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







Zeny says
The best apple cake recipe. Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Zeny!
Anna Guerrero says
This really is a delicious cake ! Thank you for the recipe and the effort you have made to get it perfect . I cooked it for longer, 1 hour as 35mins wasn’t long enough and I’d run out of cinnamon so that’s back on my shopping list . It was moist and just lovely ! Didn’t last an hour . So it really is a winner .
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Anna! So glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your feedback on the cooking time too.
Noel Vercleyen says
Can you use strawberries and rhubarb instead od apples ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Noel, I haven’t tried this cake with strawberries and rhubarb! It could be worth a shot but I would be vary of the moisture levels. Maybe not adding too much fruit or draining it first if pre-cooked?
Betsy Takai says
This recipe is a keeper. It’s simple to make, similar to muffin recipes, just mix wet and dry ingredients separately then stir together, but it has a cake crumb feel and nice egg flavour. I agree the oil helps make the cake lighter. The sour cream is a nice touch too not just for taste and texture but also gives the cake inside a pretty light colour. The simple cinnamon crust gives the cake a nice crunch again without being too heavy. I will use this simple batter as my base from now on for any fruit cake. I suspect it’ll work well with peach, pear, blueberry and maybe even strawberry. Thanks for sharing Jessica. Appreciate the time you take to make it just right!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Betsy. It does work well with other fruits you are right! Otherwise I also have a lovely Pear Cake and Peach Cake you might like to try.
Sophie says
Simple and truly delicious, and definitely a new member to the staples! I tried adding 1.5 times more apple and it turned out great, although maybe that contributed to the fragility of the cake (it was still cut-able though).
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Sophie!
Zara says
Made for a family gathering
This got devoured! And let me tell you people were asking for the recipe
So easy to make yet the flavour of the cake was incredible
Book marked as I know I will be renaking this
Jessica Holmes says
That is so awesome to hear Zara! So glad everyone loved it. Always a win when people ask for the recipe 🙂
Sawsan says
The best. I used milk instead of yoghurt_ half a cup
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you liked it!
Bob V says
Another perfect cake
Many thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So welcome Bob!
A says
This is a gorgeous cake. I used two Granny Smiths apples and golden caster sugar in the cake and level spoon measures for the baking powder, baking soda and salt. I used golden demerara sugar and a heaped tsp of cinnamon for the topping. I used my food mixer to blend the wet ingredients in one bowl then added them to the dry ones in another, mixing just enough to blend everything. I needed to bake it for around 45-50 minutes at 160º in my new fan oven to get it perfectly done. The soft, moist texture of this cake is lovely and the topping gives a bit of crunch. I didn’t add the icing sugar glaze because the cake was sweet enough for my taste without it. Freshly baked and warm, it would make a delicious dessert with custard or cream.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that sounds just lovely. So glad it worked well for you!
Heidi Ann says
I am about to make this BUT can you please tell me if the Ingredient list is completely for the cake only or do the measurements for the sugar and cinnamon include what is used for the topping? Which would reduce the amount of those that actually go in the batter..thanks! This sounds so delicious but won’t start till I am sure of what the heck I am doing! Only started baking a few months ago and having a blast:)
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Heidi Ann, welcome to the wonderful world of baking! If you scroll to the recipe card you should see the ingredients broken up by Apple Cake, Cinnamon Topping and Sugar Glaze. I hope that helps?
Cathy says
This was one of the best apple cakes I have ever tried, moist and full of flavor! I chose not to pour glaze on top, and served with coffee. It was also easy to make and such a crowd pleaser!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow love that Cathy! So pleased you enjoyed it!
Ella says
Thank you for the recipe, it’s a delicious cake which is so easy to make!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad you liked it Ella!
Rochelle says
Very easy to make and super delicious
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved it!
Michele says
This cake is perfection! It’s delicious, beautiful and came together quickly. I used avacado oil but otherwise followed your recipe exactly. I made it for my apple loving husband’s birthday cake…and he is very happy with it!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Michele. Happy birthday to your hubby!
Lainey says
Totally the easiest cake to make, and so delicious. It’s a hit with my husband, and so quick to make if expecting visitors. A firm favourite!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Lainey!
Liz says
My favourite recipe – thank you Jessica it’ssuch a gem…& have been able to make variations with berries, pears…just wondering Jessica, do you think the batter could be distributed in muffin tin
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely Liz! Or I have a Cinnamon Apple Muffin recipe you might like to try too.
Liz Da Silva says
😋🤩