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







Kelsey says
How long does this last for out of curiosity? Lovely cake 💖
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Kelsey. The cake keeps well for a few days or you can freeze it.
Amber says
I made this today, it is absolutely delicious, thank you so much! Really quick and simple, love it. Wanted to ask a couple ot questions, the apple flavour was very subtle, do you think adding apple flavouring would help? Also, would it work with other fruits too? I am thinking mango pulp and coconut in the batter instead of apple? What are your thoughts? This is such a great recipe, thanks again 😀
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Amber, so pleased you enjoyed it! You could add more apple to the batter if you like! And yes you can use other fruits – mango and coconut sounds lovely!
Amber says
Thanks so much Jessica, i will experiment with the flavours, i hope i get the quantities right! 🙂
Maria Menezes says
Hi Jessica,
Loved this cake, was so yummy. and moist. The Cinnamon topping made a lovely crust,and the super glaze was the
final straw in the hat. Wow!!! is just not enough to describe this cake.
Jessica, I want to increase the quantity of this cake by quarter of the quantity of the ingredients, can I use 3 eggs.
.Also, Jessica , guide me on the increased ratio.
Thanks
Maria Menezes
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maria, I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake. Thank you so much for your kind review. I haven’t tested the cake by increasing the quantities so I can’t say how it would turn out I’m sorry!
Mickey says
I just made it .added brown sugar instead of caster n that gave a lovely brown colour n added normal curd instead of greek yogurt . The cake was one of the best soft n moist , with just right amt of sweetness . .
Any recipes for biscuits, croissants?
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Mickey! You can find all my cookie and biscuit recipes here.
Eeching says
Made this tonight and it was such a delight. Fresh out of the oven with a dollop of icecream. Perfect
Yvonne says
It was amazing! So easy to make & so very delicious!
It disappeared very quickly! Making it again this weekend for friends that are visiting. Thank you 😊👍
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome! Love hearing that Yvonne!
Ally says
Thanks for this, can’t wait to try! Could I use whole wheat flour for this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ally, I haven’t tested the recipe with whole wheat flour.
Miki says
Really lovely and easy cake recipe – very light and fluffy. Will definitely make it again. I made it without the icing as I figured (based on the comments) that it was already sweet enough on its own. In fact, I think the recipe would have been slightly better if a cooking (or green) apple, or even rhubarb, was used to add a different dimension to the flavour. But a red apple works fine too, if you prefer an overall light and sweet flavour!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Miki!
The Country Cook says
A lovely moist apple cake, simple to make. I replaced the sugar with 1/3 cup stevia and used some Greek yoghurt as well as some sour cream. Very yummy.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Arti says
I have had trouble making cakes in the past. But this recipe is so easy, quick ,fool proof and amazingly delicious.
I found that without the glaze It’s sweet enough and perfect to have for morning tea. Something i know I can now whip up at short notice . Wonderful not to have to think to hard about what to make when friends come over!
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Arti! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Niki W. says
Hi Jessica, my son decided to try this recipe since we had a bunch of apples that weren’t as crisp of a variety as we usually like them. He is 14 and wanted to make this on his own so I let him be. I just wanted to give you a heads up he really struggled because even though you put a link to what caster sugar is in the recipe (we didn’t figure that out until I had to look at it). when you google caster sugar (for us Americans anyway) it says it’s powder sugar. So he made this recipe with powdered sugar instead of granulated. Needless to say it didn’t turn out quite right lol. So anyhoo I just wanted to let you know in case you felt like putting a little note or something on the recipe to make it clearer so people less familiar with cooking don’t mix it up.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Niki – sorry for any confusion!
BK says
Made this cake yesterday and took it to work today for my guys. They loved it and so did I. It is so moist and flavorful, I couldn’t believe it. I was pleasantly surprised. If you haven’t made it yet, try it, you’ll love it too. Best of all, it’s real easy to make.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that!
Raji says
Can I use flour with whole wheat pastry flour? And also 1/4 cup coconut oil?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, I haven’t tested the cake with these substitutes so I can’t say sorry.
preethi kumar says
Made.this today and it is so very delicious! The cinnamon crumble makes a world of differenc.e Something this easy to make really shouldn’t taste this good! Thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Traveen says
Best Apple cinnamon recipe ! It’s a family fav ❤️
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that!
Abee Ella says
Love love love! Thanks for this. I didnt have powdered sugar so i made a simple milk glaze( sugar+vanilla+ milk) reduced on the stove) and poured a little on it. Was so delicious. Honestly I didn’t NEED it. Its a great cake without. I was a little skeptical at the thick batter but I persisted. Amazing and yummy. Next time, i will add more apples and maybe try adding sum oatmeal to the crumble on top. There will def be a next time. I wish i could insert pictures! Thank you for this! 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed it Abee! And if you follow me on Instagram, you can always show me your bakes by using the hashtag #sweetestmenu – I’d love to see them!
Khad says
This was absolutely breathtaking. The cake was soft, amazing…and I have made this over a hundred times already, but still, it just doesn’t bore you out. We have it almost every week.
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love that!
Gellee says
Hi there! Wanna thank you for sharing this recipe. I just made it and it taste glorious! I used brown sugar instead of white and baked it in a glass baking dish. Its so moist and tasty!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Gellee!