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







Christina Fitzpatrick says
Perfect first time. A huge hit.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay!
Sarah-Jane Sidebottom says
Phenomenal! So wonderfully soft but crunchy. Made it for an Author who loves apple cake….and took to his book launch.
I’m so impressed. I just cooked for approx another 10 mins but I used more apple so to be expected.
I shall make many more times yet.🧡
Jessica Holmes says
How special is that! Thank you for the lovely feedback Sarah-Jane!
Tyler, The Creator says
Great recipe, but i followed the recipe exactly, and my cake needed over an hour instead of 35 minutes to cook.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Tyler! Did you use the same size cake pan?
Daisy says
So did mine! I then got a couple of oven thermometers, and they are slightly different one from another, but I checked them with my mum’s oven and her thermometer, and they seem to be good. To get both them close to 180C, I have to put the oven at about 215C!
So that was why my cakes took an hour before! My oven wasn’t anywhere near as hot as it should have been. 🤦🏼♀️
Jenny says
I made this as muffins instead of cake. They were very moist and delicious. I used whole-wheat flour, olive oil and maple syrup instead of sugar. I also didn’t peel my apples nor did I add the glaze, all in an attempt to make them a bit healthier and it all worked great.
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds amazing Jenny! I’ll have to give that a go!
Randy says
Have a quick question, I’m considering making this in a 10 inch spring form round cheesecake pan and using 2 cups of diced apples. What other ingredients need to be adjusted (if any) in the original recipe? And what about baking length/time??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Randy, it’s really up to you. You can make it as is and use the larger pan. It’ll be a wider but flatter cake and likely bake a touch faster. Or you could consider increasing the recipe or even doubling it. I haven’t tested a scaled up recipe but many readers in the comments have tried. If you want to get very scientific with it, you could work out the volume differences between your pan and an 8-inch pan and then go from there. I hope that’s a little bit helpful?
Sue says
Delicious apple cake, made it but used sour cream instead of yogurt. Also put 2 taps cinnamon in batter not on top. Made frosting to drizzle on top.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Sue! Sounds fabulous!
Kristin Michiels says
This was amazingly delicious!!! Made exactly as written. first time, then cut back the oil and sugar by about 1/4 the second time, still wonderful! Even good w/o the frosting!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s awesome Kristin!
Melanie says
Will using a green apple turn out the same? Which red apple? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can use a green apple Melanie! Any apple will work 🙂 I usually use Jazz apples or Pink Lady just because that’s what I have on hand.
CAM says
Can you use buttermilk instead of Greek yogurt or is sour cream a better substitute?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can if you like Cam. I prefer the richness of sour cream, or you can do half of each if you have it on hand.
Margaret Anderson says
It took an hour to cook, I’ve got a hole in the underneath of the cake wounder if that’s where some apple has been I didn’t like the crumble mix on the top I followed the recipe and put the tablespoon of butter in the mix but I think that was too much il see what the comments are like when they taste it its the first unhappy cake in over 50yrs
Jessica Holmes says
Sorry to hear that Margaret. I hope you still enjoy the taste!
Glenda Kochany says
I have a diabetic in my family can I use a sweetener instead of sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Glenda, I’m sorry but I haven’t tried this one with a sweetener so I’m not sure. If you do try it, let us know how it goes!
Stacey says
Great as is, but you can take it up a notch by replacing the oil for butter, double the amount of apple, and add 1/2 cup of pecan pieces and a extra tablespoon of brown sugar to the cinnamon topping.
Jessica Holmes says
I’ll have to try that Stacey!
Anna says
Loved it, so moist and lovely with custard or cream or just with cup of coffee
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I love it with custard too!
Janice Ashcroft says
I have baked this cake several times. It’s a lovely moist cake. I found it needed a little longer in my oven
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed this one Janice!
Jan in Waterdown says
Hi Jessica, coming to you from Canada. I’m planning to make your delicious sounding cake for a family gathering very soon. I’d like to use a bundt pan to make it look a little fancier. Any thoughts on baking time? And what do you think about the addition of toasted pecans?
Thanks for your time and help. 😀
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jan, I love that you are going to try this one. Toasted pecans would be an amazing addition! I haven’t tried this one in a bundt pan myself but I know a number of readers have with success. It depends on the depth of batter, but I would maybe check it around the 30 minutes mark and go from there.
Jan in Waterdown says
Hi Jessica, the pecans worked out great! I didn’t use a bundt pan since the topping would end up on the bottom of the cake once it’s removed from the pan…. right? I used a 9” spring form pan since I was worried about the cake overflowing my 8” which is only 1.5” deep. Also, I used plant based yogurt and in the glaze, I replaced the milk with maple syrup and a touch of vanilla to make the cake dairyfree. It was a hit at our delayed family Christmas dinner! Thanks and cheers from Canada 🍁
Jessica Holmes says
Yes that’s right Jan! Sounds like you nailed the recipe though! Honoured that it made it to your Christmas table.
Lynn says
What rack in the oven do you bake this on?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lynn, I always using the centre rack and place the cake in the middle of the oven. Hope that helps!