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.
Leela says
Amazing cake and so easy, hardly any effort. I used 2 pink lady apples and also added cinnamon in the cake, used self raising flour and added small amount of salt, used brown sugar instead of caster sugar in the cinnamon topping and added loads of cinnamon as I like to taste the flavour. I didn’t do the glaze, baked it for just over an hour on medium heat and the result was outstanding. Basically you can tweak this recipe if you are a confident cook to suit your tastes (more apple/less sugar/ more cinnamon ….) I will be making thai fabulous cake regularly for the family who loved it 🙂 thanks for posting this simple and delicious recipe Jessica!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Leela! I appreciate your kind feedback.
Edith says
What can be used instead of yogurt so not to be dairy
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Edith, I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure, but perhaps a dairy free yogurt may work.
Kristin says
This was delicious!!! I’m wondering if the ingredients can be doubled and baked in a Bundt cake tin? Or would it not come out right? Thanks.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kristin, I haven’t tried myself so I can’t say for sure. My main concern is that the cake is so light and tender, it might break or tear in a Bundt pan. I usually have better luck with dense cakes and Bundt pans – but maybe that’s just me!
Lanna-Rae says
Hello, I was wondering if I could switch out the yogurt for apple sauce?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi! I haven’t tried! If you do try it, let us know how you go.
Audrey says
What would I do if making this at a higher altitude I live in Colorado
Jessica Holmes says
I’m sorry Audrey, I don’t have experience baking in high altitude.
Naomi says
Very easy and great texture and flavor
I added more apple
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed it Naomi!
Kathy says
This is an awesome cake. I did add more apples,salt and cinnamon in batter to taste. I doubled it for a dinner and it was great!
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant!
Ewa says
Hi Jessica, thank you for a great recipe. It became my family favourite I make double batch every week with more apples mixed with cinnamon. Also I add my home made kefir instead of yoghurt and bake longer. Easy and delicious. Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Ewa!
Maryam says
Hi,
Would the measurements stay the same if making this into a loaf cake?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Jill says
Delicious! Hit with the whole family. Would make it again. And again.
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay!
Em says
Very good cake. I did however add in a half a tsp of salt as well as some cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg in the batter.
Jessica Holmes says
Awesome, thanks for the feedback Em.
Trudie McNeill says
Hi Jess
I’ve made your apple cake several times now and it has been lovely each time. The only comment I have is that the cooking time needs to be longer as 35 minutes wasn’t enough for my cakes. Many thanks.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Trudie! And thank you for the feedback on the baking time.
Abby says
Hi Jess! If I do not have a Greek yogurt, what substitutions I can use? Is it okay if I doubled-up the amount of oil?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Abby, no I don’t recommend that. Sour cream would be the next best thing!
Brian says
This has rapidly become a family favourite. It’s delicious and keeps well for 3-4 days. Ovens vary, but I found in our oven I needed to extend the cooking time by 7-8 minutes for it to be cooked through. Pineapples have been cheap this year, so ive made the same recipe with chopped up pineapple and a little grated ginger, and that has also turned out well. Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Brian! And a pineapple version sounds amazing – I’ll have to give that a try!
Glynis says
Thank you so much for this recipe Jess. I needed to bake it with gluten free ingredients as I have celiacs and no one else can tell that I made it gluten free. It’s so moist and delicious. Best apple cake ever.
Jessica Holmes says
That’s amazing! Love hearing that!
Meenu says
Hi ! Jessica I love your recipes . They are perfect when ever I follow them .
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for saying Meenu!