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.
Cate says
Delicious and so moist!
I used just over 1/2 cup of sugar as my husband doesn’t like very sweet cakes. I also didn’t drizzle icing as the cinnamon crumble added the perfect topping already.
It may be my oven, but it took 60 minutes to bake perfectly.
Jessica Holmes says
Thank you for the feedback Cate! So glad you enjoyed it.
Desislava says
Easy, fast, but most of all incredibly soft, moist and fluffy, just as I like it. I make it 1 1/2 to fit my tin and add chopped dry fruits such as raisins, papaya and red blueberries, and it still works! Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh love hearing that! What a fun twist!
Melissa says
This cinnamon apple cake recipe is really a winner Jess! It was so easy to prepare and bake, the fact that it didn’t need butter to be softened and the use of simple ingredients made it a breeze to make on a busy weekend. Baked it for my husbands bday today and along with our friends, he loved it too. I only have 2 slices left! Everyone dug in and couldn’t believe it was just an apple cinnamon cake 🙂 thank you for your efforts in perfecting a recipe that’s easy for us all to bake.
Jessica Holmes says
What lovely feedback! Thank you so much for letting me know Melissa – it makes my day to hear that you and your family and friends enjoyed this one.
Janine says
Doubled the recipe and put it in a Bunt Tin. The crumb topping sunk to the middle to make a delicious cinnamon swirl. So moist and pretty! I’m thinking of all sorts of twists. Maybe some blueberries next time. Or some lemon drizzle.
Jessica Holmes says
Sounds amazing Janine!
Shiwe says
I don’t like apple bakes but this one is amazing
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that!
Diana says
What can I substitute the yogurt with? My mom is allergic to all milk-based products, lactose-free won’t work either.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m not sure I’m sorry.
Avrille Kok says
Try some coconut cream. It might work
Carina says
Delicious and most. Easy to make too.
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Regina says
Best Apple cake for sure!!
Noam says
Made this twice now and it’s AMAZING! Easy to make and doesn’t disappoint.
Can I substitute half / all of the flour for Spelt flour?
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Noam. I haven’t tried this one with spelt flour but could be worth a try!
Dana says
Not a big cake person but I loved this recipe. I added a little extra apple. Yum
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Dana!
Rosina says
This was the best cake I have ever had! Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! Love that!
dede says
can i use vanilla greek yogurt instead of plain greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes!
Judith says
Loved it, so easy & guick to make.j
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Judith!
Elsie says
these where amazing soft and fluffy
Jessica Holmes says
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Wade greeley says
Cinnamon apple cakes have been part of my family’s tradition, I couldn’t find the recipe and decided to give this one a go.. so glad I did! It was so much better, easier to make and the glaze gives it a more polished look…it’s my new fave
Jessica Holmes says
How awesome is that! Thanks for the feedback Wade!