A deliciously easy Cinnamon Apple Cake made from scratch. This soft and tender Apple Cake is packed with fresh apples and features a crunchy cinnamon topping and a drizzle of sweet frosting.

Apple-licious ๐
Can we take a moment to talk about the match made in heaven that is apple and cinnamon? This terrifically tender Cinnamon Apple Cake is my new fave.
It’s soft, it’s sweet and it’s jam-packed with fresh, juicy apples. The final touch is a sprinkling of sugary cinnamon and a sweet milk glaze.

Can I just say that I never thought a Cinnamon Apple Cake could taste so good. I baked quite a few cakes to get this recipe JUST right and when I finally landed on the winning recipe, I was beyond excited.
One bite of this soft and fluffy masterpiece and I was fist-pumping the air. After many failed Apple Cinnamon Cakes, I instantly knew this one was the winner. Of course, I had to have a few more slices just to be oh-so-sure.

When I first attempted this cake, I started by using oil as the main fat. This is because oil tends to add moisture to baked goods, like in my Olive Oil Brownies or my Pistachio Cake. I love using oil in cakes.
The first cake was lovely and soft and the taste was on point. But the edges were a little dry for my liking. So I moved on to see if butter would work better, like in my Easy Peach Cake, while also slightly altering the amount of flour and sugar.

Let’s just say, it didn’t. The first butter version used melted butter and the cake was heavy, dense and not great. To add lightness and get back closer to the original version, I tried creaming the butter and sugar, like I do in my Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut recipe. It was better, but still nothing rivalled the oil version.
So finally, I returned to oil, but used a little less flour and added yoghurt to ensure the cake was soft, moist and never dry. It was crowned the WINNER.
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What you have here is a melt-in-your-mouth cake that’s studded with fresh apples. It boasts a sugar cinnamon crumble, that once baked, becomes crisp and flavourful.
The cinnamon topping blends perfectly with the juicy, chunks of apple. Then, just because we can, we drizzle the entire cake with a two ingredient sweet sugar glaze. It’s pure perfection.

Tips for making Apple Cake
- This Cinnamon Apple Cake is incredibly easy to make. You only need a bowl and spoon – no need for an electric mixer.
- You can use any kind of apple you like, I use red Royal Gala apples. You’ll need to peel and then chop your apple into roughly 1/2 inch squares – discarding the core.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredient until combined – try not to over mix.
- The crumble is made using sugar and cinnamon. Mix together using melted butter until it clumps like sand. Sprinkle over the top of your cake batter – no need to be perfect here.
- Bake until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- The final touch? Drizzle over the sweet sugar glaze and serve!

Watch how to make it
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Let’s Bake
Cinnamon Apple Cake
A tender Cinnamon Apple Cake drizzled with a milk glaze.
Ingredients
Apple cake
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bakingย soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 cup (approximately 1 large) red apple, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil or flavourless oil
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt
Cinnamon topping
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugarย or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Sugarย glaze
- 30 grams (1/4 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8-inch round cake panย with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add chopped apple and stir briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add eggs, vanilla, oil and yoghurt. Whisk brieflyย just to break up the egg yolks.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined โ but be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
- To make cinnamon topping, combine sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix together until lumpy and wet. Sprinkle over cake batter.
- Bake cake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Transfer cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, mix together sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Stir until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add an extra tablespoon of milk. Drizzle glaze all over the cake.
Nutrition Information







Alaina Walker says
Quick and delicious. Ive switched apples for pears, mixed apples and pears, added cardamom. Ran out of yoghurt and used milk in its place. This recipe never fails and is always impressive. Go ahead and make it. You wont regret it.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow love how versatile this cake is! Thanks for sharing this with us Alaina.
Sonika says
Super easy to make and turns out to be a delicious, moist treat. Definitely saving and sharing this recipe forward. The only adjustment I would suggest is doubling the amount of apple. Love it!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that Sonika and thank you for your feedback!
Vicky says
This cake is amazing thank you so much for sharing!!! I actually did mine as a tray bake and have cut into squares, do I need to store in the fridge?
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you love it Vicky! I find it keeps fine at room temperature.
Kate says
I absolutely love this recipe, I soften my apples first with a bit of cinnamon, absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s become a family favorite. ๐
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear that Kate!
Shayne says
Iโve made this cake multiple times, always a winner. Freezes really well too.
Jessica Holmes says
That’s awesome to hear Shayne!
Nancy says
I made this using Ardent Mills gluten-free flour, 1:1 ratio. I added 2 more tablespoons of yogurt & reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup. Baked 15 minutes longer. It turned out perfect! My friends had seconds.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks so much for your feedback Nancy. I’m so pleased it worked out gf for you!
Naomi says
Super easy to make and the texture turned out amazing. But I would defently double the amount of apples next time
Jessica Holmes says
I appreciate your feedback Naomi!
K. B. Sienna says
Hi Jessica! I’m trying to make an earl grey apple cake. Do you think I could use this recipe and tweak it? I could steep 2 teabags in microwaved yoghurt (not sure if it would spoil it), or just add tea leafs into the batter. What would you recommend?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi! That sounds amazing. I’m sorry but I don’t have much experience making a tea-infused cake – I only recently became a tea drinker! I’m hoping a kind reader might be able to reply to your comment though. If you do give it a go, be sure to report back!
MONICA says
Hi, Jessica, which kind of greek yoghurt did you use, sweetened or unsweetened?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Monica, unsweetened for this one! I hope you enjoy it!
Somaya says
Absolutely love this cake. Itโs so easy to make and I also modified the baking temperature and time to bake in an airfryer!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh wow, I’ve never tried baking a cake in an air fryer before! So glad it worked well for you Somaya.