This is basically apple pie in cake form! A simple cake batter transforms into a soft and perfect base for lots of apple chunks tossed in cinnamon and sugar, layered between the batter and scattered on top. They become soft and jammy but continue to be the star of the whole thing. I love a piece of this cake warm, with a drizzle of cream. It’s perfect for winter baking!
Originally, this is a Smitten Kitchen recipe which fabulous as it sounded, needs a much larger pan than the standard size pans that fit into my oven. I’d made this years ago with my Mom and using her great knack of modifying recipes to suit the circumstances, she somehow produced a wonderful cake with ingredient maths I’d never have the confidence to attempt myself. I’ve been wanting to take new photos anyway and decided to revisit the recipe too, so this time I switched up the proportions to be roughly half of the original and found it worked beautifully in a 9×5 inch loaf pan. I also used a combination of brown and white sugar instead of only white for more flavour!
The last time, I made it with oil, but Smitten Kitchen added notes to say butter would work well too and it actually makes for a much more flavourful cake. Oil makes it just a bit more moist, but I definitely prefer the butter version. I tend to chop apples a bit…roughly but the chunky pieces actually taste very very good here and don’t breakdown and become too mushy.
Best eaten at room temperature or like I said, warmed up to really get those pie vibes going! Because the apple pieces are layered within the batter, there’s plenty of fruit in every bite, just as it should be. I recommend slicing this cake into thicker pieces (I got 6) and then for ease, slicing each one again for 12 smaller pieces.
It’s so so flavourful and so perfect for apple season but honestly, this cake would work with whatever apples you can get! I hope you love it 🙂
Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the apples
- 4 red apples, any variety is ok
- 2 tsps cinnamon powder
- 2 tbsps caster sugar
For the batter
- 1/2 cup butter, melted but not hot (115 gms) (you can also use the 1/2 cup oil but I prefer butter)
- 1/2 cup soft brown sugar (105 gms)
- 1/2 cup caster sugar (95 gms)
- 2 tbsps orange juice (30 ml)
- 1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, at room temperature (I have not tried an eggless version)
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 gms)
- 1 and 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt, if using unsalted butter
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop the apples into about 1-inch chunks. Add to a bowl and toss well with the cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line a 9x5 inch loaf tin with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter and sugars together until well combined, then add the orange juice, vanilla and eggs. Whisk again until smooth and the eggs are incorporated. A balloon whisk is useful here, a hand mixer is not necessary but you can use one on low speed if you prefer.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt (if using). Fold it gently into the liquid ingredients using a spatula until incorporated. The batter is on the thicker side but should be smooth.
- Spoon half the batter into the loaf tin, smoothen the top and spread half the apples over it in an even layer. Top with the remaining batter, smoothen and finish with the remaining apples.
- Bake for 1 hour, then an additional 5 to 10 minutes until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out with no crumbs. Some apple juice might create a gooey appearance, that's ok.
- Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the tin, then carefully lift it out and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice into 6 thick slices (the apples make it harder to cut thin slices) using a sharp knife and then if you like, slice each one into 2 smaller pieces so they're easier to eat.
- Store at room temperature for a day after which it's best stored in the fridge for a week. I recommend reheating individual pieces and drizzling a little cream on top! Happy baking 🙂
Notes
Thanks for trying this out! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂 I didn’t find the cake excessively oily but you could reduce it to half a cup I suppose. I’ve also heard of applesauce being used as an oil substitute although I’ve never tried it. If you do, let me know how it goes 🙂 happy baking!
Hey! Just tried your even better Apple cake and it was sooo much better than the other ones I’ve tried! The recipe was easy to follow and the results were amazing, so thank you! I’d just use a little lesser oil the next time I try it, felt like the cake didn’t need as much oil. Is there a substitute for that you could recommend?
Again, the cake turned out to be fabulous, and I’m definitely going to try out some more from your blog! 🙂
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This looks marvelous! I can only hope that someday I will have that kind of intuition about baking.
Absolutely! Me too 🙂
Hey, have you ever tried replacing eggs with condensed milk ? I tried once and the cake became very light and spongy … Do you also feel the same?
ANy difference noticed in cakes with eggs and without eggs…
No I’ve never used it as a substitute so I can’t say. The one Cadbury recipe I tried didn’t turn out well. I like using buttermilk instead and find no difference in the texture.
hehe! love your stories! I also tried a fruit cake with chopped apples some time back. And loved baked taste of apples in the cake.
Happy to hear that Sakshi! Let me know if you try this one out 🙂