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.
Tally Tiger says
Can you shred the apples instead of using chunks? If so, do you have to squeeze the juice out?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes and yes!
Chitra says
The cake was moist and soft but the crumble topping made it way too sweet. Next time I might leave it out and just add cinnamon to batter
Jessica Holmes says
Ok thanks for your feedback Chitra!
Lynne Flowers says
This recipe is absolutely BANGING!!! Thank you so much 🙂 definitely adding it to my list of go to’s……
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love that!
Anna says
Hi can I use whole milk instead of yogart for the cake. Please can you make more recipes with whole milk thank you 💕
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anna, I recommend yogurt for best results. Buttermilk would be the next best thing.
Joyce Sovereign says
Wondering if l don’t have Greek you but ,could l use a vanilla activia yogurt ,or what instead of Greek yogurt please .?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Joyce, yes vanilla yogurt will work!
Jaz says
The recipe didn’t specify how big or small the apples should be chopped? And The video didn’t work for me. Really want to try this recipe, can I blend the apples please advise?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Jaz, I recommend just roughly chopping the apples into 1/2 inch cubes or so – depending on how big you like the chunks!
Linda says
I have made this Apple Cinnamon cake a couple of times and it has been a huge success. Freezing well and defrosted beautifully
Jessica Holmes says
Wonderful to hear that Linda!
Dawn says
So the recipe doesn’t say, is the cake supposed to sit in pan while cooling or remove from pan (immediately or wait 5 mins?? 10 mins? Or cooled completely?)
Also should the glaze be put on while it’s hot, warm, or cooled? I’ll guess I guess for both questions.
*No rating…cake still in oven…looks good tho!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Dawn, I usually let my cake cool for 10-15 minutes before carefully removing it from the pan and placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. I recommend adding the glaze once the cake is cooled, otherwise it’ll soak into the cake and disappear. Hope that helps – and hope you love the cake!
Ning says
Hello, just made it and it’s tastes delicious. Light and fluffy. Can you freeze this cake?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it! Yes you can freeze it.
Aika says
Hi, Can I use applesauce in place of oil, and can I use whole wheat flour or even almond flour?
Jessica Holmes says
I haven’t tried!
Macey says
I have made this cake and it was so simple but so tasty! I am so glade I have found this website, how amazing is this, it has made baking so much easier!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you found me Macey!
Pat says
I have nade this a few times now. Everyone loves it. Easy to make and good to eat
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Pat!
Maria says
I would love to make this and am wondering if I could increase the amount of apples. I have LOTS of apples to use and would like to use as many as possible for this recipe. What adjustments would you recommend?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maria, it’s really up to you! You could add an extra apple if you it more apple-y!
Lina says
This was a phenomenal little cake ! I used sour cream instead of yogurt because I didn’t have any and I left it in the oven an additional five minutes. Awesome! Followed the recipe exactly. Thank you so much for sharing! 💕💕
Jessica Holmes says
Yaaay! So glad you loved it Lina!!
Fiona says
Have made this sooo many times as it’s just delicious and so easy. I have changed a few things in that I don’t do the icing topping, I add a tspn cinnamon to the batter mix as well as chopped walnuts (I add nuts to everything!!) and I add a tspn caramel essence sometimes. If I do it as a pudding cake, I’ll drizzle some caramel sauce over it and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. I have one in the oven as I type this! Thank you for this fab recipe x
Jessica Holmes says
That sounds incredible Fiona! Walnuts would be soo good!!
Poppy says
I was wondering if I could swap out the chopped apple for stewed apples? Really desperate to make this and have stewed apples to use up 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Poppy, I think that would work. I would try not to add too much though as they will have a lot more moisture and you don’t want the cake to be soggy.
Ashley says
Made this on a snowy day, and my family thought it was wonderful! Thank you for the recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Ashley! Sounds perfect!