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, like in my Easy Peach Cake, 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.
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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 or flavourless 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 sugar, cinnamon 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.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: Calories: 310 Sugar: 25 g Sodium: 143.8 mg Fat: 14.1 g Carbohydrates: 42.7 g Protein: 4.8 g Cholesterol: 42.2 mg







Beth Catalán says
Hi, I’m from México, I follow you on IG an I love all the recipes, thnak you for sharing you’re talent 💖
Jessica Holmes says
Thank you so much Beth!
LaLa says
do you think this could be made with peaches? or blueberries?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes I think that would be lovely!
Nicole says
I don’t have Greek yogurt what can i use instead? Trying to make this in the morning.
Jessica Holmes says
You can use sour cream instead!
Pari says
Hey, thank you so much for this recipe. I am 17 and just started baking. this was so helpful and cake turned out amazing.
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad to hear that Pari!
Chitra Warrier says
Since I am a vegetarian I replace eggs with Greek yogurt. One egg is equivalent to sixty gms of yogurt. The cake was moist and delicious
Katie says
You mentioned you added yogurt to make it even more moist- in this case how much yogurt? Excited to make it!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Katie, just the 1/2 cup of yogurt as listed in the recipe ☺️ I hope you enjoy it!
Avni says
Loved it!! Perfect cake in one go!
Thank you from my 6yr old daughter who put the invredients together!!
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad you enjoyed it!
Gale says
My husband loved it!
Jessica Holmes says
Glad to hear that Gale!
Jan says
Delicious! I added some chopped walnuts to the top as well and didn’t bother with the sugar icing. Rave reviews from all that tasted!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Jan!
Kylie says
IF I was to omit the apple, would I have to adjust the moisture content by increasing the other wet ingredients?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kylie, no you could just leave out the Apple and it would still be a nice vanilla/cinnamon cake!
Rawan says
Hello, I was wondering, if I double the recipe, can I use 3 eggs only? Or will it affect the batter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Rawan, because it’s not a huge quantity of batter it should be ok. But I haven’t tested it myself so I can’t say for sure.
Rawan says
Hello, so I tried it with 3 eggs and doubled the recipe and it was AMAZING. The best apple cake I’ve made. So moist, fluffy and just yummy!!! Thank you for the amazing recipe and looking forward to trying a lot more of your recipes. ♡♡
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love hearing that!
Zee says
Hi, not sure if my comment was posted but I would like to know if I could slice an apple and place it on top of the batter with the cinnamon topping or will it sink into the cake?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Zee, I haven’t tried with this recipe but it may sink a little. You’ll just have to try it out and see!
Saria Shatila says
So delicious !
Amazing recipe ❤️
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed it Saria!
Margaret maxted says
I made this cake this afternoon incredibly easy and tastes delicious will definitely be making it again and will be sharing your recipe thank you
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Margaret!
Leah says
Made it, insanely good. About to eat for breakfast… again. Oops!
Jessica Holmes says
Love it!
Clare says
I’m normally rubbish at making cakes; some of mine have ended up in the bin before now 🙁 I made this cake this morning and it was absolutely perfect! Such a great consistency and flavor and one of the easiest recipes to follow I’ve ever tried: Thanks very much. I may have to put this on our tea and coffee menu!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Clare!