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.
Sara says
Wow! What a fabulous and very easy cake to make! I had very little plain four so substituted whole meal flour for 1 cup of plain flour. And …. after drizzling the icing, I sprinkled pistachios and pomegranate seeds over the top of the cake. It looked amazing. And tasted fabulous!!!!! Will definitely make again and again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds amazing Sara! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Brí says
Great recipie, Cake sale for my boys school this morning. I found your recipie very late last night while up feeding baby girl. This recipie is foolproof. I had to mix in lots. of replacements as.had to work with what was already available in the house.
I had no baking soda so just used baking powder, used strong white flour and coconut sugar, I also threw in 2 cups of blackberries with the apples as my son had picked some and sprinkled.some nutty granola on top as had no cinnamon. I also made double batch.
I ran into the cake sale last minute with cakes still warm from oven. I barely turned around and they were devoured.
Really moist cake, very flexible recipie and put together in moments. Just what a sleep deprived mothet of 3 needs in her life.
Hats off to you for sharing, Brí (Dublin. Ireland)
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aw thank you so much for sharing Bri. I love your changes – adding blackberries would be divine! Your kids are lucky to have you as their mum! ❤️
Ruth says
What a wonderful & easy cake!
I added the cinnamon to the batter instead of an extra top drizzle. I used 100ml of olive oil & 20ml of pumpkin seed oil.. kids loved it! Thanks!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Ruth! Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Darlene says
Loved the recipe, I added about 1/4 cup of caramel sauce and swirled it into the cake before I baked it
It was amazing, I didn’t put the glaze on, instead I served it with ice cream. Thanks for sharing 💕
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Oh Darlene! Anything caramel has my name on it. This sounds like a dream! Thanks for trying one of my recipes ☺️
Margaret says
Hi Jessica ….. A delicious cake! I found it on your website and made it for a Cake Stall donation. It was cut in slices, I tried a piece, yum – turned my back, and it was all gone in a flash.
Thank you for a great recipe and all the tips. I will make again..
Margaret (Australia)
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so happy to hear that Margaret! What lovely feedback! Thank you for trying one of my recipes!
Ian Haas says
I just made this recipe with Bob’s 1 for 1 Gluten free flour, and it is the best cake I have ever made!! Everyone in my house LOVED IT!! It is so moist and tasty. I did use two apples about 1.5 cups.
Thanks so much for this recipe.
Cheers
Ian.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it Ian – and love that you made it gluten free too.
Rose Bourdon says
Beautiful sponge, but I think it needs more cinnamon! I think I’ll add some to the batter next time, along with some more apples 🙂
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Rose! A few readers have suggested adding an extra apple. I might add that in the recipe notes!
Lynne says
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Thank you! Everyone who had a piece wants the recipe!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful! Thank you for the lovely feedback Lynne!
Liz says
I am not a baker but I made this cake today!easy to follow recipe .Loove it.Thank you for sharing your knowledge🙏
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so happy to hear that Liz! Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Ellie says
This cake came out beautifully!! I made it for my daughter’s birthday and we loved every bite! Planning to have friends over for coffee and another apple cake this week. Thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love hearing that! Thanks for the lovely feedback Ellie!
Efosa says
Lovely recipe, will definitely try it out,but quick question tho, must I add yoghurt? Thanks.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Eofsa, yes you must!
Farha says
Thank you so much for the recipe. I did not have greek yogurt so I used low fat yogurt instead . It is delicious! I love the way your have shared your experiments with oil and butter and stuff, that is very informative. I am definitely gonna try your other recipes .
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Farha, I’m so pleased you enjoyed this cake! And thank you for your lovely feedback, glad you enjoyed the post!
Ericka says
Hello😊, this cake sounds amazing! I’m gonna make it today. I have a bumper crop of apples .so I was wondering does this cake freeze well? Thanks a bunch!!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ericka! Yes it does – if it lasts that long. Haha
Jlk says
Can this be made with blueberries instead of apples?
Jessica Holmes says
Sure! That would be lovely! Or you could try my Blueberry Cake.
Sarah Wilson says
Really beautiful cake. Dead easy and the cinnamon topping really makes it. We ate it warm with ice cream but the very small amount left the next day is still as moist and lovely as the first slice!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you liked it Sarah! It stays wonderfully moist. And eating it with ice cream – brilliant idea!