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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.

Six small squares of apple cake on a board.

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 flaked almonds, perfect to serve with a cup of tea on a chilly afternoon.

Another new favourite fruity cake along with my Lemon Drizzle Cake and Pumpkin Cake.


Why you’ll love this Apple Cake recipe

⭐️ Super easy to make

⭐️ Simple ingredients

⭐️ All the tastes of the season


Squares of apple cake with one in the middle on its side to show the middle.

How we came up with this recipe

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!

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.

The ingredients for making an Apple Cake laid out on a white counter top.

Apple Cake ingredients

  • Apples – The 400g is the unchopped weight, so chopped weight should be about 300g. I use a red skinned eating apple like a Braeburn or Jazz. Pink Lady would also work well. I would avoid using a cooking apple here as they don’t hold their shape quite as well. These need to be about 1cm cubed
  • Butter – I like to use unsalted butter for baking as it is flavourless. If you only have salted it will be fine though. It’s not vital. The butter should be room temperature before using. If your butter comes straight from the fridge, soften it in the microwave for a few seconds
  • Eggs – I prefer medium, free range
  • Other ingredients – Caster sugar, self-raising flour, ground cinnamon
  • For the topping – Flaked almonds

How to make Apple Cake

Whisked butter in a bowl.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Chunks of apple with cake mixture in a glass bowl.

2. Add the eggs, flour, and cinnamon and beat until well combined and there are no pockets of flour. Fold in the cubed apples by hand.

A square oven tin with Apple Cake cake mixture inside, ready to be baked.

3. Line a 20cm x 20cm square tin with baking paper or parchment and pour in the mixture, smoothing gently with a spatula.

Uncooked apple cake mixture in a baking tin with chopped nuts over the top.

4. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and bake as per the recipe below.


Substitutions

  • Topping – You could just sprinkle over the light brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the topping if you are short of almonds
  • Want a change from apples? – You could make this with pears instead as an alternative
  • Butter – You can use dairy-free spread if you prefer

Leftovers

Store the cake in an airtight tin or container for up to 5 days. Don’t store it in the fridge or it will become quite hard.

Freezer You can freeze this cake for another day! It should be cooked first and completely cooled before freezing. Make sure it is well wrapped in a couple of layers of greaseproof paper for the freezer and defrost it at room temperature before eating.

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.

Add a topping

To make this a bit EXTRA, add a simple but delicious Cream Cheese Frosting at the end.

More cake recipes…

FAQs

How do I know if it’s cooked all the way through?

You can use a skewer or thermometer to check it is cooked all the way through. A skewer should come out clean.

Help my cake is burning on top!

If you think your cake is browning too quickly, cover the top with some tin foil. I tend to check it at 30 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 minutes or it will sink.

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

5 from 42 votes

Easy Apple Cake Recipe

This delicate and delicious Apple Cake is the perfect autumnal comfort food. With a light cinnamon sponge and apple at its heart, it's a perfect warming treat you can have as either a hearty teatime snack or as a dessert.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 9

Ingredients 

  • 150 g Butter, Room temperature
  • 150 g Caster sugar
  • 2 Eggs, Medium, free range
  • 200 g Self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 300g Apples (about x4 apples), Chopped weight | 1cm cubes

For the topping:

  • 25 g Flaked almonds

Instructions 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  • Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl.
  • Add the eggs, flour and cinnamon and beat until well combined and there are no pockets of flour.
  • Fold in the apples by hand.
  • Line a 20cm x 20cm square tin with baking paper or parchment. Pour in the mixture, smoothing gently with a spatula. Sprinkle over you flaked almonds.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes (check at 30 minutes).

Notes

Apples: The 400g is the unchopped weight, so chopped weight should be about 300g. I use a red skinned eating apple like a Braeburn or Jazz. Pink Lady would also work well. I would avoid using a cooking apple here as they don’t hold their shape quite as well. These need to be about 1cm cubed
Butter: I like to use unsalted butter for baking as it is flavourless. If you only have salted it will be fine though. It’s not vital. The butter should be room temperature before using. If your butter comes straight from the fridge, soften it in the microwave for a few seconds
To store: Store the cake in an airtight tin or container for up to 5 days. Don’t store it in the fridge or it will become quite hard. You can freeze this cake. It should be cooked first and completely cooled before freezing. Make sure it is well wrapped in a couple of layers of greaseproof paper for the freezer and defrost it at room temperature before eating.
Serving suggestions: This cake is the perfect tea time treat, but it also makes a delicious dessert served with custard cream or ice cream.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 422kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 5gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 677mgPotassium: 124mgFiber: 2gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 756IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Family Food
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Sarah Rossi founder of TamingTwins.com and author of 'What's for Dinner?' books.

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Hi, I'm Sarah. I help busy people decide 'What's for Dinner?' Find hundreds of recipes here, and also in my bestselling recipe book. Hope my recipes make your life easier ❤️

5 from 42 votes (29 ratings without comment)

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15 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 5 stars
    Delicious. Just took some to my neighbour while it was hot. Had it with double cream. My grandson will have some tomorrow
    Thank u

  3. 5 stars
    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.

  4. 5 stars
    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 😊

  5. 5 stars
    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!

  6. 5 stars
    It made me look like such a fantastic baker serving this up to friends this afternoon – so easy and so so tasty!

  7. 5 stars
    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 🧡