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







Elitza says
I can’t stop making and eating this cake! It is so easy and tasty, and healthy I should add:)
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Elitza!
Nancy says
Made his yesterday and the whole family loved it. So easy and quick. Not too sweet which is great. Thank you , looking forward to trying more of your recipes !
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Nancy!
Phoebs says
Delicious and moist! Everyone loved it. I added extra fresh apple without a problem for cake texture. Thank you for the recipe
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed it!
Shanthi says
Hello!
I just wanted to know if there is any substitute for yoghurt in this recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Shanthi, the yogurt keeps the cake lovely and moist. You could use sour cream instead. Otherwise buttermilk is ok.
Susan says
i want to make this for Christmas can i make it ahead? Also, does it freeze well?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Susan, this cake does keep very well since it’s quite moist – even if frozen. However, you will lose the crisp cinnamon topping if you don’t serve it fresh.
Cathy says
This is a great cake.. I added more apple because i was using stuff up, added abut 1/2 c nuts, and also substituted about 1/3 of the flour with Bobs Mill whole wheat pastry flour.. we have been doing a lot of baking with all this covid home time. This is a great recipe, I already forwarded it to 3 friends. Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh love that Cathy! Thank you for the kind feedback.
Margaret says
I have made this very simple, delicious cake several times and it comes out perfectly. I also add half a cup of walnuts for a bit of crunch. Thanks so much for this magic cake!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you love it Margaret!
Allesandra says
Am I able to substitute regular granulated sugar for castor sugar?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can!
Daniela says
I had a few apples that needed using and this recipe was the best solution!! Quick and easy. Requires only what you already have in the house. Can use any type of apple. I changed half the flour to whole-wheat and skipped the frosting as it is sweet enough without.
DELICIOUS!!
Thank you!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Thanks Daniela!
Maria Zorpidou says
Excellent delicious and easy. This cake is definitely a winner with my family , they love it!!! I found that when you double the recipe it comes out better !!!! The only thing I don’t make is the sugar glaze it’s so tasty doesn’t need it ! A scoop of vanilla ice cream will do the job !
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Maria!
Jihane Haddad says
Just yummy!!!!! Perfect taste soft inside crunchy on top
Molly says
We had a house rebuild, which meant builders, plumbers, electricians etc, etc. I made this cake just once to try the recipe. I naturally shared it with everyone. I ended up having to make this every week to keep them all happy!! By the end of the summer I didnt even need the recipe, I knew it off by heart. To say this is delicious is a serious understatement. Thanks for posting 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! That’s amazing Molly! Thank you for your lovely feedback.
Kelly O'Meara says
I made this apple cake at the weekend as cupcakes, it was amazing! I don’t normally like cake that much, but I loved the crunchy cinnamon topping.
I didn’t bother with the extra glaze, and used 3 small apples instead of 1 large, I chopped them up much smaller as well.
I think next time I would use 4 small apples.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Kelly – love the idea of making them into cupcakes.
Mysna L. says
The first time I made this recipe, the cake didn’t last an hour. For two consecutive days I was making it morning and evening. I managed to share with some friends. Everyone loved it! My neighbor said:” I didn’t leave any for my husband because I couldn’t stop eating.” My colleague said:” such a delight!”
It is so quick, simple, easy and full of flavor. The best thing is it comes out perfect all the time.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! Thank you so much for the lovely feedback.
Kate says
Delicious, easy, super moist on the inside and nicely crunchy on the outside. I will be baking it again and again!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Kate!