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.
Linda Lawrence says
This has become our favourite recipe! I have used fresh and frozen fruit. So far, I’ve used apples, rhubarb, plumbs, strawberries, oranges, blueberries, cherries, cranberries ( fresh or dried), mango, and pineapple. I’ve used several combinations of the above fruit and also made them using just one kind. The sky is the limit with this cake and the simplicity of it has made it our go- to to take to suppers, and for our weekend dessert!
I actually have two in the oven now! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow! This is amazing to hear Linda! I love that it has worked with so many different types of fruits. I’ll have to try that next time. Appreciate your kind feedback.
Joanna says
Scrumptious.
Easy to make.
My 2.5 years old son loves it.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Suchita says
Amazing! Arguably the best apple-cinnamon cake I’ve tried. After the 30 minutes in the oven, the cake was quite literally still batter inside, so I put it in at 300°F for another 20 minutes, and that did it. It came out PERFECT! My family loved it. Thank you for this recipe. Eleven out of ten, will make again.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! So happy to hear that!
Chris says
This is a fabulously easy and tasty cake. My grandkids ask for it all the time. The last time I used tin apples and it came out even more moist and tasty.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh that’s great to know Chris! Thank you for your feedback.
Emkour says
Delicious
Mandy says
I took this to work. It was gone is 10 minutes!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that’s amazing Mandy!
Anna says
Love it the best Apple cinnamon cake ever.
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray!!
Elsie says
Amazing! Tasted beautiful. 100% will bake again. Best cake ever.
Jessica Holmes says
Love this!
Chibuzo says
I love making this cake and my kids love it. I usually reduce the sugar quantity and it still comes out amazing. Thanks for the recipe. I want some more recipes 😋
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it! You might like to try my Almond Raspberry Cake or Lemon Crumb Cake next 😉
Erin says
This cake is amazing. Easy to throw together and the h smelled great while it was in the oven. My husband had 4 pieces after dinner and took more today for lunch. I used sour cream instead of Greek yogurt and I think it improved the texture and flavor. Had a sour cream donut quality to it. Will absolutely make this again.
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Erin! Sour cream does work wonders in cake!
Sofia says
Just made this and couldn’t even wait for it to cool. Delicious!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Sofia!
Jane says
Fab recipe. Everyone in our family loved it.
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Jane!
Ella says
Tried making it last Sunday and shared it to the family. Everyone loved it! No yogurt or sourcream, so I opted for the vinegar + milk. Used brown sugar instead of white. Added some dried cranberries on top as well. Tastes really great, and I’m not even a fan of apple desserts! But this recipe is for keeps! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad it worked out – adding cranberries sounds divine!
Patricia says
I made it gluten free with gluten free flour and used coconut oil. Lessened the sugar by substituting the sugar in the cake with stevia but kept the crumble topping.
Crowd pleaser!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for sharing Patricia, so glad you enjoyed it!
Maggie says
Can you use applesauce instead of yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Maggie, I haven’t tried myself so I can’t say.
Sybil says
Thank you for the recipe.
The center of the cake was very wet, it seemed like it was undercooked. I even put the cake longer in the oven as stated. What could be the reason of this?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sybil, sounds like it was exactly that – undercooked. Every oven is different, so it’s best to only use cooking times as a guide only. I find it easiest to look for visual clues before removing your cake from the oven. See that it has evenly risen, is golden brown and that a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The more apple or fruit added, the longer it will take.