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.
Jane Birch says
I usually don’t write reviews but I can’t help with this one ! It baked beautifully, so moist and no energy used but just simple two minute outing things together and stirring! Thanks !
Jessica Holmes says
How good is that! Thank you Jane!
Silvana says
Omg one of the best Apple cakes ever! It’s my family’s new go to dessert! Made it already three times!! So moist & delicious!!
Jessica Holmes says
Yesss! Love that!
Lillian says
made this, had no flour so used Bisquick, add rest a nd baked, took little longer to bake, needed no glaze, Hubby diabetic. Made later with flour.
Bother preferred Bisquick
Sheila says
Last time I made this as a gift and they raved about it so much I had to make one for myself. It is so light, it’s a beautiful cake. I will definitely be making it again & again!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Sheila says
This is so light, it’s a beautiful cake. I will definitely be making it again & again!
Rose says
I did make this but I used pears instead because I needed to use them. This was absolutely the most fluffy and moist cake that I have ever made in my thirty years of baking experience! I was amazed at how delicious it turned out. I doubled the recipe and used a bigger pan, next I will use two round cake pans instead because, it took a lot longer to cook. I had to keep checking it to make sure it cooked all the way without burning. The effort was worth it though, I think this is now my favorite cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Love love love hearing that Rose! Thank you so much for the lovely review. And love that you used pears – yum!
mal says
This cake has become a firm favourite with my husband and friends and it is so easy to make. Tip :- dont reduce the ammount of sugar for the topping as i did ! it allows the mixture to sink to the bottom of the cake – still tastes nice but you dont get the crunchy top.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked it Mal!
Kylie says
Really tasty! Great easy recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Thanks Kylie!
Manjot says
i have made so many apple cakes and this one is the BEST! super easy but mine took much longer to bake. Probably the weather where I live- tropical.
Plain and simple – just really good.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that! Thank you for your kind review!
Annie says
Love baking but did not like the taste of this cake at all.
Jessica Holmes says
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it Annie.
Nana says
OMGOSH! Best ever for sure! Did the sour cream instead of yogurt. Doubled the cinnamon sugar topping and Mixed in some chopped pecans and used half in the middle of cake. Everyone loves it! Easy, tasty and looks good.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that!
Marissa says
Can you use pears?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Sherese says
This cake is absolutely amazing! I doubled the recipe to make 2 layers for my husband’s birthday. I added chopped walnuts to the cinnamon sugar topping and extra cinnamon in the batter. Made the glaze with maple extract. It was perfect! Great warmed up with breakfast too! My whole family loved it!
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds amazing Sherese! So glad it turned out so well!
Jan Jakob says
I didn’t have Greek yogurt so I substituted 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup sour cream. It was delicious! I did also add chopped pecans to the finished cake before the drizzle of frosting
I make this alot. It is so moist and just delicious!!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Jan! Adding pecans is a great idea!
Trish says
Absolutely most amazing. Put in twice the amount of apples and it’s smashing. And so easy. I didn’t have yogurt so I added sour milk. Thank you so much. Wish I could add a photo.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Trish! And you can always share a photo with me on Instagram.