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.
Pooja says
I subbed with oat flour to keep the protein content high and added bunch of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), walnuts in the cake mix itself. My kitchen smelled like a heaven as the cake baked.
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds amazing!
Tina says
I Think I found the ingredient you were looking for … didn’t have youghurt so replaced with creme cheese …. Wauww..
Joanne says
One of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made and delicious too, anyone can make this it’s minimal equipment no electric mixer and most store cupboard ingredients
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! Love hearing that Joanne!
Valerie says
I used a small bundt pan..it was awesome. I also used sour cream because I had no yogurt. Delicious.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Stacey Pierson says
Wow ! That was so good and moist ! I used applesauce instead of yogurt!
Jessica Holmes says
Ooh love that Stacey!
Bel says
I don’t have vegetable oil , will Olive oil be ok?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Debra says
Delicious cake. I love that it has only 3/4 cup sugar and uses Greek Yogurt. This is the second time making it. I actually did not have plain yogurt, but did have Vanilla Greek Yogurt. So I used this instead and eliminated the vanilla. I also eliminated the glaze, but put chopped nuts on top with more cinnamon. It turned out very good. I am printing this recipe and saving it!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Debra! Chopped nuts sound like a lovely addition!
Debra says
I am wondering if I could make a double batch and bake it in a 13×9 pan. Do you think it would come out as good?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes and yes!!
Reza Namin says
Hi Jess
I live in Brighton ( England ) I have been using some of your recipes and must confess they are YUMMY and most of the time because they are too much for me i share them with friends and they also like them.
Thank you sweetie pie ( LOL )
Jessica Holmes says
Hi from the other side of the world, Reza! So glad you’ve been enjoying my recipes. Thank you so much for the lovely feedback.
Ua says
Such a lovely soft cake… the cinnamon crunch on top is just so yummy…
I didn’t have feel yoghurt so I used buttermilk. And I didn’t make the drizzle…
It was perfect
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Elizabeth T says
Love the cake. Made it today and Can’t stop eating. Wondered if I put in a pinch of salt would it make any difference?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Elizabeth! You can definitely add a pinch of salt to enhance/balance the flavours if you like.
Anu says
I loved this cake- so good- thankyou Just wondered if the recipe would work for cupcakes and if so are there any changes you’d recommend please?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anu, so glad you liked it! You could definitely use the recipe to make cupcakes. The only change would be cooking time!
Marcela says
My apple cake turned out soooooo good!! I think the Greek yogurt is what makes it so rich and moist. I added a lot more diced apple to the batter and a bunch of sliced apples on top. It took a little longer to cook but the results were amazing! So glad I found this recipe!! Thanks 🍎
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you loved it Marcela!
ebony says
At first I thought the apple needed to be sweeter, but turns out the cake was delicious on the second day. I didn’t even do the drizzle because I didn’t have powdered sugar- doesn’t matter! Tastes delicious with tea and I used cinnamon vanilla Greek yogurt since it was all I had handy. Yummy, thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Ebony!
Ayfer says
I thinkI have just made the most delicious apple cake! Thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that!!
Anisha says
Loved this apple cake – just like every other recipe of yours that i’ve tried this was perfect. I didn’t have greek yogurt so used regular thick yogurt and subbed avocado oil for the vegetable oil. I LOVED that the cake was just sweet enough and not more! Thank you once again!
Jessica Holmes says
Aww I’m so glad to hear that Anisha!