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







Gillian says
This recipe is so easy to follow and the end result is absolutely awesome. So delicious and moist. Used two apples and it turned out great. Love love love this quick and easy recipe. Thanks Jess
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! Thanks for sharing Gillian!
Valerie says
I was just wondering, is the batter more none liquid when you finish making it??????
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Valerie, I’m not quite sure what you are asking. Try watching the video for a good visual on what the cake batter should look like!
Su Hill says
Do I take the cake out of the tin after 10 minutes to cool completely or leave it in the tin?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Su, it’s up to you! But I like to take my cake out after it’s cooled for 10-15 minutes to ensure it doesn’t overbake.
cary J says
the best apple cake! i used cottage cheese for the yogurt, it’s all i had ! so yummy! apples i used golden delicious an left the peel on them !!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh wow! So good to hear that Cary!
Annie says
Thank you for this amazing cake!! Now that I’m out of apples can I make it again with any other fruit instead of apples?
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! I’ve tried it with pears, and a few other readers have done things like peaches and plums. Worth a try!
Janet says
Awesome cake and so moist . I doubled the apples and added cinnamon to the batter cause you can never get enough cinnamon! 😋
Jessica Holmes says
Love that Janet!
Martina says
I just ate 2 pieces and its not even cold yet… Love it
Jessica Holmes says
That’s me every time I make this one! 😉
Sarah says
Do you have any suggestions to make this dairy free?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tested a dairy free version so I can’t say for sure. But you could try using a dairy free yogurt and a dairy free butter (for the cinnamon topping). I think I do recall someone doing that in the comments section before. If you do try it, let us know how it goes!
Deb says
Was wondering what kind of greek yogurt? Is it plain or vanilla?
Jessica Holmes says
Great question Deb! A sugar free or unsweetened plain Greek yogurt is what I use! Vanilla would work though!
Margaret Delaney says
Hi
Made apple cinnamon cake today. It tastes delicious but completely fell apart- what did I do wrong?
Thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Margaret, sorry to hear that! It is a soft and tender cake. Did you perhaps try slice it while it was still hot or warm from the oven? It should hold together fine once it has cooled.
Sylvia says
Has to be one of the best cakes I’ve ever made
Jessica Holmes says
So wonderful to hear that!
Evelyn says
I made this over the weekend. Perfect recipe! Super delicious and moist. I doubled it for a 9×13 pan and cooked for 55 minutes. We did a taste test and everyone agreed that it was so good it didn’t even need the glaze. I’ve been searching for the right fresh apple cake recipe for a couple of years now and this is the winner!!
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! I’m so glad to hear that Evelyn!
Katherine Milan says
Very Moist and tasty! A cake you will be proud to serve to guests! I decreased the amount of sugar to 1/2 c. Perfect with coffee!
Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Katherine!
Andi says
Absolutely delicious!! The whole family loves it! Thanks for the great recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! Love that Andi!
Shibani says
Hello!
If I wanted to bake this cake in a Bundt tin, should I double up the recipe or x1.5?
Many thanks ☺️
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Shibani, it’ll depend how large your bundt pan is. You need to do a little math to work out the volume of each pan to then understand how much more batter you’ll need. This article on cake conversions might be helpful!