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







Mardi Culross says
Is it possible to use wholemeal flour rather than plain flour?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Mardi, I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure. But I often like to try half half when I’m experimenting. So perhaps you could try replacing half the flour with wholemeal flour and see how it goes? Do report back!
Rachna says
It was exactly what was told in the recepie, my cake came out exactly same, I used curd instead of yoghurt though
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! That’s wonderful to hear!
Nya says
Seriously the best apple tea cake I have ever made! Thank you for this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
How fantastic!
Christine Smith says
A 5 star desert! I made it on a Sunday just minutes prior to dinner. I used sour cream instead of yogurt because that’s what I had on hand. We loved it! Thank you. It’s a perfect Fall treat!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So happy to hear that Christine!
Beth Wood says
This recipe is absolutely amazing! Smells and tastes like fall. It came out perfectly moist. I used sour cream instead of yogurt which is what I had on hand. I plan to make this for my family when we get together for the holidays. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
I love that Beth! So glad you enjoyed it.
Lesley Spragg says
Hi can I freeze the cake after cooking?
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely!
Nicholas Price says
Hi I completely forgot to add the cinnamon topping? Can I add it after cake cooked?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! You could try brushing the cake with melted butter and sprinkling over the cinnamon sugar instead!
Nicholas Price says
thanks. btw, it tastes great as an apple teacake, as well.
Amy says
I was so excited to find this recipe because it looked so easy and I had all ingredients on hand. It didn’t disappoint. So quick to make and delicious to eat. I’ll be making it again for sure. Next time I’ll make sure I have some fresh whipped cream to serve it with for an extra special treat.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that Amy! It does go so well with whipped cream 😉
Jessica Berger says
Absolutely perfect and not fussy at all to make. I swapped out apples for peaches the second time around and dare I say it was even better?!
Jessica Holmes says
Ohh I’ll have to do peaches next time! So glad you loved it!
Lyn says
Would love to make this recipe. However, we are trying to cut down and, where possible, cut out refined sugar. Would replacing the sugar with honey or maple syrup work? Learnt about your blog from the Qut alumni newsletter – what an amazing career you’ve had!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lyn, so nice to hear from you! I haven’t tried this recipe without sugar, so I can’t say for sure. You could try experimenting but remember sugar also adds moisture and texture, not just sweetness. Perhaps you could try reducing the sugar and adding a little honey or maple syrup first. I do have a lovely sugar free muffin recipe you might like to try too!
Leah says
This cake is amazing! The 2nd time l made it l doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9x13in pan. Turned out perfect and was easier to cut into small squares for a ladies morning tea 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Leah!
Sandra Ryan says
Fabulous cake – I didn’t have Greek yogurt so I used low-fat crème Fraiche instead, the result was perfect.
Definitely will be making this again and will be confident serving a slice to guests.
I do find that many new recipes I try from online searching fail so extremely pleased this one was successful.
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful Sandra! So pleased you enjoyed this one!
Bobbie says
Do you have to used yogurt or sour cream in this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Bobbie, for best results, yes! They help to create a tender texture and keep the cake moist for days.
Shukri says
Delicious and easy to make. Thank you for this recipe and blog post. I had 2 gala apples left from a batch and very little ingredients on hand. This really made my day. I began with dessert 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
I love that and your dessert philosophy!
Hadeel Kakish says
So easy and yummy 😍 thank you
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Siana Stantcheva says
Brilliant. So easy to make and comes out perfect. Beautiful easy instructions. Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Siana!