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.
Danielle says
Hi there I made this cake the other day and it turned out delicious! Do you think I could add slightly more apple or would this change anything? Also is there a reason for adding the Apple to the dry ingredients or can I just add the Apple right at the end once the dry and wet ingredients are mixed?
Thank you,
Danielle x
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Danielle, you can definitely add some more apple if you like! I like to add the apple to the dry ingredients so it’s coated in a little flour to help it not sink. Hope that helps!
Celeste says
Perfect: light, fluffy and incredibly moreish… has anyone ever made anything similar with orange?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Celeste! I recently posts an Orange Poppy Seed Cake you might like to try!
Noora says
Loved the recipe. I ran out of butter so used oil instead and it was yummy. Thanks for the recipe
Noora says
Sorry but it was the cinnamon tea cake. Accidentally wrote it under this
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Noora!
Maria says
Love this cake! So easy to bake and I’ve got one in the oven now. Really recommed it as my husband and neighbours love it. I do however add a little of mixed spice into it too and thart gives it a little extra!
Thanks!
Maria
Jessica Holmes says
Love that! Thanks for the kind review Maria!
Karyn Mesecke says
Looks amazing have just pulled mine out of the oven just in time for morning tea ☕️ love your recipes thanks x
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love hearing that! Thanks Karyn!
Jazmin says
Hi dear. It is my daughter’s Bday and she wants apple cake, I stumbled upon your recipe and looks delicious. Just one question. Do you think it’ll be ok if I shredded the apple instead? My family doesn’t really like the chunks.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jazmin, yes I think that would work!
Jazmin says
Awesome! Thanks 🙂
Sarah says
This looks like a great recipe And I’m very excited to try it, but I have a small family. What size tin should I use if I want to half the recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hey Sarah, I’m not sure but an 8-inch cake isn’t that big and you can freeze the leftovers!
Sarah says
Ok, thanks!
Francesca says
Hi there
I wanted to make this cake when I saw I had some old apples hanging around. Could I substitute vegetable oil with olive oil and castor sugar with icing sugar?
Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, you can use olive oil if you like but it can have slightly more taste than an oil like vegetable oil. I don’t recommend using icing sugar instead of caster sugar – it’s completely different in texture. You can use granulated sugar instead though!
Francesca says
Thank you so much! I managed to get the ingredients as listed in your recipe. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Very excited to bake.
Christina says
What about butter rather than vegetable oil? I googled veg oil substitutes and this was suggested. I’ve made it, won’t get to try until tomorrow!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Christina, you can use butter but oil has specifically been chosen for this recipe to ensure a soft and tender crumb.
Jordan says
Amazing recipe! I love how the cinnamon sugar topping creates little caverns in the cake. I made one earlier in the week and had to make another today. I mean my apples were going bad, it would have be irresponsible not to use them, right?? lol!
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely! So glad you enjoyed it Jordan!
Jules L says
Baking it now. Will have to wait til morning to try 😭 lovely recipe!!
Jessica Holmes says
Hope you love it!
Suzanne says
I made this cake and although it was delicious, it collapsed in the middle and was quite soggy. I followed the recipe exactly but did cook the cake longer as it needed it. Any ideas?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Suzanne, sorry to hear that! Every oven is different so it’s ok if your cake needed longer to cook. If it was still wet in the middle, it sounds like it may have needed even longer in the oven. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Thanks for trying one of my recipes.
Lucy says
I tried your recipe today, it was so delicious. Everyone loved it. However I might have slightly overbaked it.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Lucy!
Sue Brason says
Lovely recipe…..will definitely make again
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Sue!
Anna says
I like making cakes. At this time of COVID 19 everyone needs something to cheer him up. I made this cake for my family and it really tastes good! Is soft, of the right texture and I appreciated the fact that you showed pictures to show us your dedication in finding the right recipe.
As I am a teacher I would surely make this to share with my colleagues once schools open again.
Anna
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anna, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the lovely feedback.
Lolly says
Wow! Delicious! I made it fives times already in 2 weeks because everyone keeps eating it! And me! Lol so moist and so tasteful, not too sweet, just right! Thank you for sharing, this is my new fav recipe for not only at home but for get togethers at a family or friends house. I love cinnamon and the only thing I changed is adding 2 tsp of cinnamon as oppose to 1 tsp. Either way super delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Lolly! Love that it’s now your family favourite!!! ❤️