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.
Ellie says
This cake is amazing! Everyone I’ve made it for has been obsessed and is always asking for it to be made again. Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Ellie!
Annabel says
This recipe is so simple and the cake is delicious and moist. For my personal taste, next time I’d increase the apples and reduce the sugar, but that’s just me! I used oatly single cream instead of Greek yoghurt and this worked really well, so definitely easy to substitute the dairy component if necessary 🙂 thanks for this recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Annabel!
amina says
hi i don’t have greek yogurt is it okay if i use plain yogurt instead?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Amina, Greek yogurt works best but I think plain yogurt would be ok!
Lisa says
Great recipe. Lovely moist cake.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Lisa!
Param says
Hi
I made this cake on my birthday today .It was really wonderful. .It was so delicious that I couldn’t help saying thanks to you. I consider myself lucky to land upon your recipe of apple cinnamon cake.
Thanks
Stay blessed
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed it Param!
Mellisa Tomlin says
Made this cake as My sister was begging me to bake her something followed the recipe I ended up having to tent the cake but I think I have ‘Hotter oven’ than most so advice for those whos baked goods come out browner than you’d like I just put foil over the top if it looks as though its going to burn. She was soooo happy with the flavor and how moist the cake was! THANK YOU!
Jessica Holmes says
Aww so happy to hear that Mellisa! Thank you for the feedback!
Fira says
Hi! Thank you very much for this awesome recipe! I had made this recipe for my parents and they really loved it! My mom also had baked this cake by herself when I’m not around. Yesterday she also just baked 2 cakes at once. But she wonder how to store this cake effectively to preserve the taste and texture? Can you suggest?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Fira! I usually just store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container. It keeps well – although nothing beats cake fresh out of the oven!
Dhevi says
Hi Jess,wanted to let you know that this is one of the best recipes I’ve come across!!Cake was so moist with the lovely topping!Will definitely be making it again.Thank you so much for sharing♥️👌🏼😊
Jessica Holmes says
Aww so glad to hear that!! Thank you for the kind feedback!
Becky says
Loved this recipe!!!
Was wondering if I can add more apple ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Becky, you sure can!
Tan says
Hi. Do I add the Cinammon crumble on top and THEN put it in oven? Instructions aren’t clear. I get that you add glaze at end. Thanks.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Tan, add the cinnamon topping and then bake the cake!
Stephanie says
Used an 8 inch pan and the batter overflowed into my oven. Other than that it was perfect and my family loved it.
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you liked it Stephanie – sorry to hear it overflowed!
Iona says
Hiya, such a lovely cake! Already been made 3 times in two weeks with plans to make double at the end of the week, One for us and one to drop off at my grampa. My question is as he’s on his own could some of it be frozen for later? Or would it be better to make a smaller cake? Can’t wait to try more recipes soon xx
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you like the cake Iona! That’s a lovely idea and yes you can freeze this cake.
Iona says
Thank you for letting me know I’m sure he’ll love it ☺️
Poe says
I didn’t have any yogurt, i put some sour cream, and it was really delicious, not dry at all, and not heavy like other cakes!!! We all loved that cake 😍😍
Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Glad to hear that!
MATTHEW says
Delicious. I added half a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter too. My only issue with this recipe is that I can see no way how this could cook in 35 minutes. After that time on 180 non fan it was liquid in the middle. I had to set a total of three additional 10 minutes with the fan on, and cover the top with foil to stop it burning. It’s STILL very moist and could easily pass as a pudding more than a cake. It needs an hour in the oven minimum.
Jessica Holmes says
Hey Matthew, so glad you enjoyed the cake. Cooking time can definitely vary from oven to oven but 1 hour seems like an awfully long time for a cake this size – especially if it was still undercooked. Might be worthwhile getting hold of an oven thermometer because it sounds like your oven might be running a bit cold.
Ruth says
Delicious cake! I should have baked it maybe 5 more minutes because the middle sank a bit. But the flavor is wonderful. Easy quick recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Ruth!