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.
Lauren says
Hello again! I noticed that this recipe calls for a fairly large tin. Can it be split over two 6 inch tins? If so, would the cooking time be the same?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lauren, yes an 8-inch cake tin is best. You could use two 6-inch cake pans but the cakes will be thinner and cook faster.
Andy says
Hi, just reading makes my mouth drool! Would it taste as good using green apples instead of red?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes green apples are totally fine!
Katy says
I recently made this recipe! I made three separate batches, because I was worried If I tried to triple the recipe in one batch it wouldn’t come out right. I had enough batter to make two 9″ cakes and two 6″ cakes. We gave two away for Mother’s Day, one to a neighbour and kept one. I heard raving reviews from everybody, and my husband told me this was the best dessert I have EVER made!! He doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, and is fairly picky on what he will indulge in. The texture of this cake is like no other. It’s moist, flight and fluffy. Not too sweet and tangy from the yogurt. The crumble topping offers a delicious crispy finish. This is definitely a cake for sharing. Perfect after a meal or for breakfast!
Jessica Holmes says
Aw Katy, your comment just made my day! Thank you for your kind review!
Lauren says
Hello! Can this cake be made the day before? If so, is it best to store in the fridge or keep at room temp?
Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lauren, absolutely! I recommend just storing it in a airtight container at room temperature.
Lauren says
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
Sabrina says
I’ve bought sour cream instead of yogurt. Can I use it instead for the cake? Would it taste weird?
Jessica Holmes says
No that’ll be totally fine! Sour cream can be swapped for Greek yogurt!
Eli says
Is it ok to use olive oil?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Eli, yes you can but I recommend a mild tasting olive oil if you can.
Rainbow says
Awesome recipe…. Easy and delicious!
I added a 1/4 teaspoon cardamom in the sugar cinnamon topping and it was devine!!!
Thank you this is my go to recipe now ❤️
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Helen says
My new favourite recipe. The easiest, quickest, and yummiest tea cake.. I used a green apple and works fine.
Thank you for sharing.
Jessica Holmes says
That’s so lovely to hear! Thank you for the kind feedback Helen!
Lojy says
Such a great recipe! Can I use vanilla flavored yogurt instead of plain yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi! I recommend using Greek yogurt, natural yogurt or sour cream for the acidity if possible!
Hayle says
The cake is absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing it
The cinnamon topping delicious 😋
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Hayle!
Pamela says
Turned out wonderful! Baked it for Mother’s day and it was treat in the house. Moist and sweet.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Pamela! Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Rashi says
Hi, I wanted to ask one question, can I use whole wheat flour instead of plain flour? Would there be any variations in the proportion?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Rashi, I haven’t tested it with whole wheat flour so I can’t say – sorry!
Aisling says
This is an amazing recipe I baked it for my nana and Granda and said it was beautiful
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love that! Thanks for the kind feedback!
Dee says
I’m gonna try this! Can we replace rolled oats with flour? If yes, what should be the measurement?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Dee, I haven’t tried so not sure!
Adri says
Hands down, the best apple cake ever! Worked perfectly first time. I used raw sugar for the cinnamon topping and worked perfectly. Definitely will be baking again to impress and share the recipe around! Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Adri! So glad you enjoyed it!!