This easy apple spice cake is soft, moist, and packed with real apple flavor. Made completely from scratch with fresh apples and homemade applesauce, it’s finished with a warm light syrup that soaks into the cake keeping it tender for days.
It’s the perfect everyday apple cake—simple enough to make in one bowl, yet rich enough to serve as a sweet breakfast, afternoon tea treat, or light dessert. Bake it as a loaf cake, classic sheet cake, or fluffy apple cupcakes.
It can be customized to include frosting and freezes well for convenience. One easy to follow recipe, endless options.
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This recipe might look very similar to my famous carrot cake or spiced pumpkin cake, and that's because they use a similar cake batter. This one is made with fresh apples and applesauce — almonds replace walnuts or pecans.
Best apples for making apple cake
Suitable apples to make apple cake include the following varieties.
- Granny Smith - Tart, sweet, and intense. My favourite.
- Gala - Sweet.
- Honey Crisp - Slightly tart.
- Braeburn - Sweet.
- Pink lady - Very Sweet.
Ingredients
- Apples — The best apples for apple cake are the ones you love most. I used Golden Delicious, but you can use any type of apple for this recipe because we grate the apples, and the texture is not that important. You can also use a mix of apples like Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp.
- Sugar — Brown sugar is best for the batter and then you can use powdered or confectioners sugar to dust on top if you like.
- Flour — Just plain white flour, known as all-purpose flour.
- Raising agents - We use a combination of baking powder and baking soda.
- Fats — Neutral oil in the cake batter and then butter to rub the cake pan with. You could also substitute the oil for olive oil or melted butter.
- Nuts — Untoasted Flaked almonds. Feel free to use walnuts or pecans.
- Spice — Cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Extras — Applesauce. You can use homemade applesauce or store-bought, or even replace it with sour cream or yogurt. Apple juice—Freshly squeezed or store-bought for making the syrup. Lemon juice for balancing the sweetness of the syrup.
See the recipe for amounts and substitutions.
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and tin — Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Lightly butter a 20–22cm springform cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients — Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Sift together plain flour, baking powder, and baking soda to keep the crumb light and even.
- Wet ingredients — Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the sugar, applesauce, and oil until just combined, no need to overmix. Fold in the grated fresh apples last.
- Bake the cake — Pour the batter into the prepared tin, level the top, and bake for around 45–50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Make the syrup — In a small saucepan, gently heat the sugar, apple juice, and lemon juice until the sugar has fully dissolved. Let it simmer for a minute, then remove from the heat.
- Poke holes in the cake — While the cake is still warm in the tin, use a skewer or toothpick to poke small holes all over the top. This helps the syrup soak in evenly.
- Pour over the syrup — Slowly spoon or pour the warm syrup over the cake, letting it seep into the sponge. It should be absorbed fully without pooling.
- Cool and finish — Let the cake cool completely in the tin before releasing it. Once cool, dust lightly with icing sugar just before serving.
Tips for success
- Weigh everything — Always bake using a digital scale and metric units. It's far more accurate than cups or spoons.
- Hot oven, always — Preheat before you touch the batter. Cake needs consistent heat from the start.
- Tin ready first — Line and grease your tin before mixing. Leave at least half the volume free to rise without spilling.
- Mix like a pro — Sift dry ingredients, whisk wet ones, then fold dry into wet until just combined. No overmixing.
- Butter caution — If using melted butter instead of oil, let it cool down first. Hot butter ruins the texture.
- Check the temp — Use a digital thermometer, not a toothpick. Aim for 96°C (205°F) for perfect doneness.
- Seal it tight — Once cool, store the cake in an airtight container to keep it from drying out.
Variations
- Layered apple cake - Cut the cake in half horizontally and level the top. Make a simple cream cheese frosting and spread in the middle layer, top and sides. Store in the fridge.
- French apple cake or Sharlotka - Cut the apple into large pieces sliced 3mm thick. You will have juice some apples or use store-bought natural apple juice to make the syrup as you won't have juice coming from sliced apples.
- Nuts - Replace the almonds with chopped hazelnuts, walnuts, or pecans.
- Vanilla - Add vanilla essence or, if you feeling fancy, fresh vanilla bean paste.
- Apple drizzle cake - Mix 100g of powdered sugar with a teaspoon of apple juice and lime or lemon juice. Whisk and adjust the consistency to your liking. For a runnier drizzle add a few more drops of citrus juice, or for a thicker drizzle, add more powdered sugar.
- Spiced Apple cupcakes - Use the exact recipe here and just bake in cupcake forms. Make classic cupcake frosting. For a little welcome surprise. When the cupcakes have cooled, scoop out some of the centres with an apple corer or spoon. Add in applesauce and close up with some cupcake crumbs followed by frosting and sprinkling some more crumbs on the frosting for decoration.
Dietary and allergy adjustments
- Gluten-free — Replace the flour with a gluten-free flour mix or almond flour.
- Nut free — Omit the almonds from the recipe.
- Dairy free — Replace the butter with neutral oil when greasing the tin.
FAQ
Can this apple cake be made ahead of time?
Yes. Apple cake keeps well and improves in texture after resting. Once cooled, store it covered and airtight at room temperature for up to 24 hours, or refrigerate it if you’re waiting to decorate or serve it later.
How should I store apple cake?
Always keep the cake airtight. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, wrap it well and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Why is my cake dense?
Dense cake usually means the batter was overmixed. Always fold ingredients gently—just until combined. Over-mixing develops gluten and leads to a heavy texture, especially in cakes with fruit.
Can I make this without spices?
Yes, you can leave out the spices for a plain apple cake. The method stays the same—just skip the cinnamon and any other spice in the mix.
Equipment
Spring Form Cake Pan
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Drum Sieve
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Electronic Kitchen Scales
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Kitchenaid Stand Mixer
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Recipe
Spiced Apple Cake
Easy Spiced apple cake perfect for any occasion.
Servings 8 portions
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 (2) apples - grated, skin on - note 1
- 250 g (2 cups) flour - all purpose - note 2
- 12 g (3 teaspoon) baking powder
- 4 g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 2 g (1 teaspoon) cinnamon - powder
- 2 g (1 teaspoon) nutmeg - powder - note 3
- 2 g (½ teaspoon) salt - fine
- 100 g (¾ cups) flaked almonds - note 4
- 120 g (½ cups) oil - note 5
- 200 g (4 whole) eggs - 4 large eggs - note 6
- 225 g (1 cups) brown sugar - note 7
- 100 g (⅖ cups) apple sauce - note 8
For the apple srup
- 250 grams (1 cups) apple juice
- 25 grams (1 ½ tablespoon) lemon juice
- 26 grams (2 tablespoon) brown sugar
Instructions
Making the Cake
- Prepare the oven and tin — Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Lightly butter a 20–22cm springform cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
- Dry ingredients — Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Sift together plain flour, baking powder, and baking soda to keep the crumb light and even.
- Wet ingredients — Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the sugar, applesauce, and oil until just combined, no need to overmix. Fold in the grated fresh apples last.
- Bake the cake — Pour the batter into the prepared tin, level the top, and bake for around 45–50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Adding the syrup
- Make the syrup — In a small saucepan, gently heat the sugar, apple juice and lemon juice until the sugar has fully dissolved. Let it simmer for a minute, then remove from the heat.
- Poke holes in the cake — While the cake is still warm in the tin, use a skewer or toothpick to poke small holes all over the top. This helps the syrup soak in evenly.
- Pour over the syrup — Slowly spoon or pour the warm syrup over the cake, letting it seep into the sponge. It should absorb fully without pooling.
- Cool and finish — Let the cake cool completely in the tin before releasing it. Once cool, dust lightly with icing sugar just before serving.
Notes
- You can peel the apple if you want, or cut it with a knife into chunkier slices. Cubes or wedges won't work, as it's too heavy for the cake batter to hold. You can also substitute the apple for pear, carrot, pumpkin, or beetroot to name a few.
- You can use gluten-free cake flour instead, or substitute it for almond flour to make the cake gluten-free.
- Freshly grated nutmeg will have more flavor than pre-ground packaged nutmeg.
- You can add any other nut or seed instead of almonds. Walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and pistachios all work well. With the nuts, make sure to chop them roughly into smaller pieces.
- You can use any fat. Oil gives the fluffiest texture, while butter makes it richer but slightly more crumbly in texture. You can use any oil. Neutral like sunflower or extra virgin for an interesting taste.
- Most baking recipes call for large eggs. This recipe uses whole eggs. An egg yolk weighs 20 grams and the white 30 grams. If using pasteurized whole egg, use the gram measurements of 50 grams per egg. 200 grams egg = 4 whole eggs.
- I use brown sugar because it helps keep the cake moister and also adds some warming molasses notes that pair well with the spices. Feel free to use regular white sugar instead. You can also make it sugar-free by using your preferred sweetener instead. Just make sure to add it to taste.
- Applesauce keeps the cake moist and boosts the apple flavor. Feel free to substitute for yogurt, sour cream, or any other fruit or vegetable purée.
- Store airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, this cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 130g Calories: 492kcal Carbohydrates: 63g Protein: 9g Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g Monounsaturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 93mg Sodium: 438mg Potassium: 254mg Fiber: 4g Sugar: 34g Vitamin A: 164IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 169mg Iron: 3mg
Keywords:apple cake with oil, spiced apple cake
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Trix says
Thank you for sharing your recipes. Love to try them on.