This apple cinnamon cake is fresh apples coated in cinnamon sugar then baked into a buttery vanilla cake base. A delicious fall treat that’s perfect as is or served with a scoop of ice cream on top.
When apples are in season, apple cake is a must-make recipe. This cake is a light butter cake base and is topped with a pile of sweetened apples. It’s one of my favorite fall recipes along with pumpkin meringue pie and apple cobbler.
We have an apple tree in our yard, and the apples it produces are better for cooking and baking than eating out of hand. I make a lot of applesauce with a few baked goods thrown in such as this cinnamon apple cake. The girls have been asking to make a Dutch apple pie so we’ll have to do that soon too.
This cake is a simple, homey dessert that doesn’t require a lot of prep time but tastes like you’ve been slaving away in the kitchen. It’s one of my favorite apple desserts. If you want to enjoy other desserts featuring delicious fruit you you should try my pear custard pie, blueberry shortcake or roasted figs with ice cream.
Apple Cinnamon Cake Ingredeints
To make this apple cinnamon cake you will need flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, eggs, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, lemon juice, apples and honey. You may want some whipped cream or ice cream as a topping!
How do you make apple cinnamon cake?
When you make this apple cinnamon cake start by preheating your oven and lining your baking pan with cooking spray and parchment paper. Next, make the batter by whisking together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir eggs, butter and vanilla into the dry ingredients. Spread the batter in your baking pan. Next prepare your apples by peeling and slicing them. Place your apple slices in a bowl with lemon juice. Toss the apple slices in cinnamon and sugar and press them into your cake batter. Bake the cake, let it cool and brush the top with honey. Serve it with ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy!
Tips For The Perfect Apple Cinnamon Cake
- The apples soften and sink into the cinnamon apple cake as they bake, so you don’t need to pre-cook the apples.
- I like to arrange the apples into rows with the apples close together. You can use a similar pattern or design your own pattern with the apples.
- Use an offset spatula to smooth your batter in a baking pan.
- Little helpers might enjoy tossing apple slices in cinnamon sugar and placing them on your cake.
- Choose tart apples for this recipe. The tartness works well with the sweetness of the cake and honey. I like to use Granny Smith, McIntosh and Pink Lady apples. I tend to avoid Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji apples for this cake.
Quick Tip
I brush the cake with honey as a glaze not only because it looks great, but it also adds a little extra sweetness to the tart apples.
Recipe FAQs
The best apple to use in a cake is a tart apple like Granny Smith, McIntosh or a Pink Lady apples. The tartness of the apples works well with the sweetness of a cake.
An apple cake can stay fresh in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days. If you want to keep your cake fresh for up to 4 days, store it in a refrigerator.
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Flavor Variations
While this apple cinnamon cake bakes up delicious and sweet, you can change the cake to suit your taste.
- Nuts: Try adding chopped walnuts or chopped pecans to your batter.
- Caramel: You can drizzle your cake with caramel sauce for extra sweetness.
- Spiced: For more of a spiced cake flavor try adding 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg to your batter.
The texture of this cinnamon apple cake is almost like a blondie. Think of a buttery blondie base topped with the amazing cinnamon sugar apples and honey. This is the perfect treat for a fall day when you want a little something sweet.
More Delicious Apple Recipes
Apple Nachos
6 mins
Slow Cooker Apple Cider
2 hrs 5 mins
Apple Pork Chops
30 mins
Caramel Apple Dip
6 mins
Apple Fries
30 mins
Apple Cinnamon Cake Video
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Apple Cinnamon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar divided use
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter 1 stick, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3 to 4 tart apples such as granny smith
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- cooking spray
- whipped cream or ice cream for serving if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 cup sugar and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter and vanilla. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Squeeze lemon juice into a medium bowl. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples into the bowl. Add the cinnamon and sugar and toss to thoroughly coat each apple slice.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the batter in overlapping rows, pressing lightly into the batter.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Brush the top of the cake with the honey. Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.
Notes
- Choose tart apples for this recipe. The tartness works well with the sweetness of the cake and honey.
- Use an offset spatula to smooth your batter in a baking pan.
- Little helpers might enjoy tossing apple slices in cinnamon sugar and placing them on your cake.
Delicious effing cake. Tasted even better than it looked!!
Could you use gluten free flour to make this gluten free?
Yes that should work!
I just made this at it was amazing! Perfect recipe!
Love it! Thanks for recipe! These look incredible…
This is such a gorgeous dessert! I can’t wait to show up at Thanksgiving with this beautiful thing! Thanks for sharing with Saucy Saturdays
Oh my goodness this cake is stunning! Thank you for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays, I hope you are having a great week 🙂
I am currently (im)patiently waiting for the apples on our two trees to ripen a little more and this recipe is not making the wait any easier! What a fantastic recipe.
Wow this looks amazing! You had me at “think blondie base.” I love blondies and I love apples! 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing.
I am with you on the weather!! It needs to cool down! This cake is gorgeous though and would put me in the mood for fall despite the heat 😉
You had me at “buttery cake!” This cake is definitely something I can handle, and it’s so pretty too! Love it for fall!
How cool that you have an apple tree in your yard! This cake looks so delicious! I could definitely go for a slice or two!
This cake is just gorgeous! 🙂 And can I just say how incredibly jealous I am that you have an apple tree in your yard??
What a beautiful cake! The presentation is just gorgeous!
This needs to be the poster child recipe for the fall! One gorgeous looking cake for sure!
This Apple Cake is gorgeous!
That cake is just beautiful! My sister always gives me a ton of apples in the fall from her tree so I do a ton of baking and applesauce making every year with them too! This cake will have to go on the list!
I think apple + cinnamon has to be one of my favorite flavor combos ever. These look amazing and perfect for fall. Pinning!
Omg Sara, this looks and sounds AMAZING!! Like, this may be one of the prettiest cakes/desserts I have ever seen. I wish I could have a piece with my morning coffee!
WOW this is a beautiful cake! Perfect way to use up those fall apples.
This is so beautiful! I love it-it’s the ultimate autumn recipe!