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







Beverley Holmes says
5 out of 5…I add more apples and do an orange glaze …a real hit with everyone.
Jessica Holmes says
Oh an orange glaze sounds lovely! Thanks for your lovely feedback Beverley.
Joanne says
First time I’ve made this recipe and it will be made many more times! It is delicious. I’ll be back for more recipes.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this one Joanne! You might want to try my new Pear Cake next 😉
Kamilla Lipiec says
Can I make it in 9 x 13” dish instead? Will it be enough batter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kamilla, not quite! It would be enough for a 8 by 8-inch pan. You may want to try doubling it for a 9 by 13-inch.
Cyndi says
This recipe was easy and delicious. I didn’t even put the icing on it and it is so good! I will definitely make this again
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed it Cyndi!
Pamela says
So good that I made it 2 days running. One of the best cakes I’ve tasted
Mmmmmmm!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Ellen says
I made this cake and it disappeared the same day! I then made it 3 more times in 2 weeks and it’s perfect, so moist and delicious. I added additional apples on the top of the batter before the crumble and loved it. I also used vanilla yogurt (its what I had and stole it from my grandson’s stash). I’ve shared this easy and delicious recipe with many. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
How great is that! Thanks for the lovely feedback!
Anni says
Fantastic recipe that always works and tastes great. Really easy to put together (I did it at 11pm the night before taking in to work the next day). I like the cinnamon sugar sprinkle but cut out the sugar glaze.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Anni! Thanks for the feedback!
Kiana says
Kiana says
This is my favorite recipe. Truly delicious! Even if it’s been refrigerated for days.
Thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Kiana!
Indy says
Best cake I have baked thus far. My family loved it!
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Indy!
Ms. Peg says
Delicious!!
I made the cake today, I liked it because it wasn’t too sweet and the batter was filled with juicy apples.I did not like the crunchy topping maybe I should have used more butter.I still would give it 4 stars
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for the feedback Ms Peg! I’m glad you liked it.
Holly says
Hi I’ve made this cake a few times and it continues to be the one my husband loves the most. I double the crumble, add 1/2 teaspoon of Apple Pie Spice to the flour and make a cinnamon cream cheese glaze (he loves anything cream cheese) and it doesnt make it two days. Cheers!
Jessica Holmes says
Wow that sounds spectacular Holly!
rose says
delicious. i cut the sugar back a little. it really doesn’t need the icing.
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks for your feedback Rose!
Beatrice says
Absolutely delicious, made it in the Thermomix (added apple afterwards) and it came out fluffy and moist.
Used a loaf tin mould so it took longer to make, but it didn’t dry out.
Next time I may use more apple, because every bite with an apple piece is pure heaven…
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! Thanks for the feedback Beatrice!
CB says
Made this gluten free and it was excellent! Used Caputo gluten free flour and let the batter sit 20 minutes before baking. No other changes.
Jessica Holmes says
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know!