Apple Cake

This easy Apple Cake has a dense and moist crumb and is loaded with fresh apples, warm cinnamon sugar, and optional crunchy nuts. It’s quick and easy to make and ready to eat in less than an hour. It's the perfect last minute treat to make when you are craving something sweet this fall.

The hardest part of this coffee cake recipe is waiting for the cake to cool. You’ll want to dig into it right away, especially as the scent of warm fall spices take over your kitchen. It also stores well and is freezer-friendly — you can have it on hand for up to several months (if you can resist eating the whole thing for that long!).

Why You'll Love this Apple Cake

• Classic fall flavors. This apple coffee cake has all the nostalgic autumn flavors in a crumbly, moist cake: cozy spices, sweet apples, and soft-yet-crunchy chopped nuts. It’s perfect for when the weather cools down, but you’ll find yourself craving this recipe year-round!
• Quick and easy-to-follow recipe. This is a super easy apple cake recipe. If you follow the simple step-by-step instructions, you’ll have a cake in the oven after only 10-15 minutes of hands-on measuring and mixing.
• Great for all occasions. One recipe for a multitude of occasions. It is a great "just because" cake for slicing up and serving with a morning cappuccino, as part of a brunch spread, as an after-lunch snack, or a late-night dessert. It’s also great dessert to serve at Thanksgiving, housewarming parties, or potlucks.

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make this easy Apple Cake, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in recipe card below):

• all-purpose flour - for a gluten-free version of this easy apple cake, try swapping out the all-purpose flour for measure-for-measure gluten-free flour. The texture of the cake will change slightly, but should still yield a similar result.
• baking powder + soda
• granulated sugar
• ground cinnamon
• salt
• vegetable oil - such as avocado oil or melted coconut oil. You can also use melted butter instead of vegetable oil to create a more buttery flavor.
• plain yogurt - we always have a batch of our Homemade Yogurt that we used in this cake recipe. But if you or someone in your family has a dairy sensitivity or allergy, you can use a non-dairy yogurt. Just make sure it has a similar fat content (coconut yogurt is usually good for this) to get a similar result.
• vanilla extract - vanilla extract gives the cake a subtle vanilla aroma and taste, but you can amp it up a bit if you have vanilla bean paste on hand. Alternatively, you could use almond extract, or apple extract if you wanted to emphasize the fruity flavors.
• eggs - in place of the eggs in this recipe, you can use flax eggs, mashed banana, or applesauce as binders instead. You may have to adjust the leavening agents in the batter (the baking powder and baking soda) to accommodate for the lack of egg to make sure the cake rises enough.
• apples - we recommend baking apples such as Granny Smith apples for the most flavor, but feel free to use any kind of apples that you have on hand.
• nuts - I like adding walnuts or pecans to this cake to compliment the warm fall flavors. But the nuts in this recipe are completely optional, and you can chop them into larger or smaller pieces to fit your preferences.
• cinnamon sugar - made with, you guessed it — granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.

You will also need measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, and 9-inch round cake pan.

How to Make the Best Apple Cake

1. Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
2. Combine wet ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine oil, yogurt, vanilla extract, and eggs. Mix well until smooth.
3. Add wet to dry. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and use a spatula to mix together until just combined and no dry ingredients are visible.
4. Fold in apples and nuts. Fold in the shredded apples and walnuts until evenly combined.
5. Pour batter in ban. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan with some cooking oil. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
6. Add cinnamon sugar topping. In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and mix evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the batter.
7. Bake. Bake the cake in a 350F preheated oven on the middle rack for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. Cool. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then invert to remove the cake and allow it to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
9. Serve. Slice and serve on it’s own or with a drizzle of cinnamon icing or Vanilla Ice Cream.

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How to Serve

We recommend serving this apple cake with a drizzle of simple icing or honey on top, or warm with a scoop of with ice cream on the side. Ice cream makes everything better, and serving this cake alongside ice cream will take it from a brunch treat to a full-fledged dessert. It’s great alongside a scoop or two of butter pecan or a velvety vanilla ice cream for a richer, sweeter experience.

Storing Instructions

How to store at room temperature

Wrap tightly in plastic cling wrap and leave at room temperature in a cool, dry place for up to three days.

How to store in the fridge

Wrap the apple cake tightly in aluminum foil or plastic cling wrap (or place in a large Ziploc bag if you’ve eaten enough of it) and store in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

How to freeze

Wrap tightly in plastic cling wrap or place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to three months. You may want to slice the cake into individual servings and wrap them each individually prior to freezing if you don’t want to eat it all at once. To thaw, let it come up to room temperature on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator before serving or attempting to reheat.

More Apple Recipes

• 20 Best Apple Desserts
• Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal Muffins
• Braided Lattice Apple Pie
• Cinnamon Apple Granola
• Apple Hand Pies
• Caramel Apples

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