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Apple Cinnamon Roll Cake Bars

If you are familiar with my Apple Cinnamon Roll Cake, then you know that it was born of a craving for cinnamon rolls and a desire to avoid yeasted dough. After sharing it with my family and taking in their feedback, I added apple to the mix. Fast forward a few years and I have made some revisions to accomodate my desire to make low-sugar foods as well as to use my new favorite baking tool, the Granola Bar™ Pan (GBP). While it was designed as a bar for the GBP, you can still enjoy the cake by baking it in a 9x13 pan.

Why the GBP?

There are two major benefits to using the GBP: (1) less baking time and (2) each bar has a moist center and crispy corners. The width of the wells does make it a little tricky to swirl the topping into the bars, but this is solved by using a slim tool such as a chopstick, bamboo skewer or toothpick.

A New Glaze?

Okay, you got me, it’s not a new glaze. I experimented with simply drizzling maple syrup or honey instead of a traditional glaze as a way to reduce the sugar load while using a lesser processed food and reducing prep time. I consider this a win-win and it was a hit with all the Mini-Foodies as well as Mr. Foodie.

Some Tips

It is important to cool most baked goods in the GBP especially when it comes to granola bars and the like, but these bars can be removed when they are still warm.

The bars are tastiest warm, but also a treat when cool.

Use 2 granny smith apples for more nutritional value as well as for more flavor. This will also yield more bars as they will take more space in the wells.

An optional add in for a nutty crunch is ½-1 cup chopped pecans with the diced apple.

These are a great make ahead breakfast or treat. I like to make it it following all the steps except the baking. I place them in the oven the night before I plan to make them for breakfast (because my kitchen is cool, this is a safe option). I then wake up and bake them, adding a few minutes for preheat time.

If you are a college student, this is a great recipe to use for batch baking and as a make ahead recipe.

Apple Cinnamon Roll Cake Bars

 Cake Ingredients

• 3 cups Paleo All-Purpose Flour

• ¼ tsp. sea salt

• ¼ cup. coconut sugar

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 ½ cup non-diary milk (hemp, almond or coconut)

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp. vanilla powder or 2 tsp. vanilla extract or almond extract

• 1 - 2 apples, peeled & diced into small pieces

• ½ cup softened palm shortening (or melted coconut oil)

 Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Mix all ingredients, except coconut oil / shortening.

3. Stir in shortening (or oil) until well combined.

4. Scoop batter evenly into 16 - 18 wells of the GBP or poor into a greased 13x9 pan. 

Topping Ingredients

• 3/4 cup palm shortening (or softened coconut oil )

• 1/4 cup coconut sugar

• 1 - 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Method

1. Mix all ingredients until combined in a small bowl.

2. Drop by spoonful over cake batter.

3. Swirl using a chopstick, bamboo skewer or toothpic to mix into batter.

4. Bake 20-22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove from oven allowing to cool enough to remove bars from pan.

Glaze Ingredient

• maple syrup or honey, to taste

Method

1. Drizzle syrup or honey over cake.

2. Enjoy!