A quick and easy homemade Fresh Apple Cake that’s moist, sweet, and delicious! Top it with whipped cream or homemade frosting.
Fresh apple cake is one of our favorite cake recipes to make each Fall. Not only is it easy, but it’s full of all our favorite warm Fall flavors. We love to make it along with our Pumpkin Roll, Pumpkin Cake, and Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls.
🥮 Fresh Apple Cake Recipe:
This recipe for apple cake has been in my family as long as I can remember. My grandmother used to pick little green apples off the tree in her backyard and use them to make this cake from scratch. She’d even make extra and freeze it for when family came to visit over the holidays.
This cake is very easy to make. It’s sweet, perfectly spiced, and has just the right amount of fresh, raw apple pieces. The batter is quite thick, so it’s not like making a traditional cake. You’ll want to grab a sturdy spoon for this recipe.
🍎 How to Make Fresh Apple Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and grease a 9×13-inch cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, oil, and eggs.
- Next, use a sturdy spoon to mix in the all-purpose flour, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- Fold in the peeled and diced apples.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish, and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Recipe Tips:
- The batter will be extremely thick. One time, Kim actually broke a rubber spatula trying to stir it. So, I definitely recommend a heavy duty wooden spoon.
- I do NOT recommend using apple pie filling for this recipe. It will add too much moisture to the batter and create a gummy cake.
- Honestly, the cake is sweet enough to enjoy without any sort of frosting. However, if you feel inclined to create one, consider a using a maple whipped cream or a homemade caramel sauce. It’s a Fall flavor that works perfectly with apples.
- Use your favorite sturdy, raw apple. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, or Braeburn are some great options. Peel, core and dice the apples before beginning.
How to Store Apple Cake:
Room Temperature: Fresh apple cake stores well at room temperature for about 3 days.
Refrigerator: This cake will stay fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Freezer: Apple cake freezes nicely. Wrap it tightly in a layer of plastic wrap covered by another layer of aluminum foil. The cake will stay fresh in the freezer for about 2 months.
Thawing and Reheating: Place the frozen cake in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. To reheat, place a slice of cake in the microwave for a few seconds until warm and soft.
❤️ Other Fall recipes you may love:
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups canola or vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 cups fresh apples peeled, cored, and diced into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9 x 13-inch cake pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, and eggs.
- Add the flour, vanilla, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Use a sturdy spoon or spatula to stir. The batter will be very thick like a paste.
- Fold in the apples, and press the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool until just barely warm. Serve with plain or with vanilla ice cream.
- See post for tips and storage options.
Beth
Sunday 25th of September 2022
I am making this for the first time and just put it in the oven, so don't want to rate it until I see and taste the final product. But I do have to say, in all my years of baking I have never encountered such a stiff cake batter. Its more like cookie dough. I know the instructions say it will be stiff, but it was so stiff I couldn't get everything mixed thoroughly using a spoon- I had to use my hands. Eagerly awaiting taking it out of the oven to see how it turns out.
Tammy
Sunday 11th of September 2022
Mine was way too salty with the teaspoon of salt
Debbie Sargent
Thursday 27th of January 2022
This looks and sounds so good but can I use almond flour and a sugar substitute to make it low-carb?
Kimberly
Thursday 27th of January 2022
Hi Debbie!
We haven't tested this recipe with almond flour or a sugar substitute, so we can't say for sure how it would turn out. Another reader may be able to answer if he/she has tried it. :)
Paula
Wednesday 3rd of November 2021
Made this exactly except used half a cup less of sugar. Made a glaze for the top. Everyone raved how moist and delicious it was. Will make again. Thank you for this recipe
Aimee Evans
Sunday 10th of October 2021
Hey gal, can I use butter instead of oil? Or half and half oil/butter? I hope this makes sense. There js a video covering the comment box as I type.
Kimberly
Sunday 10th of October 2021
Hi Aimee!
We haven't tried to swap the oil for butter, so I'd say try for half oil, half butter to start and see how it goes. So sorry about the video! We'll get in touch with our ad agency to let them know. Thanks so much for letting us know. We hope you have a wonderful week! :)