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 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, 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!
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 baking 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
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) Greek yogurt
Cinnamon topping
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Sugar 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 pan 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 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.
Stephanie says
Thanks! This is great quick & easy recipe. My husband & I thought it was delicious. So much so I made another the next day to gift to my neighbor. Slight variations no yogurt or oil so I used sour cream and butter instead. I also added chopped pecans to the cinnamon topping. I didn’t make glaze. It was still delicious! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds wonderful! Thanks Stephanie!
Cathy says
The cake was delicious and easy to make. The comments in the reviews were very helpful. I left out the icing, added a pinch of cinnamon to the batter and used two apples instead of one which I would highly recommend.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Cathy! Thanks for your feedback!
Aprile says
The best apple cake I have ever made. Easy & quick & have now made it about 10 times. A tick of approval from the whole family.
Jessica Holmes says
That’s so wonderful to hear!
nora says
I love this recipe I will defiantly make it again!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Nora!
Mary says
Can I put a bit of pumpkin purée in this ?
Jessica Holmes says
I haven’t tried!
Carla says
Made it today. Delicious.
Wondering if I can use the batter to make cup cakes?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Carla! Yes you could absolutely make cupcakes out of this cake batter!
Lynn Manning says
After making the scrumptious carrot cake cupcakes this week for hubby to take to work, I needed another cake for home celebrations, so tried this. What an absolute Winner this cake is and you would definitely think there was more than 1 Apple in it ❤
I didn’t do the glaze as had some of the cream cheese frosting leftover from the carrot cupcakes. A big hit with the family. Thank You
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Lynn! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback!
Leanne says
I love this recipe so easy to make. Came out so good. But one thing I don’t get is why my icing never comes opaque and stays on the cake. I even put more icing sugar and it’s still translucent and spreads around the cake.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Leanne, so glad you like this one! Are you adding the glaze while the cake is still warm? Even if the cake is just slightly warm, it will cause the sugar to melt and turn translucent. Once the cake is completely cooled, you should have better luck.
Leanne says
No the cake was completely cooled I put the icing the next day. Idk it’s happened before too for any other desserts I’ve made the icing sugar icing doesn’t stay properly. But thanks anyways.
SOUS says
i tried it and it turned out too sweet, maybe 50 g less sugar would be perfect.
★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for your feedback!
Bella says
A winner
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Debbie says
Can I use applesauce instead of yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Debbie, I haven’t tried so I’m not sure!
Christiana Kaluscha says
I made this cake 3 times now, but changed the recipe over time. I use 3 apples and mix them with 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and a sprinkle of lemon. I also added a cup of freshly grated coconut once and a cup of walnuts the other time. Both came out delicious. For the dry mix I use only 1 cup of sugar.I leave out the sugar glaze at the end as it comes out too sweet for my taste. Love this cake!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds absolutely lovely!
Ashley says
Hi, I have made this cake before and it came out delicious! I would like to try it in a 10 inch bundt pan. Would that be okay?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ashley, it wouldn’t quite be enough batter to fill a traditional bundt pan that holds 10-12 cups. This article about cake pan conversions might help!
Kim king says
Fantastic recipe- works really well and absolutely delish!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Kim!
Grace says
Can I use an 8inch square pan instead?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can!