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, 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.
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
- 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 cinnamon, sugar 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.
Rose says
This looks amazing, very keen to make it! Do you usually bake it using your oven fan forced or standard? I have both options so would love to know what you would recommend for the best outcome!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Rose, either would be fine but I actually use fan forced for most of my baking! Hope you love the cake!
Elena says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I just made it (- the glaze) and it was delightful 🙂 Do you have an advice on how to store it for a few days so it doesn’t dry?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Elena! I find it keeps well in an airtight container just as room temperature.
Serene says
Thanks so much for this recipe! Made it today, replacing half of the sugar with a drizzle of maple syrup and it still turned out awesome. Cake is soft, light and very well balanced. I’m definitely keeping this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that! Thanks for the kind feedback!!
✌🏻✌🏻 says
This is an amazing recipe and I am sure I will make this recipe a hundred more times
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Leona says
Can I use a loaf tin?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Leona, yes you could, you’ll just have adjust the cooking time.
rtf says
Still raw inside
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, sounds like it just needs a few more minutes in the oven. Keep baking and just check it every 5 minutes. You’ll know it’s cooked when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
GeneralKenobi says
I only have green apples available, if I used green apples instead of red apples, should I decrease the sugar amount?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I recommend just following the recipe as is and using green apples – will be lovely!
Chris says
Hi ,if I dont have yougut or sour cream,what else could use,cant go out at moment
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Chris, the yogurt or sour cream does make this cake lovely and soft. I haven’t tried with an alternative but I think your next best bet would be milk.
Carole says
Hi, I had an abundance of apples,I googled recipes – the first one I tried was undercooked – I had to really overcook It. Made with butter and very heavy.
Today I was lucky to find your recipe and was very
Impressed how light and soft this cake was. I tried first cooking it fir 3o min., but it was not cooked.
I began to worry but the extra 5
Min turned out a delicious cake.. The veg oil &
Yogurt did the trick- thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Carole, love hearing that! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. And I’m with you, a light and soft cake is the best! ❤️
Paula says
Lovely Mikita cake, and so easy to make
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Paula!
Glenda Lempereur says
Thanks for trying out the different versions using oil vs butter. I used a good brand of canned apples and we really enjoyed it.
Jessica Holmes says
You are welcome! So glad you enjoyed it Glenda!
Aseel says
What can i i add instead of greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Sour cream?
Lucia says
Just bake this cake is absolute delicious so moist easy the best so far , I use sour cream instead of yogurt . Thank you so much for sharing this yummy cake !!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you loved it Lucia!
M. Saito says
A definite keeper. Used granulated sugar and used melted coconut oil and it was amazing. Didn’t do the glaze. I froze a couple of them and when I was going to serve, I wrapped it in foil and heated for 20-25 min at 350, really amazing when warm.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that! So glad you enjoyed them!
Bicbci says
I try also this recipe but i pot blackberry instead apple it was yummy and soft 👌👌👌👌
Jane Girotto says
Super moist and delicious cake! I did make a small chance though: I doubled the topping amount but it was a bit too greasy so I added a small amount of flour. I was very generous with the cinnamon measurement and added a sprinkle each of nutmeg and cloves (just love these spices with apple).
My 14 yr old said that this is the best Apple cake shes ever had! 😊
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jane! Wow I love hearing that! So glad you and your fam enjoyed it ❤️