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.
Lala says
Hi, i want to make this but I have no yogurt, can I do it without it ??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I don’t recommend leaving it out. You could use sour cream instead or some readers have noted they used buttermilk with success.
May says
I don’t have baking powder or soda but I do have self raising. Could I use that instead of plain?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi May, I haven’t tested this cake with self raising flour so I can’t recommend – sorry!
Michael says
Done and dusted. Very good soft cake
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Michael.
Susan says
This is a Yummy little apple cake! So easy, outstanding result. Your directions were perfect, My dad and husband ate it warm before I glazed it and we decided it was gorgeous and delicious on its own. Recipe made it to my GO TO BiNDER, perfect cake to make quickly when you invite someone spur of the moment., or to bring to a neighbor or friend just because! Loved it! Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Aww love that Susan! Thank you for your very kind feedback!
Danielle says
Do I have to use yogurt??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Danielle, yes I recommend following the recipe if you can. You can use sour cream instead of you prefer.
Stephanie M. says
Can you use regular sugar if you don’t have caster sugar? Or any other substitute?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Stephanie, you can use granulated sugar instead of caster sugar.
Stephanie M says
Jessica,
Great thank you for the quick response! Super excited to try this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
I hope you love it!
Candice says
Was hoping to make a cake with apple and rhubarb and came across your recipe. Do you think itll work if i added rhubarb to yoru recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Candice, I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not sure! It sounds lovely tho!
Jun Anabo says
“Covid Stay-at -Home” gave me the chance to hone my baking skill…and by chance, saw your recipe for Cinnamon Apple Cake……my flatmates really enjoyed the moist cake…I made double recipe…superb and easy…thank you from Saudi Arabia!!!!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Mil says
This cake came out fantastic! Love loved loved it! And it’s so easy. We couldn’t even wait till it cooled off completely…
thank you Jessica…
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Mil!
Kiran says
Yummy cake, I always make my cakes with butter, first time ever I made with oil and yogurt and it was delicious. Followed the recipe exactly and it came out just perfect!
Thank you so much, the whole family loved it 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad you enjoyed it Kiran!
esi says
hi. can I use sweetened greek yoghurt? if yes would I have to adjust the amount of sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, i usually use a fairly sour Greek yogurt but sweetened yogurt will be fine!
Esi says
Baked this cake yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful. Will bake it again tomorrow.
Thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Esi!
Cassandra says
I don’t have a round cake pan can I use a square baking dish & what size do you recommend?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can Cassandra! An 8 or 9 inch square baking pan will be fine!
Cresilda says
Delicious 😋 We totally enjoyed it 😊Thank you for sharing your recipe .
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Georgie says
I made this recipe primarily to use up a couple of apples. Wow!!! My family absolutely love it! Made with gluten free flour and dairy free coconut yoghurt. An excellent light recipe that has been made twice in 7 days due to consumption within 24 hours. I’ve been asked to make it again tonight. So easy, I don’t even mind! Thank you xx
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Georgie! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Pawan Gill says
Thank you for sharing this! I was wondering if you had any substitutions you would recommend for the eggs.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m sorry Pawan, I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs.