• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • Contact
Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Google Plus! Follow me via RSS!

I Heart Eating

Recipes for people who love to eat.

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
      • Work with Me
    • Rules and Disclosures
  • Recipe Index
  • Subscribe
  • Press

Home » Desserts » Cake Recipes » Cinnamon Apple Cake

Cinnamon Apple Cake

Posted by: Kate / Cake Recipes, Desserts / Posted: 10/09/19 / Last updated: 10/09/19

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe -

Easy one-bowl cinnamon apple cake recipe! This moist apple cake is topped with a simple cinnamon sugar crumble. So easy, so good! Slice of cinnamon apple cake on a cream plate

Now that Fall is (finally) here, this Cinnamon Apple Cake is a yummy way to use some of the fresh apples that are just making their way into the stores.

This apple cake is so simple and easy to make! You can mix the batter in one bowl, and it’s so quick and easy to stir up that the cake is ready to go into the oven by the time the oven preheats.

And the cake itself is pretty fantastic. It’s really moist, and the cinnamon sugar topping gives the cake a bit of buttery crunch.

How To Make Cinnamon Apple Cake

This cake is so easy to make! I recommend stirring it by hand rather than using an electric mixer to avoid overmixing the batter.

Cinnamon apple cake batter in a glass mixing bowl

In a large mixing bowl, stir the brown sugar, oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in just until combined. Don’t overmix.

Cinnamon apple cake batter in a 9x13 pan

Fold in the diced apple just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth as needed.

Cinnamon apple cake batter topped with cinnamon sugar

To make the topping, stir the butter, cinnamon, and sugar together. The mixed topping will look like wet sand.

Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping over the cake batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Slice of cinnamon apple cake next to a blue linen napkinTips For Making Apple Cake

  • Any neutral oil will work in this recipe. You can use canola, vegetable, melted coconut oil, or even olive oil.
  • Regular or low-fat buttermilk will work. If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can make an easy substitute with this recipe.
  • Be sure to properly measure the flour. Adding too much flour will give you a dry batter and a doughy or dense cake.
  • I recommend stirring this batter by hand. It’s easy to mix and mixing it by hand will help to avoid overmixing the batter.
  • Any baking apple will work. Granny Smith, Gala, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp are all good choices.

Slice of cinnamon apple cake next to red and green applesHow To Serve Apple Cake

This cake is great served as-is. If serving the cake warm, you can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream on top. It can also be topped with a drizzle of caramel sauce to make it more of a caramel apple cake.

How To Store Cinnamon Apple Cake

This cake will keep for 3-4 days stored covered at room temperature. This cake is very moist. If you live in a humid area, you may prefer to store the cake covered in the fridge.

Spoon drizzling caramel on top of cinnamon apple cakeMore Apple Recipes!

  • Apple Turnovers
  • Cinnamon Apples
  • Apple Cider Donut Muffins

If you’ve tried this cinnamon apple cake recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

You can SUBSCRIBE to receive my latest recipe newsletters or FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for even more delicious food.

Cinnamon Apple Cake

Moist apple cake topped with cinnamon sugar.
Author:I Heart Eating
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings:20 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caramel apple cake, cinnamon apple cake, easy apple cake recipe
Slice of cinnamon apple cake on a cream plate
Print Rate Pin

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar (packed)
  • 1/3 cup oil¹
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup buttermilk (regular or low-fat ok)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour2 (properly measured)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups peeled,cored, and chopped baking apples3

Topping

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon butter (melted)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, stir brown sugar, oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together until well-combined.
  • Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir just until incorporated.
  • Fold in chopped apple.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
  • In a small bowl, stir sugar, cinnamon, and butter together.
  • Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the batter.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

  1. Any neutral oil such as canola or vegetable will work.
  2. To properly measure the flour, stir the flour, lightly spoon into measuring cup, and level.
  3. Apples such as Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp work well. 
  4. Nutrition values are estimates. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1servingCalories: 192kcal (10%)Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 5g (8%)Saturated Fat: 1g (5%)Cholesterol: 10mg (3%)Sodium: 110mg (5%)Potassium: 73mg (2%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 23g (26%)Vitamin A: 42IU (1%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 33mg (3%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe?Tag @i_heart_eating on Instagram and hashtag it #ihearteating.

Originally published 10/2/12. Updated with new photos and tips 10/9/19.

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Email
Slow Cooker Brownies
Easy Pumpkin Bread

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Rate this recipe:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

I'm Kate Dean- mom to four young kids, recipe developer, and photographer. Here at I Heart Eating®, I share my family's favorite tried-and-true recipes.

Read More »

Subscribe via email

to stay in the loop on new posts!

Latest and Greatest

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

Easy Homemade Breadsticks

Watergate Salad

Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Chocolate peanut butter cookies on a wooden cutting board

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Featured On

Footer

Instant Pot

Plate of Instant Pot ziti topped with melted mozzarella cheese

Instant Pot Ziti

Instant Pot Indian Butter Chicken

Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese on a stoneware plate

Instant Pot Italian Mac and Cheese

Popular Posts

Stack of brownie cookies with a bit missing

Brownie Cookie Recipe

Easiest chocolate chip cookies on a tan silicone baking mat

Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Whipped Buttercream Frosting

Whipped Buttercream Frosting

Cookie Recipes

Chocolate peanut butter cookies on a wooden cutting board

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Tray of doubletree chocolate chip cookies

Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Stack of M&M cookie bars on a piece of parchment paper

M&M Cookie Bars

Follow me on Facebook! Follow me on Twitter! Follow me on Instagram! Follow me on Pinterest! Follow me on Google Plus! Follow me via RSS!
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Me
  • Privacy
Copyright © 2021 I Heart EatingTheme by Once Coupled & Melissa Rose Design