Easy Apple Cake: A Simple Melt-in-Your-Mouth Fall Recipe

Have too many apples this fall? Bake a melt-in-your-mouth cake

Fall is when apple trees are loaded, and after a trip to the orchard, bags and baskets of apples tend to take over the kitchen counter, the pantry, or the basement. Some can be stored for winter, others turned into jam, juice, or canned fruit. But when you have more apples than you know what to do with, reach for one of the simplest fall desserts: a homemade apple cake.

It requires no fancy ingredients or special pastry skills. Eggs, all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and a few apples are practically all you need. The batter comes together in about 15 minutes, and the oven does the rest.

As they bake, the apples soften, their juices soak into the batter, and the sweet aroma of baked fruit and cinnamon fills the kitchen. The result is a fluffy, moist, and melt-in-your-mouth cake that is especially delicious while still slightly warm.

It's not just a weekend dessert, either. Serve it when friends drop by unannounced, with your morning coffee, or with a cup of tea in the evening. Plus, the recipe is easy to adapt based on what you have at home: add nuts, raisins, vanilla, or use more apples if you want an even moister cake.

Below is the full recipe in one card: you can recalculate the amounts for a different pan size or a double batch, check off what you've already added, and print it out. After the card, each step is explained in detail.

You will need simple ingredients

For an 8½- to 9½-inch (22–24 cm) round baking pan, you will need:

• 4–5 medium apples;
• 3 large eggs;
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar;
• 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour;
• 7 tablespoons (100 g) butter;
• 1 teaspoon baking powder;
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon;
• a pinch of salt;
• a little butter or oil for greasing the pan.

If the apples are very sweet, you can use slightly less sugar. For those who prefer sweeter desserts, the amount can be slightly increased.

Firm sweet-tart or tart apples are especially good here: they add freshness and balance the sweetness of the batter. That said, the recipe isn't fussy—whatever apples you have on hand will work.

For a richer fall aroma, you can add a pinch of ground cardamom or nutmeg along with the cinnamon. A handful of chopped walnuts, almonds, or raisins also works well in the batter.

All ingredients should be at room temperature: cold eggs don't whip as well and yield less fluffiness, and warm butter poured into a cold mixture can harden into lumps. Simply take the eggs out of the refrigerator half an hour before baking.

Preparation takes just a few minutes

First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease the pan with butter or line it with parchment paper so the baked cake comes out easily.

Wash, peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices or small chunks. If the apple skin is thin and soft, you can leave it unpeeled. Toss the sliced fruit with cinnamon and mix gently.

If you are slicing the apples in advance, sprinkle them with a few drops of lemon juice so they don't brown while you whip the batter. For very juicy apples, it's worth tossing them lightly with a tablespoon of flour: they will absorb some of the juices and the cake won't stay wet in the middle.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat for a few minutes until the mixture becomes lighter and fluffier. The final texture of the cake will partly depend on this step.

Melt the butter, let it cool slightly, and pour it into the egg mixture. Mix once more.

Mix the flour with the baking powder and gradually fold it into the wet mixture. Mix the batter only until no dry flour remains. Do not overdo it—overmixing the batter can cause it to lose some of its fluffiness.

When using an electric mixer, 3–4 minutes on the highest speed is enough; by hand, it takes about 6–8 minutes. A well-beaten mixture falls from the whisk in a thick ribbon that sits on the surface for a few seconds. It's best to sift the flour through a sieve and fold it in with a spatula from the bottom up—this way, you won't knock out the air you just whipped in.

Don't skimp on the apples

Fold most of the prepared apples directly into the batter and mix gently so the fruit is distributed as evenly as possible. It is this generous amount of apples that will help the cake stay moist and juicy.

Pour the prepared mixture into the baking pan and smooth it out. Arrange the remaining apple slices on top. You can lightly sprinkle them with cinnamon and a small amount of sugar—it will caramelize slightly while baking.

If you have plenty of apples, you can add a few more. Just don't overdo it, as too much fruit can weigh down the batter and the center of the cake will take longer to bake.

Bake until the smell of apples and cinnamon fills your home

Place the cake in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) and bake for about 35–45 minutes. The exact time will depend on your oven, the size of the baking pan, and the juiciness of the apples.

The easiest way to check if the bake is ready is with a wooden skewer or toothpick. You should insert it into the batter, not into a piece of apple. The pulled-out skewer should be dry or have just a few baked crumbs attached.

If the top has already browned nicely, but the center of the cake still needs a few minutes, you can lightly cover the bake with foil.

Once out of the oven, it's worth taking your time before slicing it. Leave the cake in the pan for about 10–15 minutes—during this time it will firm up slightly, making it easier to remove and cut into neat slices.

It's best not to open the oven door for the first 25 minutes: a sudden drop in temperature can cause the unbaked center to sink. If your oven bakes with a fan (convection), lower the temperature to 325–340°F (165–170°C)—otherwise, the top will brown before the center is baked.

What apples are best for the cake

Two things are important for the cake: tartness and how the apple behaves when baked. Tarter apples balance the sweetness of the batter, and firm ones hold the shape of the slices on top. Softer and juicier ones break down when baked—they are better chopped finely and mixed into the batter. The best result is when you combine both: firm on top, juicy inside.

Variety	Taste	When baking	Best used for
Tart heirloom apples	tart, very juicy	softens, breaks down	in batter, for sharlotka, applesauce
Yellow Transparent	slightly tart, summer	breaks down quickly	in batter, applesauce; doesn't store well
Honeycrisp	sweet-tart, juicy	holds shape	for slices on top, in batter
Cortland	slightly tart, aromatic	holds shape	for everything; stores well in winter
Jonagold	sweet-tart, firm	holds shape	for slices, for crumble pie
McIntosh	sweet, soft	softens quickly	in batter, with reduced sugar
Gala	sweet, juicy	softens	in batter, with lemon juice
Granny Smith	tart, crisp	holds shape well	classic choice for baking
Golden Delicious	sweet, mild	holds shape, less juice	for slices on top

If you only have very sweet apples, reduce the sugar to about ½ cup (100–120 g) and squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice over the apples—the cake won't be bland. If the apples are very tart, don't increase the sugar: it's better to sprinkle the top with a tablespoon of cinnamon sugar to create a thin caramel crust.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

The cake is wet or sticky in the middle. Usually, the apples were too juicy, the pan was too small, or it wasn't baked long enough. Toss juicy apples with a tablespoon of flour, slice them thinner, and check with a skewer right in the center. If the edges are done but the middle is not—cover with foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

The cake rose and fell. The oven was opened too early, too much baking powder was added, or the cake was taken out underbaked. Stick to 1 teaspoon of baking powder and don't open the door for the first 25 minutes.

The apples sink to the bottom. The chunks are too large and heavy, or the batter is too thin. Cut them into smaller pieces, toss them with flour, and fold them only into a thick, well-beaten mixture.

The cake is dense, not fluffy. The eggs were beaten for too short a time, or the flour was mixed for too long. Beat the eggs until the mixture doubles in volume, and mix the flour just until no dry lumps remain.

The bottom burned, but the top is pale. The pan is too low in the oven, or the oven is only heating from the bottom. Place the pan on the middle rack, and you can turn on the top broiler for the last 5 minutes.

The cake is dry. Baked too long or not enough apples. Start checking 5 minutes earlier than stated, and next time, don't hesitate to add one more apple.

Ingredient substitutions

• Butter – ⅓ cup (80 ml) of neutral-tasting oil (sunflower or canola). The cake will be moister and stay soft longer, just with less buttery flavor.
• All-purpose flour – spelt flour (1:1 ratio) or half and half with ground rolled oats. For gluten-free – use a reliable gluten-free flour blend and verified baking powder.
• White sugar – brown sugar: the flavor will be more caramel-like, the color darker. The calories are almost the same.
• Baking powder – ½ teaspoon of baking soda activated with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
• Cinnamon – vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg, or grated lemon zest.

We don't recommend replacing the eggs in this recipe—they are responsible for the fluffiness. If you can't eat eggs or want a much lighter cake, choose a healthy apple cake—it was created exactly for that.

Lighter version: how many calories each substitution saves

This cake is not heavy—most of its volume is apples. But if you want it even lighter, here is how many calories each common substitution saves per slice (when dividing the cake into 12 slices). The numbers are calculated from the actual ingredient amounts, not guessed.

Sugar and butter save the most calories. With sweet apples, half the sugar is usually plenty, and using plain yogurt instead of half the butter doesn't ruin the cake's fluffiness—on the contrary, it makes it moister. Rolled oats don't reduce calories and add only a little fiber—2.2 g per slice instead of 1.8 g. Their advantage is different: the cake becomes more filling and takes on a mild nutty flavor.

How many calories are in an apple cake

One slice of this cake (divided into 12 slices, about 3.5 oz / 100 g) has about 200 kcal. This is less than most cakes with cottage cheese, condensed milk, or shortcrust pastry, because more than half of the cake's weight is apples. Below is how many calories each ingredient contributes and where to check the nutritional value of each product.

Even better served warm

Apple cake is delicious both completely cooled and still warm. The simplest way to serve it is to dust it with powdered sugar and place a cup of coffee or tea next to it.

If you want to make the dessert more festive, you can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to a warm slice of cake. The combination of cold ice cream and warm, soft apple cake is especially perfect for a chilly fall evening. You can also opt for whipped cream, Greek yogurt, or a drizzle of caramel sauce.

The leftover cake will also be delicious the next day. It can be briefly warmed in the oven or microwave, though the soft apple filling makes it enjoyable at room temperature as well.

How to store and can you freeze it

Covered at room temperature, the cake stays delicious for 1–2 days. For longer storage, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days: the apples are moist, so in a warm kitchen, the cake can start to spoil faster.

The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. It's best to freeze it completely cooled, cut into slices, with each wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or warm it for 10 minutes in a 320°F (160°C) oven—the cake will taste almost freshly baked.

Other apple cakes

Once you've made this one, try another—each has its own full recipe card with calories and tips. An apple cottage cheese cake is richer and moister, an apple crumble pie features a crispy buttery topping, sharlotka is the fluffiest apple sponge cake, and an apple crumb cake is a traditional favorite.

The biggest advantage of this recipe is its simplicity. When fall leaves you with a pile of apples, you don't need complicated ways to use them up. A few everyday ingredients, a generous portion of apples, and less than an hour—that's all it takes to bring a fragrant, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth fall cake to the table.