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







Terri says
This cake is delicious and easy to make. I’ve had lots of compliments on it
Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Terri!
Grace says
Made this today and the husband loved it. We both did. I baked it in a loaf tin and it turned out very well. Love the crunchy topping and it’s just sweet enough.
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! Love hearing that Grace!
Shelley says
My go to cake family fave!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Shelley!
Greg White says
Simple and delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Greg!
Holly says
I’ve made this cake so many times. Its my husband’s favourite. I double the crumb coating and mix apple pie spice into the cake. It never lasts long. Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds lovely Holly! So pleased you enjoyed it!
Dawn says
Moist delicious cake. Perfect for tea or just a midnight snack. Loved it. Will be making it again, soon. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
I love that! Thanks Dawn!
Sam says
Very simple yummy cake , fantastic with coffee !
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Sam!
Gori says
Comment from my family: “The best apple cake ever!” ☺️
I baked it two days in a row 😄.
Next recipe I will try is the Cinnamon Rolls 😋😋
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! Love that Gori. Hope you enjoy the rolls as well!
Christine Heath says
This is really a delicious cake! Moist and not too sweet. I’ve saved the recipe to make it again very soon. I followed the instructions and didn’t change anything. The only thing o would say I did “wrong “ was the glaze and I should have only used 1 tablespoon instead of 2
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for so much for your feedback Christine. So glad you enjoy this one!
Krystal says
I cannot wait to make this for Thanksgiving. If I make it ahead of time, how do I store it and how long will it last?
Jessica Holmes says
It’s the perfect Thanksgiving cake I think Krystal! You can easily make it a day or two in advance. You can simply store it in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature. Any longer than that and I would freeze it to maintain freshness. Then just thaw and glaze when you are ready to serve. Hope that helps!
Molly says
I’m super excited to make this but realized too late I only have sweetened vanilla Greek yogurt (not plain!). Should I be altering the sugar amount if I use it? Would sour cream be the safer substitute?
Jessica Holmes says
That’ll be fine Molly! Or sour cream would work well too!
MillCat says
Delicious and moist cake. Made it as written. Wouldn’t change a thing. It’s a keeper!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that!
Judy says
So easy to make and so delicious. My friends said “and you say you can’t cook”. This amazing!
Jessica Holmes says
How good is that Judy!
Joanne says
The cake turned out moist and flavorful! I substituted the cinnamon (ours was super expired and I hadn’t replaced it yet) for pumpkin pie spice and it was fine. I really enjoyed this recipe and so did my family. It’s definitely gonna be a go to recipe again and again.
Jessica Holmes says
How good! Love that Joanne!
Dot says
Is the cake sturdy enough to tolerate being inverted to remove parchment paper then turned right side up for glazing? Thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes Dot! That’s what I do when I make it. Just let it cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes so it’s not too fragile.