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







Joanna says
Do you think this could be turned into a layered cake for a birthday? Maybe a rectangular two layer, or would it be too delicate?
Jessica Holmes says
I think it would work for two layers Joanna!
Sue says
Nice coffee cake. Not overly sweet. Did have a problem with it sinking in the center. Even baking a bit longer didn’t help.
I will continue making though
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sue, pleased you enjoyed this one. Did you add any extra apple? Sometimes if there’s too much moisture in a cake, it can cause it to sink in the middle. Here’s an article with a few more common reasons why cakes sink in case that’s helpful.
Manjeet Sidhu says
I have made this cake so many times and always perfect. I even reduced the sugar a little bit in cake mix and it came out so light and delicious
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Manjeet!
Pat says
Delicious recipe..came out perfectly spongy and tasty and made the whole flat smell glorious as a bonus!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Love that Pat – the smell is almost the best part!
Penny Eadie says
I changed the recipe a bit, added cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the cake and used melted butter instead of oil. Light, tender and delicious
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Penny! Sounds delish!
Lola says
I substituted apple sauce for oil, and demerara brown sugar for white. Cut sugar to 1/4 cup. Added cinnamon to the mix as well as the topping. Added pecans to the topping. Worked out well. Very moist.
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds amazing Lola!
Janice says
I just made with gluten free flour and I added cinnamon to the mix . So delicious served with gf vanilla ice cream
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that’s wonderful to hear Janice!
anabela azevedo says
So easy and so good! Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
So welcome!
Lesley says
Can I freeze this luscious-sounding cake?
Thanks, Lesley
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely Lesley!
Debra says
The Best cake! I added a slight shake of apple pie spice. You get a slight hint of the flavor but cake stays white. Also I have substituted all oil for half avocado oil & half plain applesauce which worked fine. Excellent cake!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that’s wonderful to hear Debra! Thank you for sharing!
Gina Patino says
I forgot to mention that in addition to making half the batter, I also altered the recipe.
I only had whole wheat flour on hand so I used that mixed with oat flour. I also added chopped walnuts. Mini loaves are delicious.
Thank you for a simple, yet tasty coffee cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that Gina!
Amaani says
I love this recipe! I have made it multiple times and my family loves it. Also love that I dont have to take out my weighing scale. I add walnuts and skip the glaze to make it feel just a little healthier.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Amaani! Walnuts would be a lovely addition.
Christina says
I’m in Europe and I don’t know if things weigh differently here, but the weight in grams didn’t coincide with the amount of cups. I realized after I had put in the baking powder etc that it was way more than 1.5 cups of flour. I decided to keep going and used cups to measure the oil and yogurt and sugar. It ended up being more of a dough than a batter. I could literally pick up the “ball” with my hand to press it in the pan. I tried to watch the video to see if this was the way it’s supposed to be, but it cut off and went to another video. And it took more than an hour to cook through. Having said this, it wasn’t bad!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Christina, so sorry to hear you had trouble with the measurements. Using a kitchen scale should take all the guesswork out of it for you. But I’m so happy that the end result was still ok.
Lou says
Made it today and was super easy. Did t really get much of an apple flavor. Might add extra next time. Will deff make it again.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Lou!
LMD says
Made this and it was moist, not too sweet and just perfect. I used sugar cane instead of caster and I left the apple skin on. The yogurt really made this cake the best texture. Best eaten warm with some vanilla icecream
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds amazing! So glad you enjoyed it.
judi says
I LOVE a good apple cake and always on the lookout to try another recipe or version. This recipe looked enticing and I couldn’t imagine making it without a mixer, doing the stirring and mixing the apples right in with the flour. I HAD to try it!
So, I gave it a try last night! It will not be the last time, it is delicious. Really what I was hoping for. It smells wonderful and its moist, and the crunch on the outside just adds to it. The process is so easy and its the best! I will share with a friend today and bake up another for home. Thank you so much!! Wonderful
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! How to hear that Judi! Thank you for your kind feedback x