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
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
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.
JDN says
This cake sounds amazing. can I add walnuts to the batter ?.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes absolutely!
☆♡A♡☆ says
Hi, I’m looking forward to trying this recipe as I love to bake new things, however I was wondering could I use one big apple and one smaller one? But would that throw the apple cinamon ratio so could I use one heaped teaspoon instead of a flat teaspoon?
Also I have an apple tree in the garden so could I just use them, or would I need cooking apples?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes, yes and yes! Yes to two apples, yes to a little more cinnamon and yes to regular apples! Hope you enjoy it.
marcelle says
instead of yogurt and milk with what can i substitute?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Marcelle, sour cream would be the next best thing instead of yogurt. Instead of the milk, you can use water.
Paula says
Hi. I can’t wait to make this but I have 2 questions. Did you use an 8 or a 9 inch cake pan and why yogurt instead of sour cream or even buttermilk?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Paula, I recommend an 8 inch round cake pan for this recipe. And I find yogurt works perfectly in this cake. You can sub in sour cream if you like.
Maureen says
This came out exactly as described, and was incredibly easy. It looked beautiful, cut neatly, and tasted wonderful. I’d like to try adding more than a cup of apples but worry that would throw off the texture as one commented notes it was “ok”. Has anyone else tried?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved it Maureen! Adding an extra 1/2 cup or so of apple would be more than fine! ☺️
Deborah says
For the greek yogurt, is it plain or vanilla? Hoping to make this soon!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Deborah, just plain for this one!
Claire says
I can’t wait to make this cake! Sounds amazing. However, I’m confused over your conversion for the flour. 1 and a half cups would surely be more than 210grams? Could you let me know as I’m itching to taste it! Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Claire, no that’s the right amount! It’s very easy to overmeasure flour when using cup measurements, so go with the gram measurement if you can!
Rachel says
Simple and delicious.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay!
Catherine says
Delicious cake. So easy to make and bake. Made it twice in a month. I used a bit more apple than was asked in the recipe. I like apples. Turned out ok.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Catherine!
Fei says
This was indeed pretty easy to make, and full of flavour. Like others, I added a half teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter (probably should’ve added a full teaspoon) and would’ve made my apple pieces into larger pieces next time. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Fei!
Shawna Hoolihan says
I made this for the first time today and was absolutely blown away! Not only is it so easy anyone should be able to do it, but it’s also ridiculously tasty 🤤 I stuck exactly to the recipe and instructions and it turned out perfectly. This is one that is definitely going into my keep book.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that Shawna! Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Meldz says
Very delicious. It’s going to be one of the recipes to keep
Thank you.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Meldz!
Arturo says
Excelente
Heather Overturf says
How do you line the pan with baking/parchment paper? On the side or just the bottom?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Heather, it’s up to you but I usually just line the bottom of the pan.
Deb says
RAVE reviews! I went with the oil version. I used an 8” pan and it took about 15 mins longer til the centre was done. Making it again today!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that Deb!