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.
Cara Malki says
Best cake recipe ever! So deliciously moist
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Cara!
Mohit says
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Tried and succeeded at first attempt. Couldn’t find baking soda and replaced it with 1 additional teaspoon of baking powder and it worked.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Liesl Du Plessis says
Thanks for the recipe. Got it first time. And my family absolutely loved it.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Liesl!
Diana G says
It is so deliciously moist.
Devine. I shall definitely bake it again
Jessica Holmes says
Love that! Thanks Diana!
Sandie says
I made this today and it’s so easy to make but it’s absolutely delicious 😋
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Sandie!
Tania says
I made this cake again this morning ! It is so easy and quick. I used 2 Macintosh apples and left out the glaze. It was outstanding! I used yogurt instead of buttermilk and it was a lot puffier and stemmed to rise higher. Just loud your pic. Thank you for a great cake recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed Tania!
Rita Moura says
Hello Tanya!
You ad more 1 yogurt instead of all butter?
Rita Moura says
Hello Sweetest menú!
I absolutely will make this cake!
One question: can I use olive oíl instead of vegetable oíl?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Rita, yes you can. I just recommend a milk tasting olive oil so it doesn’t over power the cake.
Carol says
Worked! Thanks for sharing this recipe.. I will be sharing it too 🙂
Carol says
Delicious! Easy and now I know how to make the topping. Thanks
Nora Elena Adams says
Hi Jess, this recipe seems delicious. I don’t have any yoghurt at the moment. Do you think I can substitute the yoghurt for double cream? Would it work? Thanks.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Nora, it’d be best to use something that has acidity to it, so Greek yogurt or sour cream would be my first suggestion. Otherwise, you could use buttermilk. You can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk. Leave for a few minutes and then use as normal. Hope that helps!
Millie says
Need to make this in two days! Plain Greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes Millie!
Nick says
Definitely keeping this recipe bookmarked.
Its took a short time to assemble and the cake is so moist
I didn’t make the cinnamon topping and glaze, due to lack of ingredients, but still , it was tasty enough.
Thanks for the recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome, glad you enjoyed it Nick!
David R says
Wow! First attempt and it was delicious. Moist and not at all heavy thanks to the yogurt (I’m guessing…).
This is so easy too. In my Top Ten baking list, thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
Love it! So glad you enjoyed it David!
Robyn says
I have this cake in the oven now, I didn’t have yoghurt so I used sour cream, I will let you know if it turned out ok.
Susan says
Making this now. Did the sour cream work?
Jessica Holmes says
Sour cream is a fine substitute for Greek yogurt!
Naima says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it’s a perfect addition to my tea breaks plus the family loved it! I will definitely make this again but perhaps with peaches and more yogurt to make it extra soft.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Naima! And a sort of peaches and cream version sounds wonderful!
Glenda says
Loved this, so light and fluffy. I made it with gluten free flour as my husband is a coeliac, added a bit more yogurt as gf flour makes the mix a bit dry. Husband was so impressed he went straight back for seconds!
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love that! Thanks for the review Glenda!
Lisa says
Hi wow wow this cakes was easy to make and very yummy
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked it Lisa!
Daniela says
Thank you for your amazing recipe! It turned out moist from the inside and crispy from outside and the cinnamon topping is absolutely delicious. I didn’t put the sugar glaze because I didn’t think it was necessary, but it still ended up being very flavorful! My daughters and I loved it!
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love that Daniela! So pleased you and your family enjoyed it!
yvonne broomhall says
can this be frozen after I’ve baked it please x
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Yvonne, yes you can freeze the cake. You’ll likely loose the crunch from the topping but it’ll still be lovely.