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, like in my Easy Peach Cake, 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.
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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 or flavourless 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 sugar, cinnamon 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.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: Calories: 310 Sugar: 25 g Sodium: 143.8 mg Fat: 14.1 g Carbohydrates: 42.7 g Protein: 4.8 g Cholesterol: 42.2 mg







Andrea says
Made this cake today and it was AMAZING!! So moist and delicious. It was a HUGE hit. I used avocado oil instead of vegetable oil and coconut flavored Greek yogurt. My family is demanding that I make it again next week. I’ll use a bit more apple next time 🤗
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad everyone loved it Andrea!
Andrea says
Can I use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can!
Andrea says
Great! I can’t wait to make this cake. 🙂
Avanti Naik says
I made this cake 2 times , I loved it , turned out delicious, although what I was not happy with was my sugar glaze , it did not have the bright white color nor did it stay that way , the taste was great but the look of the glaze was not up to the mark .
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you loved this cake Avanti! Did you add the glaze while the cake was warm? That will cause it to go clear.
Suzy says
Absolutely delicious!! A friend passed this recipe on to me and I have made it so many times! I have used wholemeal spelt flour and gluten free flour and both have worked beautifully. I also use avocado oil or MCT oil instead of vegetable oil and both do not affect the outcome – baked goodness every tiime! I look forward to trying more recipes.
Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that’s great to hear Suzy! Thanks for the lovely feedback.
Chris Mitchell says
I’ve cooked this twice and it is delicious but both times the bottom of the cake has burnt. Any ideas?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Chris, I’m sorry to hear that. Perhaps it’s your oven setting?
Emerald says
Thank you so much for the recipe. I baked it this morning for a neighbor. How deep is your 8” cake pan? Fortunately I followed your instructions and used parchment paper. It kept the cake from overflowing.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Emerald, my pan is just 2-inches deep?
Emerald says
Dear Jessica, Thank you so much for your quick reply. I just checked my pan and it is only 1.5 inches deep. Mystery solved. Also, my neighbor called to say they all really enjoyed the cake.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh how wonderful! So glad to hear that!
Rob white says
I made this apple cake the traditional way creaming sugar and butter together then adding eggs and flour. And apples lovely not keen on adding oil
Jessica Holmes says
I hope you enjoyed it Rob!
El Murni says
I made this yesterday and it was really good! I just reduced the sugar a bit and excluded the cinnamon topping. Turned out so delicious and moist! This recipe is a keeper – will definitely make this cake again. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad you loved it!
Kerry says
Absolutely delicious 😋 and very easy to make. I have tried so many apple cake recipes (my husband loves them) and this is the best by far. From now on this will be my go to apple cake. Thank you Jessica 😊
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Kerry!
Blanca says
Super delicious and moist! I used a bit more apple because they were already cut up and I didn’t add the glaze…. I put it in a Bundt pan and it came out beautiful and delicious!!!
Thank you for an easy and somewhat healthy recipe!!!
This is a keeper👏!!!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Jessica Holmes says
How good is that! Thank you Kerry!
Jeanne Ruoff says
I’m going to make this cake for my quilting bee meeting on Wednesday and am wondering if I can double the recipe and bake it in a 13 x 9 pan. Please let me know if you’ve ever done this. Thanks!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes you can! That should work a treat!
Jeanne Ruoff says
Thanks so much! 💕
Giota says
Zainab says
Hi! This looks delicious! Can I make it the day before I want to serve it. How should I store it in that case to maintain freshness?
Thank you in advance!
Jessica Holmes says
So you can! I prefer to keep it covered in an airtight container at room temperature. Then just drizzle over the glaze before serving.
Karen Gagnier says
Delicious 😋
Aida says
Unbelievably easy and amazingly delicious. Family and friends just can’t get enough of it so they keep asking for it
Thank you for sharing.
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! So glad everyone enjoyed it!