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, 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 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 or flavourless 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 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
Serving Size: Calories: 310 Sugar: 25 g Sodium: 143.8 mg Fat: 14.1 g Carbohydrates: 42.7 g Protein: 4.8 g Cholesterol: 42.2 mg







Xenia says
Super easy recipe to follow – deliciously moist cake. Perfect cake to whip together before guests as it comes together so quickly.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that! It’s my go-to when guests pop over too!
Joanna says
Love love love love love this cake! So perfect in every way! Too many compliments and not enough words. Thank you so much
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Appreciate the kind words Joanna!
Fabienne Tosi says
Hey, I made this LOVELY cake for my dad’s 94 bday and the whole fam raved about it. It was extremely delicious. Many thanks! I cannot wait for the summer to make Eton mess. Keep on “bakering” Jess!
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! So glad you and the family loved it!
Patricia Shin says
Fabulous and very easy no nonsense recipes perfect every time 👍
Jessica Holmes says
Thank you so much!
ziv says
love it. easy for beginners and people like me with no patience
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Cindy M says
Amazing! I used apple sauce instead of oil (cause, right?) and sour cream instead of yogurt (just cause that’s what I had). I skipped the glaze to “stay healthy” 😉 This cake is SO delicious I can stop sneaking bites! Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds amazing Cindy! Thanks for the feedback!
Tim says
Hi, thanks for this recipe – this cake is stellar.
I have two questions –
1 – I’d like to make a much bigger version of this cake for a family celebration and will need to cook in a 8×12″ pan – how should i adjust the recipe?
2 – Is the cake suitable for freezing?
(I tend to make it without the glaze, just the batter and crumble)
Thanks so much!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Tim, so glad you enjoy this one. It definitely freezes well. To adjust exactly, you’d need to work out the math for the volume of your pan. But my guess is that doubling it would be about right. Hope it goes well!
Tim says
thank you!
Caroline says
Easy to make and delicious
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Caroline!
Patricia says
Always a favourite!!
Easy, and delish.
I don’t add the glaze, the cinnamon topping is enough.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Patricia!
Angela Tingle says
Daisy says
I have made this recipe so many times and it never fails to impress. It’s my husband’s favourite. Perfect ammount of sweetness and the yoghurt makes it so fluffy and good! Really recommend others to make it 👌🏻
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! Thank you Daisy!
Karina says
Made This 3 times. The 1st time I put 1 cup more flour, 1/2 more greek yogurt and it was moist and yummy. The 2nd time I used a bundt pan, and that was okay. The third time, i made more cinnamon topping and put the apples in them. It was delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Karina! So glad you enjoyed all the versions!
Matilda says
Am I able to freeze the cake and reheat it to serve it? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Matilda, yes you can freeze this cake. It freezes well. You can then just defrost at room temperature before serving. Or warm up slices in the microwave if you prefer.
Shay says
Does this need to be refrigerated after?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Shay, I just cover it or pop it in an airtight container and leave it at room temperature.
Jennifer says
Really nice simple cake that comes together quickly. With the cinnamon topping it’s a good coffee cake style. Definitely can leave off the additional drizzle if you are looking to reduce sugar consumption and you won’t miss it. A keeper!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks so much Jennifer!