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.
Helen Sharpe says
Made this cake for my sisters birthday today and she had second helpings even though she’s not really a cake person. She liked it because it wasn’t too sweet.
It is so moist and easy to make. I cooked it for 45 minutes at 180C.
Really good. 👍
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Andrea Lane says
This was absolutely delicious! A definite family favourite going forward :). It is so easy to make, the only changes I made were to use 3 medium rather than 2 large eggs (I didn’t have any large) and I used a couple of Pink Lady apples rather than 1 as they were past their best! Everyone commented on how light and moist the cake was – thank you so much for sharing! I’ll definitely be trying a few more of your recipes.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy you enjoyed it Andrea!
Maria Rivera says
I don’t have greek yogurt (it’s hard to come by where I’m from) so what can I use instead? Cream? Milk?
Jessica Holmes says
Do you have sour cream? That’s the next best thing. Other readers have also used buttermilk or regular yogurt.
Maria Rivera says
Hi, sour cream I can get. Thank you for your reply! xo
Janet Scanlan says
Hi, this cake is delicious and appeals to young and old alike. The cooking time was completely wrong for me however, and at 160 fanbake I needed an hour to cook the cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Janet.
Pat in Yorkshire says
Best apple cake I’ve ever made. I use light olive oil and home made yogurt. As I don’t like cake very sweet I cut own on the sugar and didn’t glaze it. The sugar and cinnamon on top made it sweet enough. Tried it out on friends and they all loved it. Going to make another today. Thank you, Jess for sharing this.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Pat!
Lora says
Well, I made it. Put in in an 8″ round cake pan. It completely overflowed the pan and made a mess in the oven. Tasted good though.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lora, I haven’t had that happen before. My cake pans are 2 inches deep if that helps.
Louise says
I’ve made this cake a number of times and it always comes out great-everybody comments on it. I also use slightly more apple and add cinnamon to the cake batter but that’s just personal taste. It is now my ‘go to’ dessert recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Louise!
I from Ontario says
I have just finished making this and am eating it as I speak. Mine turned out fabulous, like your fourth example in the butter vs oil series, however, I used melted butter in place of the oil, and like I say, it still turned out light and fluffy, quite beautiful when finished to be honest. I was generous with the apples and needed to add a bit more yogurt. Cake could be a touch sweeter too but the crumble and drizzle help. Also added cinnamon and a touch of allspice to the cake batter. I was very surprised how fabulously this turned out. Will be my go to recipe! With a couple personal tweaks it will be perfect!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback.
Linda says
I had some Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt in the 5.3 oz. size, that was going to expire. I used the whole container. It was great! I think I will try it with the Chobani Cinnamon Vanilla flavor next time I do Apples.
Linda says
This is a delicious cake. Something that tastes homey and warm on a cold day. Looks and smells delicious. And very moist! We couldn’t wait for cooled cake .So I put the drizzle on, and my husband and I ate half the cake. Can’t wait till morning to have some with coffee. I also like that it’s not a 9×13. Just enough for 2-4 people. This is a keeper. I want to try it with other fruit.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Linda! I think it’s especially delicious warm too!
Frankie from Quebec says
I love this recipe and started to make it last year when my family went apple picking and came home with a huge bag of apples. This recipe was one I tried with others. Everyone loves it so it’s apple picking again and just bought the Greek yogurt just to make this one. I’m going to try to make cupcakes. I also made a double batch for 9×13 pans instead of round ones. Then wrap halves to give out.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Frankie!
Olly says
Was beautiful cake. Wasn’t sure whether to use full fat or low fat Greek yoghurt
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked it! And I recommend using full fat yogurt if you can.
Lorie Herrin says
Wow! This cake is moist and full of flavor. My family absolutely loved it! Everyone of them came back for seconds. I will definitely make this recipe again.(and share it with family and friends) Thank you!!!
Jessica Holmes says
Fantastic! Thanks for the lovely feedback Lorie!
Mo Duggan says
Delicious. I’m about to make another for my friend
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Perrine says
I’m thinking to make the cake this weekend, I have small apples and am in the UK. Do you know how many grams of apples are needed roughly please? Thanks! 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Perrine, great question. This recipe is very forgiving so you can add two apples if you like. I don’t have the gram measurements handy but the cup measurement should give you a rough idea. Hope you enjoy it!
Perrine says
Hi Jess, thanks so much I have used 2 small apples and it was perfect. Super moist delicious cake, I particularly love the cinnamon topping/filling 🙂 It’s almost gone now and I have a lot of apples so will probably make your apple and cinnamon muffins!
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that!