apple should not be underestimated on the basis of its plentiful nature.  Apples are free of fat and awesome for your digestion.  They are also free of sodium and cholesterol so if you’re on a low-sodium diet you can enjoy these abundantly.  They are rich in potassium, antioxidants, fibre and also a source of vitamin C, niacin and vitamin B6, calcium and vitamin K, magnesium – and phytonutrients and flavonoids.

So let’s get on with it – the sooner we get to the recipe, the sooner it’s out of the oven and into your tum!

Cinnamon Oil Infused Gluten Free Apple Cake

Recipe adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring

Prep: 10 mins  Baking: 40 mins  Pan: approx. 22cm / 9 inches

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large cooking apples, peeled and cored (include some red apples like Gala with the Granny Smiths for a nice balance of textures and sweetness vs tartness)
• 3-6 drops Young Living Cinnamon Vitality essential oil (or 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon: if using the oil, start with 3 drops of essential oil and add more to taste)
• 2-3 drops Young Living Nutmeg Vitality essential oil (or 1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg)
• 1 tblesp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 3 drops Young Living Lemon Vitality essential oil
• 158g plain/all purpose gluten free flour
• ½ tsp xanthan gum (leave this out if the GF flour includes it)
• 1 tsp baking powder½ tsp Himalayan or Celtic salt or other good quality salt
• 140g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup/200g coconut sugar or raw sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature and beaten
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or equivalent of vanilla bean paste

METHOD

1. Grease your 22cm/9 inch round cake pan and preheat oven to 165C/325F
2. Dice the apples and place in a large bowl then sprinkle with the lemon juice.  If using ground cinnamon, toss with 1 tsp of this as well.  If using cinnamon essential oil, hold onto that for now – you’ll add that later
3. In a medium-sized bowl, place the dry ingredients including any remaining dried spices.  Whisk well to combine
4. In another large bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy.  Beating well after each addition, add the sugar first, then the eggs, vanilla, Young Living Lemon and Nutmeg essential oils, then finally add a few drops of Young Living Cinnamon Bark essential oil plus another 1-3 drops as suits your taste
5. Add the dry mixture in two batches, beating until only just combined each time so that you don’t overwork the batter.  It will be thick but light
6. Scrape 2/3 of this batter into your bowl of apples and mix to coat them all, making a very chunky mixture.  Then scrape the remaining batter into the greased cake pan and smooth with a moistened spatula into an even layer
7. Scrape the apple-packed batter on top of this base layer and use the moistened spatula to smooth out evenly
8. Cover the cake pan tightly with aluminium foil, place in the centre of your preheated oven
9. Bake 20 minutes then remove the aluminium foil.  Bake a further 20 minutes approximately, until a skewer comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached when you test it
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a good 10 minutes or so
11. Carefully transfer it to a wire rack for further cooling for 15 minutes, then slice and serve while still warm from the oven

You could serve this lavishly with beautiful cream or ice-cream, or keep it minimal and save those calories because when it’s fresh from the oven, its melt-in-your-mouth goodness needs no further additions.   Enjoy even more with a cup of Young Living Slique tea: a perfect match!

Essential oils are potent, so as always, please follow directions on the bottle and the usual guidelines for safe use of authentic essential oils.

Please ensure you are choosing a brand with complete transparency from seed to seal, such as Young Living.  You can learn in this short video why we only ever recommend and choose Young Living oils and love them so much!

Enjoy the good oil daily.

The information on this site does not constitute advice. Please consult with your health practitioner. When using any of the products mentioned throughout this site, please be sure to read the labels and follow their suggestions for safe use. We make commissions from sales via many of the products we recommend but we only suggest products we genuinely enjoy and want you to benefit from.  Product images used with permission © Young Living Essential Oils.  Recipe and apple cake images via Gluten Free on a Shoestring