When crisp autumn air rolls in and apples fill the farmers market, there’s one dessert that says “home” better than any other:
👉 Easy Apple Cake
This humble, one-bowl cake is: ✅ Soft, moist, and bursting with tender apple chunks
✅ Swirled with cinnamon and brown sugar
✅ Topped with a golden, slightly crisp crust
✅ Ready in under an hour — with just 10 minutes of hands-on prep
No fancy tools.
No complicated steps.
Just real ingredients, warm spices, and the kind of comfort that fills your kitchen with sweetness.
Let’s dive into how to make this no-fail favorite — and why it might just become your go-to apple dessert all season long.
🍽️ Why You’ll Love This Apple Cake
☕ Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a cup of coffee for the ultimate treat.
🧑🍳 Easy Apple Cake Recipe
🍴 Ingredients (Serves 8–10)
For the Cake:
- 3 cups (about 3 medium) peeled and chopped apples (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- ½ cup milk (dairy or plant-based)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional Streusel Top (Highly Recommended):
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cold butter, cubed
- ½ tsp cinnamon
🌿 For extra texture: Add ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans.
🍳 Instructions
- Preheat & prep
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease a 9×9-inch square pan or 9-inch round cake pan.
- Mix dry ingredients
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add wet ingredients
- Stir in eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla until just combined.
- Gently fold in chopped apples (and nuts if using).
- Optional streusel topping
- In a small bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cold butter with a fork or fingers until crumbly.
- Sprinkle over batter before baking.
- Bake
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool & serve
- Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
- Dust with powdered sugar or serve à la mode if desired.
🔥 Pro Tip: Warm leftovers in the microwave for 20 seconds — tastes like fresh-baked!