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.
Dan says
I used a tin that was too large, cut the (green) apple pieces too big, had no yogurt so substituted a random amount of milk, and fired up to 260C an oven that struggles to melt cheese. Cooked for 35 mins. The cinnamon sugar dripped through the air gaps made by the guge apple bits, but the end product hung together by and large, the crumb was soft and the crust was slightly crunchy. We didn’t wait for it to cool completely before drizzling the icing on (of course) and served it warm with icecream. DELICIOUS. Would use more milk next time for a wetter batter (or even plan and buy yoghurt!). Thanks for the recipe 🙂 turns out it’s more robust than expected haha. Wish i could post a pic! (PS: accidentally posted this comment on the vegan brownie recipe…to top off a day of chaos).
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Dan, I loved reading your very thorough review. And am especially pleased it worked out so well for you considering you had to take a few liberties with the recipe! Thanks for the feedback! And if you’re on Instagram, feel free to post a pic under the hashtag #sweetestmenu – we’ve got quite a few apple cakes showing up there at the moment! ☺️ I love seeing everyone’s bakes!
Shirin says
Yum, I increased all ingredients by 50% and still it came out delicious. I also added a little ground cloves to the cake mixture.
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! Thanks Shirin!
Gee says
Made this last night. I don’t have yogurt but sub with sour cream and turned out really good. I love that this is not that sweet either. And most of all pretty easy to make. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Gee! Thanks for your feedback!
Vienna says
Can I use apple sauce instead of oil
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Vienna, I haven’t tested this recipe with apple sauce so I can’t recommend this.
Nikky Cassidy says
Love it. Comes out looking lovely. I used wholemeal flour and used a lot less sugar but did all three layers and am very happy with the result, Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so pleased to hear that Nikky! And glad it worked well with wholemeal flour too!
Lily says
wow!super easy and so tasty!the sugar on top didn’t melt but i liked the taste!i put green apple because ii didn’t have red and it was really good!thank you
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lily!
Sally says
Wow!! Made this cake yesterday & it’s all gone! My family totally loved it & so making another one today!
Thank you so much for a fabulous easy recipe resulting in absolute mouthwatering perfection 😋
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that! You are very welcome Sally! ❤️
Hofit sak says
Can I omit the yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, no the yogurt is important to the recipe.
Michelle Chilakos says
Amateur baking question: can you please clarify the 8 or 9 inch tin? Is this a round cake pan or a rectangular 9×11 pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Michelle, I’ve used a round cake tin for this recipe.
Viviane says
Would coconut oil work instead of vegetables oil?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Viviane, I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure, but it should be ok. Let me know how you go!
Yolanda Rodriguez says
This is a winner! Have made it twice already, the second time I did not have any plain yougurt , but had crème fraîche so I added it and hoped for the best. It was even moister. Next im making it with wild blueberries which are just as the end of the season here in Québec, Canada..❤️
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that sounds so good! So glad you enjoyed it Yolanda!
sarafina guio says
can i use regular sugar instead of caster sugar? i live in spain and it’s impossible to find.
Jessica Holmes says
Absolutely! Here’s a post I wrote about caster sugar you might find helpful.
Deepa says
The entire family devoured the cake in minutes. It was really yummy.. Have a query, though.. I love the buttery taste of cakes..so was wondering will a combination of oil and melted butter work? Like half and half….. Please give me your thoughts on it. Thanks…
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Deepa, I haven’t tried half and half myself but my guess is it would be ok! 👌🏻
Wambui says
Hi!!
this recipe is amazing 🙂
i made it with my best friend and it came out great.
thank you!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
Liz Williams says
‘Apple Afternoon ‘at our allotment today , Shrewsbury , Shropshire , uk.
Early Sunday morning start with lots to sort for the event.
My nine year old daughter and myself set to work on making this cake. Lots. If fun, and thank you for such clear and to the point ingredients/ method.
The use of oil as opposed to butter was a winner . Beautifully moist cake, and the cinnamon topping gave just the right amount of crunch!
A winning recipe, enjoyed by all- thank you.
We have a Autumn/ Halloween event coming up at the allotment. Would love to see one of your pumpkin pie recipes please!! Many thanks 🍏🍎😘
Jessica Holmes says
Aw I love this Liz! Thank you so much for sharing – it’s so lovely to hear that my recipe is being created all the way over in the UK! ❤️
Elisabeth Williams says
Hi there….here is another Lis Williams….but living in Mexico. My apple cake is in the oven as I write this! The aroma coming from there is .mouthwatering. I can’t wait to try it with my coffee in about an hour!
Jessica Holmes says
Hahaha I love it! Hope you enjoy it Lis! P.S. I can’t wait to visit Mexico one day!
Elisabeth Williams says
I’ll make it for you if you come and visit!
Lis x
Molly Hawker says
Amazing! Found your blog yesterday and made this today. It came out perfectly moist and crunchy on the outside. Will definitely be using more of your recipes
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Molly! And welcome to the Sweetest Menu fam!