Packed with fresh apples and cinnamon spice, this moist cinnamon apple cake is made in one bowl and perfect for fall!
Every year for Thanksgiving, my dad comes home with tons of fresh apples to make a cinnamon apple cake. As a former pastry chef, I’ve made and tested dozens of apple cake variations, but none compare to this family recipe!
Just like caramel apple bars and apple cinnamon buns, it’s loaded with fresh apples and cozy spices—a must-bake during apple season. The best part about it? It’s quick and easy to make without a stand mixer. The hardest part is waiting for it to bake and cool so you can dig in!!
Table of Contents
Top Baking Tips
Use a kitchen scale. Baking with a scale is my #1 baking tip! If your cake is turning out dry and dense, it’s almost always due to using too much flour!
Use fresh apples. Fresher apples are easier to grate. Older ones will turn to mush!
Separate the grated apples and juice. Apples can vary in how much juice they hold, so this ensures the cake has just the right amount of moisture.
Use a metal pan. Glass or ceramic pans conduct heat differently; if used, the bake time will not be the same!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Apples: Like cinnamon apple scones, you don’t need to peel them; they can be grated with the peel! You will need at least 3-5 apples, depending on their size.
Oil: Oil helps guarantee a moist crumb without overpowering the flavor and weighing down the cake. I tested this recipe with butter instead of oil, but it completely masks the fruity apple flavor!
Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar provides sweetness and flavor and makes the cake super tender.
Best Apples for Apple Cake
After years of making this recipe, I’ve found that red apple varieties or a combination give the cake the best flavor and sweetness!
- Sweet red apples: Fiji, Gala, Honeycrisp
- Tart red apples: McIntosh, Pink Lady
Recipe Instructions
Find the full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the cinnamon topping. Combine the melted butter, all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon until dense crumbs form. Chill in the fridge.
Step 2: Combine the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, grated apples, apple juice, and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Mix in the dry ingredients. Mix in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined. Do not over-mix!
Step 4: Pour into the prepared cake pan. Evenly spread the cake batter into the baking pan.
Step 5: Bake! Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar crumble over the cake batter before baking.
Step 6: Drizzle with vanilla glaze. Once cooled, drizzle the icing over the top of the cake. It’s best served warm or cold with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Storage and Freezing
Storage: Thanks to all the fresh apples, this cake will stay moist for days if stored properly! Leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing: Store the cake whole or cut into slices in an airtight container for up to one month. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight before serving!
FAQs
It’s not necessary, but you can if you want to!
Yes! You can also sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar before baking for an even quicker topping with just as much flavor. Combine 1/2 cup white sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon.
More Apple Desserts
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Best Ever Cinnamon Apple Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the Apple Cake
- 3-5 Gala apples
- 1 1/2 cups canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, *See notes for measuring*
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the Glaze
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F/ 165 C. Line a metal 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until dense crumbs form. Chill in the fridge.6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (100 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons (25 g) light brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Use the large holes of a cheese grater to grate three red apples into a large bowl. Squeeze out all of the juice and place them into a separate bowl.3-5 Gala apples
- Measure 1 1/2 packed cups (282 grams) of the grated apples. Then measure out 3/4 cup (195 grams) of the apple juice from the bowl. Discard any extra juice and apples. If you are short, grate an extra apple (or two) until you have enough.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil and dark brown sugar. Then whisk in the eggs, vanilla, measured grated apples, and measured apple juice.1 1/2 cups (317 g) canola oil, 1 1/2 cups (300 g) dark brown sugar, 3 (150 g) large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Fold in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until just combined.3 cups (390 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and evenly sprinkle the crumb mixture on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center; it should come out clean but slightly sticky, without any wet batter clinging to it. Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack while preparing the glaze.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. For a thicker glaze, use more powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the cinnamon apple cake then cut it into slices and enjoy!3/4 cup (90 g) powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons whole milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
Made this for Friendsgiving. Absolutely perfect! So perfectly moist and the crumble came out perfectly on top. I had the perfect amount to cover the top. Yum! I use the metric measurements and the directions were very easy to follow when grating the apples. I did end up grating an additional apple. I used a mixture of gala apples and granny smith.
I’m so happy to hear that Erin! Thank you so much for coming back to leave such a kind review 🙂
I substituted vegetable oil for the canola oil and it still came out delicious. It slightly over baked and everyone still loved it. This cake was a big hit and is beginner friendly. The hardest part is peeling the apples. So yummy
I’m so happy to hear that Yari! Next time you can skip the apple peeling, I normally leave the skin on and you don’t even notice them! 🙂
Hello! Are the apples peeled?
You can peel them if you want, but I don’t!
This is the second recipe I’ve tried from Cambrea and this one turned out really good as well! My coworkers loved how moist and fluffy the cake was. I used 1-to-1 GF flour with no problems. It took 3 small gala apples to pack a cup for me. I got a bit impatient and put the glaze on the cake while it was still not one hundred percent cool so it mostly melted and wasn’t the pretty drizzle I was going for — I’ll do better with waiting next time and otherwise do nothing differently! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Yay! So happy to hear that Leila! And I’m so glad to know that 1:1 GF flour works in this recipe. Thanks for the kind review! 🙂