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 🍎
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 used oil as the main fat. This is because oil tends to add moisture to baked goods, like in my Olive Oil Brownies or my Malteser Chocolate 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, 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.
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!
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Print
Cinnamon Apple Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Category: Cake
- Cuisine: Australian
Description
A tender Cinnamon Apple Cake drizzled with a milk glaze.
Ingredients
Apple cake
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster 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
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt
Cinnamon topping
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Sugar glaze
- 30 grams (1/4 cup) icing or powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line an 8 or 9 inch round cake tin with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Add chopped apple and stir briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl, add eggs, vanilla, oil and yoghurt. Whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with a wooden spoon until combined – but be careful not to over mix. Spoon batter into prepared tin.
- To make cinnamon topping, combine cinnamon, sugar 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
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 389
Keywords: Apple cake, Cinnamon apple cake, One bowl apple cake
I have had trouble making cakes in the past. But this recipe is so easy, quick ,fool proof and amazingly delicious.
I found that without the glaze It’s sweet enough and perfect to have for morning tea. Something i know I can now whip up at short notice . Wonderful not to have to think to hard about what to make when friends come over!
So happy to hear that Arti! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Hi Jessica, my son decided to try this recipe since we had a bunch of apples that weren’t as crisp of a variety as we usually like them. He is 14 and wanted to make this on his own so I let him be. I just wanted to give you a heads up he really struggled because even though you put a link to what caster sugar is in the recipe (we didn’t figure that out until I had to look at it). when you google caster sugar (for us Americans anyway) it says it’s powder sugar. So he made this recipe with powdered sugar instead of granulated. Needless to say it didn’t turn out quite right lol. So anyhoo I just wanted to let you know in case you felt like putting a little note or something on the recipe to make it clearer so people less familiar with cooking don’t mix it up.
★★★★
Thanks for the feedback Niki – sorry for any confusion!
Made this cake yesterday and took it to work today for my guys. They loved it and so did I. It is so moist and flavorful, I couldn’t believe it. I was pleasantly surprised. If you haven’t made it yet, try it, you’ll love it too. Best of all, it’s real easy to make.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that!