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







Bunny says
Moist, not too sweet. Excellent recipe that is easy to make.
Dawn says
I made this cake and it is amazing. Just the right texture and moisture and the cinnamon topping and milk glaze give it a super wow factor. Planning to make this for thanksgiving to share with family
Jessica Holmes says
So honoured you’re going to make it for your thanksgiving dinner Dawn!
Brad says
I am very tempted to make this recipe but do not have the yogurt. Might a half cup of apple sauce replace the yogurt.
Irene says
This is so delicious!! Doubled the portions and the whole family loved it and everyone had to go for seconds. You’re amazing Jess!
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love hearing that Irene!
Jacqueline Walton says
Left off the glaze as it was sweet enough already. Otherwise a good recipe which was easy and turned out very well.
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Jacqueline!
Cam Badua says
Hi! Can I use a plain yogurt instead of greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Cam, you want a bit of acidity from the Greek yogurt, so maybe add a squeeze of lemon?
Veronica Green says
So good & moist , a spoon of whip cream just set it off, Thank you .
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it
– a little cream on top sounds lovely!
Meg says
Delicious!
Mary Ann Torres says
It a very easy and soft apple cake it’s a keeper. Will do it again. Made it into a loaf tin and still was great.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked it Mary Ann!
Jasmin says
I’ve made this cake many times now, modified for my air fryer skipped the icing- it’s so so easy and tastes just like apple pie in a cake format. Thanks a million, it is a keeper!
Jessica Holmes says
The air fryer – wow, that’s amazing!
Sonia Trakroo says
I baked this Apple Cake for my wedding anniversary yesterday. The aroma while it was baking was so tantalising. It turned out wonderful – soft, moist and delicious with chunks of apples…. Thank you for sharing
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Sonia! And happy anniversary!
Mary says
I just made this apple cake to take to work tomorrow, OMGoodness I can’t wait for the reaction. I had to cut the edges off so it would fit in my cake box, so I already know how moist it is and how good it tastes. I didn’t have Greek yogurt so used 1/2 cup of thick dollop cream and it seems to have worked fine.
This recipe will be my go to from now on. Minimal effort for a great result, thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Hope your colleagues love it Mary!
Joan says
Made this cake and it’s wonderful!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Joan!
Tammy Nutt says
Oh My Gosh this was SOO DANG GOOD! Easy to make and so moist. I took to work and several of the guys want to pay me to make them one
Jessica Holmes says
Haha love that Tammy!
Gordana says
Very easy to make, would put 2 big apples next time and less sugar
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback.
Naseem says
Absolutely scrumptious. I added walnuts too
Jessica Holmes says
Great idea!