Sweet, dense and satisfying gluten free pound cake, studded with tart and sweet apples. Just like they used to serve at Starbucks!
Somehow I managed to take home bushels (BUSHELS) of the freshest, off-the-tree apples from the apple orchard, the ones that my family picked with their very own hands—to a house that already had at least 2 dozen waxy, grocery store apples. I've been baking so much with apples already this fall that I have found myself terrified at the very idea of running out.
I have been steadfastly making my way through the piles of apples, though, and I remain determined not to let a single one go bad. I may lose the cook-it-until-it's-spoiled battle with vegetables or summer fruit from time to time (oh, the food waster shame!), but who loses that battle with apples? Especially when 10 apples can disappear into a couple of cups of apple butter alone. There's just no excuse. So I'm happy to report that these mini gluten free apple pound cakes, inspired as I often am by Starbucks' vast bakery case, put two large (store-bought) Granny Smiths to excellent use.
They're really just miniature classic pound cakes baked with diced apples on top, but the tartness of the apples does something pretty remarkable to balance out the sweet, dense pound cake. The firm, diced and spiced apples also release just enough moisture during baking that they create a bit of a pudding-like texture on the top each cake. I used a 6-well cake panel pan made by USA Pans (perhaps someone else also makes that sort of pan, but I've never found any that weren't at least rebranded USA Pans), and I really love the shape and size. But a standard 12-cup muffin tin works beautifully as well.
There is something truly special about the crust-like texture of the outer layer of each cake, too. Perfectly browned without turning at all crunchy, it's something I'd like to call “crisp-tender.” You know what I mean, right? One way or another, though, you'll have to bake them and see.