A fall favorite, a delicious easy cinnamon apple cake with a fluffy light texture, moist with fresh apple puree instead of eggs, topped with a cinnamon crumble, dairy free, made in one bowl with under 8 ingredients.
This cinnamon apple cake is a soft round coffee cake that has a melt-in-your-mouth texture thanks to the addition of fresh blended apple puree which reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise without eggs.
Fresh blended apple puree used also instead of eggs gives the cake a wonderful apple flavor and aftertaste. I added a cinnamon crumble top and glaze for the finish The final apple cake is soft and delicious. Enjoy a slice with a cup of mulled spiced apple cider, or my ginger tea, or even my single serving lemonade. Other sweet breakfast ideas include my healthy baked oatmeal cups and my chocolate chip loaf cake.
Why You'll Love This
A quick and easy apple cake. You only need a bowl and spoon, no grater, mixer or other special tools needed to prepare this cake. This recipe makes a single layer cake in an 8-inch round or square pan. Triple the recipe to make a apple bundt cake. Cut it in half to make an apple loaf cake or a 6-inch round.
Use any kind of apple. You can use Gala or Fuji for a sweeter flavor, and Granny Smith for a tart flavor, or any apple you have on hand except for Red Delicious.
Perfect for all diets. This apple cake is dairy free, vegan, and can easily be made gluten free.
Ingredients
Flour. I used all purpose flour, but gluten free baking flour works too. Visit my how to measure a cup of flour post for tips on how to measure with cups.
Sugar. Cane sugar keeps the cake light in color, but brown sugar, or coconut sugar works but turns the cake tan in color.
Apples. Peel and chop one apple into chunks to both fold in and scatter on top. Don't peel 2 others, but cut and chunk them, and blend into ½ cup of apple puree to add moisture to the cake.
Milk. Use any milk and add lemon juice to create an acidic buttermilk that reacts with baking soda to lift the cake as an egg would. Yogurt also works.
Flavors & leaveners. Olive oil, vanilla, salt, baking powder & soda, cinnamon.
Crumble ingredients. Cinnamon, butter, flour, sugars.
Glaze ingredients. Powdered sugar, milk.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Instructions.
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a round 8-inch cake pan. Peel one apple and chop it into chunks. Don't peel 2 others, and chop them, add them to a blender with a bit of water and lemon juice and blend into a puree.
Step 1: Add the puree and all wet ingredients to a bowl, and stir until combined.
Step 2: Add in the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Fold in half the peeled chopped apples.
Step 3: Pour the batter into the pan, and scattered the rest of the peeled chopped apples on the top of the batter.
Step 4: Mix up the crumble. Use a fork to chop butter, cinnamon sugar and flour together, and sprinkle on top.
Step 5: Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes. Check that a tester comes out clean from the center.
Step 6: Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the inside edge, and carefully lift the cake out and set it on a wire rack until it's cool enough to serve.
Recipe Tips
To chop the apples for pureeing, stand the apple upright, cut off four sides to the core. Discard the cord, and cut the 4 parts in chunks before adding them to the blender. Cut the apple the same way for the decorative top slices, except slice the 4 sides thinly instead of cutting chunks.
Be careful to measure the flour carefully. You can measure using a scale, or use the fluff, spoon and level method. Fluff the flour in a bag with a fork. Spoon it carefully into a measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife.
Storage
The cake stores in a sealed container for 3 days at room temperature. Keep the cake, sliced or not, in a sealed container for 1 week in the refrigerator. Freeze the cake in a sealed container or wrapped tightly for up to 3 months. Be sure it is completely cooled before freezing.
FAQS
Yes, triple the recipe and add to a greased and floured bundt pan. Skip the crumble. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check at 1 hour with a tester. If the tester has batter on it, bake the additional 15 minutes. Drizzle with a glaze.
For a sweeter cake, use Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious. For a tart tang to the cake, use Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady, SweeTango apples.
More Apple Recipes
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Apple Cake
Equipment
- 8-inch round pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour all purpose flour or gluten free baking flour
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 2 apple (not peeled, chopped, blended into a puree) yield is ⅔ cup puree
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 apple (peeled, chopped into chunks) ½ cup to fold in and topping
Crumb topping
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 tablespoon butter, chilled stick, chopped
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
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Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a round 8-inch cake pan.
- Add lemon to milk and allow 5 minutes to curdle.
- Peel one apple and chop it into chunks.
- Don't peel 2 others, and chop them, add them to a blender with a bit of water and lemon juice and blend into a puree.
Make cake
- Add the apple puree, sugar and all wet ingredients to a bowl, and stir until combined.¾ cup cane sugar, 2 apple (not peeled, chopped, blended into a puree), ⅓ cup milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add in the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Fold in half the peeled chopped chunks of apple into the batter.1 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pour the batter into the pan, and scatter the rest of the peeled chopped chunks of apples on the top of the batter.1 apple (peeled, chopped into chunks)
- Mix up the crumble. Use a fork to chop butter, cinnamon sugar and flour together, and sprinkle on top.¼ cup flour, 3 tablespoon butter, chilled stick, chopped, 3 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon cane sugar
- Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until the tester comes out clean. Readers have said sometimes it has taken 45 minutes - it depends on how your oven runs.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the inside edge, and carefully lift the cake out and set it on a wire rack until it's cool enough to serve.
- Stir glaze together and drizzle over the cooled cake.
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