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







Sue says
Tastes great, was a hit at a family gathering! Two questions: 1) Do you think maple syrup would work instead of sugar in the base? 2) Would flax eggs/chia eggs work as an alternative to eggs in this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sue, so glad you loved it. I haven’t tried this recipe using those substitutions so I can’t say I’m sorry. I do think subbing the sugar will greatly change the taste and texture. I think I recall some readers subbing the eggs if you have a scroll through the comments. If you do try it, let us know how you go!
Umm Saf says
My fave apple/cinnamon recipe ever! Thank you for posting this. I’ve made this a good few times over the years.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that!
Cheryl says
This cake is fabulous. I mostly followed the recipe except that I used a 5.3 oz single container of yogurt spooned into a measuring cup and added oil to measure 1 cup, it worked perfectly in the cake. Also, I grated an apple for a more appley flavor throughout which made a moister cake than small dice did the first time I made it. I’ve made this recipe 5 times in 2 weeks, lol, it’s that good. Twice for us and three cakes given as gifts. I’ve shared the written recipe with several people. Thank you, this is the perfect recipe I’d been searching for.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow this makes me so happy Cheryl! I can’t believe you’ve made so many. I’ve included this recipe in the cookbook I’m writing because it has become so cherished by my readers!
Lynn says
10/22/25 Excellent cake. Super moist and delicious. The only changes I made were ,I used 2 granny Smith apples and added walnuts. Didnt use glaze, didn’t need it. Baked for 31 minutes and it was perfect. A definite keeper!
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! Thank you so much for your feedback Lynn!
Erin says
I absolutely love this recipe. I’ve also made it with blueberries instead of apples and a combination of apples and blueberries both delicious! I’m about to try the recipe as cupcakes. You cannot go wrong with this recipe. It is wonderful.
Jessica Holmes says
That’s so lovely to hear Erin! I’ll have to try it with blueberries soon. Yum!
Lina says
Can I add nuts, and vanilla yogurt
Jessica Holmes says
Yes and yes!
Denise says
I absolutely love this cake and it’s always a big hit. I was wondering if you’ve made it into muffins before instead? Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved it Denise! It will work as muffins but if you want big domed muffins, you’re better off using my Apple Cinnamon Muffin recipe.
Pri says
I really don’t know what happened when I made this cake.
I followed all the instructions to the T- I have a fan forced oven so I set it to 160C to bake for 32mins- took it out and the skewer wasn’t clean so I put it back in the oven-this went on for legitimately another 15mins. And STILL it wasn’t cooked in the middle.
I feel like I should have just put the oven at 180C fan forced from the beginning. Surely if you bake at a lower temperature you’d have to bake for longer given the moisture content in this cake?!
Can someone shed light on where I may have gone wrong?
The flavours were delicious, but I don’t understand why it was underbaked when I followed the recipes steps.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Pri, thanks for your feedback. Do you have an oven thermometer? It’s a great (and cheap) way to know if your oven is accurate. Every home oven is different so you might find yours is running a little cold. Bake times can also vary based on cake pans (aluminium pans can cook faster than glass or ceramic) and the ingredients – like if you had more pieces of apple. You did everything right though, checking it every 5 minutes until it was ready. Now you will know for next time!
Pri says
Thanks so much for your response Jessica, I’ll definitely look into getting an oven thermometer-love a new gadget!
Rahma says
I backed this for our study group. Everyone loves it.
Thanks a lot for this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Rahma!
Marcia says
I’ve tried a few cinnamon apple cakes, as I make a lot of mini loaves for gift giving…this recipe is by far the best one. I did double the apples but left all other measurements the same. Easy to make, turns out just perfect, nice and moist and freezes well. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Marcia! What a kind gift!
Kirsty says
So good to eat
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Kirsty!
KAZI TARANNUM HOSSAIN says
Just baked & turned out AMAZING 🫶
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that!
Anushka says
Fantastic easy recipe and so delicious! I have made it about 4 times in the last couple of months. I always skip the glaze!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that’s lovely feedback!
ane georgiades says
Wonderful recipe!
Can I freeze the cake?
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely! It freezes well Ane!
Vicki Johns says
Hi! Is this suitable for freezing?!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes Vicki! This cake actually freezes really well!