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.
Davia says
Excellent we have now made it 5 times
Jessica Holmes says
LOVE THAT!
Michelle says
160. Fan oven needed much longer to bake. Mine was near 1 hour before the tester came out clear.
I did double up the topping tho for extra crunch and put extra apples in so that’s most prob the reason. .
Jessica Holmes says
Ok thanks for the feedback Michelle! Hope you enjoy it!
JO says
Recipe works every time. Very versatile, can use with different types of fruit.
Tip: substitute yoghurt for coconut milk (same quantities) and butter with Nutlex for dairy free version.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh brilliant, thanks for the feedback Jo!
Abbie says
Hi, what is the best way to store any extras? I made muffins with this recipe. And they turned out great. Thank you 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Abbie, so glad you enjoyed it! You can keep any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them.
Karoline says
Absolutely love this simple scrumptious cake. Family favourite baked most Sundays.
Jessica Holmes says
Aww this makes me SO happy!
Wendy says
Excellent easy to make cake, moist and light. Keeps well when family doesn’t eat it all day one. Have used Granny Smith and red apples in different bakes. Thanks for sharing, Wendy- Australia
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Wendy!
Heidi says
This has become my favourite apple cake recipe. I make it often. Did have to reduce the amount of milk in the drizzle, other than that perfecty
Jessica Holmes says
Wonderful! Love that!
vicki says
very moist cake using olive oil
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Denniz says
You think it would be possible to freeze this before it’s baked. And then when I need it in the fall I can pull out of the freezer put it in the oven at the top and bake do you think that’s would work
Jessica Holmes says
No I don’t recommend freezing the cake batter. To rise correctly, the batter needs to be baked straight away. You can freeze the baked cake though.
Zoe says
Delicious, light and so tasty!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Zoe!
Khadijah Rizvi says
My family loved the cake. Thankyou!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay!
Piera says
Perfection, cake is now number one in our household. Very quick and easy to make, thank you for postin
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that!
Gillian says
Thank you Jess for this delicious cake recipe.
I followed the instructions as given, used Pink Lady apples, and it worked perfectly. The family love it.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear that Gillian!
Margaret Small says
I agree, needed 45minutes in my oven at 180oC. Decided to forego the glaze as there seemed to be enough sugar already 😀
Charlene says
This is a fantastic recipe! I was specifically looking for one that didn’t require creaming of butter + sugar. I substituted yoghurt for sour cream, and used brown sugar for the cinnamon crumb and it turned out beautifully. The only thing that didn’t work out as per the recipe was the baking time – using a 160C fan forced oven, it took 45min to set.
Next time I’ll add another half an apple and some cinnamon to the cake batter. I didn’t have any issues with the apple pieces all settling at the bottom.
Thanks again for sharing, this is going to be a go-to recipe for many years to come!
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! Thanks for your feedback Charlene! So glad you enjoyed it.
Shraddha says
Awesome recipe! I reduced the sugar to about half 80 Gram in cake and 25 gram in cinnamon topping. It was perfect for my taste! Loved it ! Would be making this often!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!