It’s the time of year when we start to spend more time feeling cosy at home, and that definitely calls for cake! This Apple Cinnamon Cake is so easy to make and will fill the whole house with the most delicious scent.
It’s not a fancy neat cake, so no pressure to make it look perfect, just sprinkle on the crumble topping and get ready to dig in.
Whether you’re an experienced baker or a complete beginner, you’ll love this seasonal bake.
This Apple Cake is autumn comfort food, topped with crunchy crumble, perfect to serve with a cup of tea on a chilly afternoon.
Another new favourite fruity cake along with my Lemon Drizzle Cake.
Why you’ll love this recipe
⭐️ Super easy to make
⭐️ Simple ingredients
⭐️ All the tastes of the season
About Cinnamon and Apple Cake
I’m taking a break from my main course recipes to bring you what is JUST as important in the colder months… comforting, delicious cake! This is a simple sponge which works best being baked in a 7” round cake tin in about an hour. There’s no need for any elaborate equipment, although you can use a food mixer if you have one.
This is a very ‘tender’ cake (as Paul Hollywood would say), meaning it can break easily and crumble. BUT, although it’s fragile, I forgive it, as that’s what makes it so delicious! The best way to tackle this is by waiting to cut it until it’s completely cold (if you can resist). If you’d still prefer to serve it warm as a dessert, that’s fine – just be gentle and accept that it will be a bit crumbly.
This Apple and Cinnamon Cake is best served as a teatime treat with a nice hot cuppa, or as a pudding with custard or perhaps frozen yoghurt.
What you’ll need
- Butter – Salted or unsalted is fine depending on what you have, but will obviously give slightly different flavour. A single pack just about covers what’s needed for the cake, crumble, and for greasing the tin!
- Light brown sugar – See the substitutions list if you only have white
- White sugar
- Eggs – I use medium sized
- Self-raising flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Pink Lady apples – Or other red-skinned dessert apples
- Rolled oats – For the topping
How to make it
- Preheat the oven and grease the tin with butter and line with baking paper.
2. Beat together the butter and sugars until light and soft, then add the eggs, flour and cinnamon. Combine well then stir in the apple
3. Mix together your topping ingredients.
4. Scatter the topping over the cake mix in the tin and bake (as per the recipe below).
Substitutions
- Brown sugar – If you only have white sugar you can use that as the total weight (200g caster sugar and no light brown sugar). The cake won’t have such a golden colour or quite as much flavour though.
- Topping – You could just sprinkle over the light brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the topping if you are short of time and omit the oats and butter.
- Want a change from apples? – You could make this with pears instead as an alternative and add flaked almonds to the topping instead of the rolled oats.
- Butter – You can use dairy-free spread if you prefer.
Leftovers
In the cupboard I would leave this in the cake tin for 3-4 days, but if your kitchen is warm you may want to keep it in the fridge to keep it fresh.
In the freezer This cake can easily be frozen. You can either freeze it whole, or slice it up and freeze the pieces individually. To do this, it’s best to cut it after it’s been in the fridge for a while to make it easier to cut.
Top tips
Extra apples:
You might feel tempted to add another apple in. If you are desperate to, you’re very welcome, but the texture of the cake will be so soft that it will fall apart. This would make it delicious for dessert but not such a sliceable bake.
Cutting up the apples:
Make sure you cut your apples into very small cubes. If the cubes are too big the cake will be more likely to break up.
FAQ
You can use a skewer or thermometer to check it is cooked all the way through. A skewer should come out clean.
If you think your cake is browning too quickly, cover the top with some tin foil. I tend to check it at 40 minutes and then put some foil over if it’s looking like it’s very brown already. Try not to open the cake before 30-40 minutes or it will sink.
Because this cake takes a while to cook, it’s normal to need some foil on top.
As we want this to cook slowly for a long time, it’s best to place it on the bottom shelf of the oven, rather than the top.
Autumn Apple Cake {with Cinnamon}
Ingredients
- 200 g Butter Room temperature
- 100 g Light brown sugar See notes
- 100 g White sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 200 g Self-raising flour
- 3 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 2 Pink Lady apples See notes
For the topping:
- 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp Rolled oats
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Light brown sugar See notes
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
- Grease and line with baking paper a 7” round cake tin.
- Add the butter and both sugars to a bowl and beat together until light and soft. You could do this with a food mixer if you like.
- Add the eggs, flour and cinnamon to the bowl and beat well to combine. Stir in the chopped apple.
- Spoon the mix into the prepared tin and level.
- In the same bowl you have just used, add all the topping ingredients, and stir together with a metal spoon or a fork, until you have a lumpy, bumpy and crumbly mix.
- Scatter the topping over and place the cake in the oven.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until cooked and risen.
- You can use a skewer or thermometer to check it is cooked all the way through. Allow to cool TOTALLY in the tin before removing.
Notes
Keep an eye on the cake as it is cooking. If it’s going too brown on top before the rest is ready, put some foil on top. Don’t open the oven door until the cake has been in for at least 30-40 minutes though or it will sink. Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for a slower, steadier bake. Butter:
Use salted or unsalted as your preference. One pack should cover the cake, topping and for greasing. Storing:
It will keep in a cake tin for 3-4 days, but put in the fridge if your kitchen is warm. To freeze, either freeze whole or cut up when cold and freeze pieces individually. Delicate goods:
This will cut up easier once it is cold as the sponge is delicate. If you want it warm, that’s OK. It will just be a bit crumbly. Apple:
Cut into very small cubes (1-2cm) to help stop the cake breaking up. No need to peel. Serving suggestions:
I recommend frozen yoghurt or custard if you’re eating it as a dessert. Or just on its own for a teatime treat is fine.
Gitusmita says
Superb recipe.. gonna try it soon…
So we don’t use any raising agents here?
Sarah Rossi says
It’s self raising flour so doesn’t need any – enjoy!
Rex says
Thanks for the excellent recipe. Very pleased with the result.
May try adding chopped walnuts next time.
Tanya says
Made this today with apples from my garden and it turned out perfectly. Next time I think I might add some walnuts to the mix and topping for that add crunch. Thanks for the recipe 🧡
Karen Dennison says
It made me look like such a fantastic baker serving this up to friends this afternoon – so easy and so so tasty!
Emma says
Glorious!! My boys declared it the best cake they’ve ever eaten (& normally avoid fruit like it’s poison!) scrumptious as dessert with custard and will look forward to sharing it with friends over a cuppa over the week! I did 1.5 ingredients as I think my cake tin was a 9” not required 7” but all good!
Elaine says
What a treat to have this recipe land in my in box. I made it today and it was a huge success. Crispy on the outside and warm deliciousness in the middle. Thank you 😊
Danielle says
Thank you! The best apple cake I ever made. Merci! Greetings from France.
Jane says
Made this at the weekend. Loved it. Very easy and the topping makes it bit special. I am rubbish at decorating cakes so thi type of bake suits me.
Eileen says
Delicious. Just took some to my neighbour while it was hot. Had it with double cream. My grandson will have some tomorrow
Thank u
Katie says
I made this until cupcakes as i didn’t have a cake tin handy – doubled the crumble topping so I had enough to cover all the extra surface area! Worked perfectly and they came out really delicious. Would recommend eating warm with custard – a delicious dessert which I am going to serve with my Xmas lunch this year.