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.
lynn Kellogg says
Do you double the recipe to bake in a 9×13 baking dish? How long do you bake it for in a 9×13 pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lynn, yes you would need to double it for that size pan. Cooking time will be around the same.
Becky says
I made this for my grandson’s birthday – they were camping, and I figured it would be easy to transport. He just turned 14, and he ate 2 pieces, his 9 year old brother ate 2-3, and the sister who is 11 ate several pieces. The adults liked it too, but the children dove into it and came back for more. It is a very light, moist cake. I will tell you that I added a little apple pie spice to the cake batter too.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Becky! So glad the kids enjoyed it!
Kelly Amanda Macdonald says
Making this for first time. So easy to make and really enjoyed doing it. Just put it in the oven ❤️
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Hope you love it Kelly!
Linda says
I used sour cream instead of yogurt and a few more apples and Pillsbury gluten free flour. A dash of cinnamon in the batter. Turned out delicious.
Jessica Holmes says
Fabulous Linda!
Marnell says
Will it make a difference to taste and texture if I bake the night before?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Marnell, no it’ll be just as delicious!
Rose says
Best cake ever
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Rose!
Chris says
I made this for my friends morning tea we really loved it so lightand fluffy Best apple cake recipe I have cooked Thank you for this recipe looking forward to cooking other of your recipes ( how can save my recipes )
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Chris! And yes you can. If you look on the right hand side, there’s a little heart. If you click on the bookmark next to the heart, it’ll save the recipe. You then have the option of signing in to keep all your favourites in one place.
Laning says
Best apple cake ever. Fluffy tender crumbs abd rises well. And so so easy to execute. Thank you
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that!
Lynn says
do I double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes that should work Lynn!
Rola says
Made the recipe verbatim and baked it at 350 degrees for 19 minutes in a 9*13 and it was delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Jacky says
My family loved this. Added a little more apple just because I wanted a lot. Turned out great. Perfect fall cake. I had this stored on my counter in a tight sealed container and then I realized because of fruit it probably should have been refrigerated? Ugh
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Jacky! And I usually keep mine at room temperature!
Palak says
Mine came out too crumbled… had to eat with spoon .. was difficult to even cut !! Followed the recepie and baked for 30 min
Jessica Holmes says
Sorry to hear that Palak. Sounds like something went wrong – did you make any changes to the recipe?
Jan says
This is amazing! Loved the simplicity of the recipe and the taste and texture is wonderful! Will be a go to recipe for me! I didn’t have vegetable oil so used sunflower oil. Thank you so much for posting this!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jan!!
Jacky says
Oh yay good. Thanks!
Sabrina says
So easy to make. Nice and moist. Keeps for a week.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay!
Nilly Berger says
I am not a baker by any means but making this has definitely improved my confidence. This cake is absolutely foolproof!
Easy, moist, delicious, moorish and very popular. Thank you.
Just about to make my fourth one.
Would buttermilk work when I don’t have yoghurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Amazing! So happy to hear that Nilly! I haven’t tried, but yes it should be ok!
Joan says
I have made the cake three times, yes, it is great. However the first time was the best but the middle was not cooked through. The following times I cooked it longer to cook the middle but the edges were not as soft.
Next time I will use a bundt tin and hope that solves my problem..
Any suggestions? Please.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Joan, so glad you like the cake. If you are finding the edges are overcooking, you could try a different pan. I find a light coloured aluminium pan works best. Also, try removing the cake from the cake pan as soon as you can to prevent the edges from continuing to cook as the cake cools. Alternatively, you could place the pan in an ice bath once the cake is cooked to quickly cook down the pan. Hope that helps!