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.
Leyla says
Easy to make and taste delicious. Thankyou
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Leyla!
Victoria says
Hi! Can this recipe be made in a Bundt pan? Thanks so much!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Victoria, it depends how large your bundt pan is – it might not be enough batter to fill a big bundt pan.
Amanda Miladinovich says
So we are a dairy free, soy free and wheat free house so I subbed out quite a few of your ingredients and it still turned out great! Used almond flour, coconut oil, coconut sugar, Miyokos butter and oat milk for the icing! Still turned out delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Amanda!
Sally says
I have just baked the apple & cinamon cake , it smelt fantastic whilst cooking and was delicious . I will certainly be making again
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you liked it Sally!
Kate says
Love this recipe. Whenever I want an apple cake this is my go-to recipe now. I have made it a bunch of times and it never fails. I just make it a little extra special by adding some walnuts and I use sour creme instead of yogurt. It’s wonderful!
Jessica Holmes says
Ohh that sounds wonderful Kate!
Ann says
How long can you keep this cake for and can it be frozen
Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Ann, the cake will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. And yes it can be frozen.
Landi says
Love love love this recipe! Easy to follow and yields AMAZING results. It’s now my favourite apple-cake recipe. Thank you for this!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Landi!
ashley says
i made this for the first time tonight and will definitely be making it again! super quick to make, easy ingredients, and insanely delicious!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you loved it Ashley!
Andy says
Made this apple cake today for my parents. I followed the recipe closely and the only thing I did differently was to put some lemon juice and vanilla sugar on the apple pieces before I incorporated them.
This is now my favorite apple cake recipe and it turned out perfectly. We all loved it.
Greetings from germany
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Andy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Amanda says
Absolutely delicious! The last one I baked only last about 2 hours. It’s my younger son’s absolute FAVOURITE! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! Love hearing that Amanda!
Julie says
I made this for the family during lock down. And it was a success. I took 1 tiny piece to a friend and she said it was the best cake she’s ever had. 👌
Jessica Holmes says
High praise! I love hearing that Julie!
Tanya says
I am not sure if my oil was old or something but this tasted like oil. I did everything you did except I only had raspberry Greek yogurt on hand. I felt like there was not enough apples in it to taste apples. I made it on parchment paper in a glass cake pan. Not sure if any of that made the difference. But it wasn’t great.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Tanya, sorry you didn’t enjoy it. You definitely need to use a neutral tasting oil, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil. You can also add more apple if you like. I also recommend using a good quality aluminium pan for best results. But thank you for your feedback.
rowan says
ughhh this cake is so good, i used apples from my garden and used 3 of them which made more of a pudding rather than a cake. its packed with soft apple, the cake is light and fluffy, and the cinnamon sugar tops it off. made it 3 times this week 😭😭 by far best cake recipe ive used
Jessica Holmes says
Love this Rowan! Thank you for your lovely feedback.
Shelley p says
Make this cake on a regular basis really loved by all who try it. Such an easy recipe.. Thankyou
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Shelley!
Holly Prout says
Can you make this in the shallow 8 inch cake pan?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Holly, I recommend using an 8-inch cake pan that’s a least 2 inches deep for this amount of batter.
Anne says
Absolutely loved it my husband says it’s the best cake ever.
Jessica Holmes says
How brilliant is that!