This easy apple cake recipe is so delicious! Infused with cardamom, it’s super moist and tender, with a delightful crackle top! Make it in one bowl with only 20 minutes of hands-on time before baking.
Tears have a purpose. They are what we carry of the ocean, and perhaps we must become the sea, give ourselves to it, if we are to be transformed.
Linda hogan
Why You’ll Love This
After years and years of making apple cake, I finally decided that this is quite possibly the best apple cake recipe on the planet. Try it and prove me wrong! Haha. 🙂
I love the flavor of this apple cake recipe. Cardamom infuses it with such warmth and goodness; it’s alluring and slightly exotic, just like my favorite people. It’s super moist with a crackly top, and the cake-to-apple ratio is perfection! Don’t alter a thing, and I promise you’ll be very happy with yourself.
Serve it as a dessert or as a morning bread- it is not overly sweet, just sweet enough! It’s delicious served warm for a delicious fall breakfast, with warmed maple syrup drizzled over top.
Apple Cake Ingredients
- Apples: Use baking apples, such as honeycrisp (my favorite!), gala, honey-gold, golden delicious, pink lady, granny smith, braeburn, fuji, or red delicious.
- Butter: For rich flavor and tender texture.
- Olive oil: For wonderfully moist texture.
- Sugar: To make this cake just sweet enough!
- Large eggs: For leavening, moisture, and richness.
- Vanilla: Enhances the overall flavor of the cake.
- All-purpose flour: Builds a perfectly moist cake with the perfect cake to apple ratio!
- Baking powder: Contributes to the cake’s fluffy texture.
- Salt: Brings out the flavor of all of the other ingredients in the cake.
- Ground cardamom: Or you can use ground cinnamon– though we love cardamom in this!
- Coarse sugar: Or use brown sugar or regular sugar for the crispy topping.
How to Make Apple Cake
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Step one: Line the bottom of a 8-9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. With slightly melted butter, grease the bottom and sides of the pan.
Step two: Cut the apples into 1/4-inch thick slices.
Step three: Add butter, olive oil, and sugar to a large bowl with an electric mixer or to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Whip until light and creamy.
Step four: Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Now for the dry ingredients! Add baking powder, salt, and cardamom and mix, then add the flour and mix until well combined. Fold in 2/3 of the apples. The batter will be very “apple-y” – don’t worry, the apples will reduce while baking!
Step five: Use a rubber spatula to spoon the batter into the prepared pan, gently smoothing out the top. Spread the remaining apples over the top, leaving generous spaces of bare batter in between. Sprinkle the top with sugar to create a crackly top.
Step six: Bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes. When done, the cake will be puffed and deeply golden, and a toothpick should come out clean. It shouldn’t jiggle in the center. The internal temp should be at least 208F.
Step seven: Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Run a knife around the edges before removing the sides of the pan.
Variations
- Make it a loaf instead! Halve the recipe and bake in a parchment-lined loaf pan.
- Try this with pears! You could substitute pears for the apples if you wish. Or try this with peaches in the summer.
- Add nuts. Fold pecans or walnuts into the cake batter and press some of them into the top layer.
- Try other spices. Instead of cardamom or cinnamon, you could experiment with your own mix of spices, like nutmeg or clove.
- Dice the apples instead. For chunks of apple in the cake versus slices, chop or dice the apples.
- Add frosting. An apple cider glaze could be a nice addition.
Chef’s Tips
- Reserve the prettiest apples for the top! When adding 2/3 of the apples to the cake, reserve a pile of the reddest apples for the top layer.
- Check the cake after 45 minutes. If the top is getting too dark, you can lightly tent the cake with aluminum foil.
- Sprinkle the top with freshly grated nutmeg before baking. Adds a bit of extra cozy flavor!
- If you don’t have a springform pan, use a 9-inch cake pan lined with parchment. You could also try this in a bundt pan for a bundt cake.
Storage
In milder climates, you can store the Apple Cake at room temperature on the counter, covered, for up to 3 days. You can also store apple cake it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. To freeze, wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap. It can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Serve apple cake for dessert or breakfast in the morning!
- As a fall breakfast cake: Serve warm with warmed maple syrup drizzled over top.
- Serve with ice cream: Serve with vanilla ice cream, cardamom ice cream, or dairy free ice cream.
- Serve with whipped cream.
FAQs
It’s possible that the batter was over-mixed. When adding the flour, go a little at a time, mixing until just combined. And gently fold the apples in.
The cake should not jiggle in the center when it is done. If it does, consider lowering the temperature on the oven by about 20 degrees, then continue baking for 7-10 minutes.
The easiest way to tell is to insert a toothpick- it should come out clean. The top should be deeply golden and puffed, the center shouldn’t be jiggly, and the internal temp should be at least 208F.
There are a lot of factors that contribute to moisture, particularly when it comes to your wet ingredients. For this Apple Cake, we use both butter and oil. Butter is 18% water, meaning some of this can evaporate from the cake. By adding olive oil, we lock in moisture, creating an irresistible texture!
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather. It has been extraordinary here in the Pacific Northwest! Please let me know how this Apple Cake recipe works for you – leave me a note in the comments!
xoxo
Sylvia
More Apple Recipes You Might Like
Description
This easy apple cake recipe is super moist and delicious, with a crispy crackly top and the best apple flavor. Make it in one bowl with only 20 minutes of hands-on time before baking.
- 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom (or sub cinnamon)
- 3 medium apples, cored and thinly sliced (1/4-inch thick), no need to peel, but feel free to. Use baking apples: Honeycrisp apples (my favorite), gala, honey-gold apples, golden delicious, pink lady, and red delicious.
- 2 tablespoons demerara sugar, or regular sugar for the crackly top.
- Optional: sprinkle the top with fresh grated nutmeg before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Prepare an 8-9-inch spring form pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the bottom and all sides of the pan.
- Cut the apples thinly (1/4-inch thick) and set aside.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment) whip butter, olive oil and sugar until it’s a light and creamy mixture.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time, and the vanilla. Sprinkle in the baking powder, salt, and cardamom and whisk well, then mix in the flour until well combined. Fold in ⅔ of the sliced apples (saving the last third for the top). Tip: save the reddest apple slices for the top. You will have a thick, “apple-y” cake batter – don’t worry the apples will reduce while baking.
- With a rubber spatula, spoon batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Arrange the remaining apple slices overtop, leaving generous spaces of bare batter. Sprinkle batter and apples with 2 tablespoons of sugar, to get a delicious crust.
- Bake on the middle rack for 50-60 minutes, until puffed, deeply golden, and a toothpick comes out clean. Check at 45 minutes and lightly tent with foil if getting too dark. When done, it should not jiggle in the center, and the internal temp should be at least 208F
- Let it cool completely on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges before removing the sides of the pan.
Notes
Store the cake on the counter (covered) for up to 3 days (in milder climates), or keep it for up to a week in the refrigerator in a sealed container, or wrap it tightly and freeze it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Serve with a drizzle of warm maple syrup, scoop of vanilla ice cream, cardamom ice cream, or whipped cream.
Halve the recipe and baked in a parchment-lined loaf pan, or bake it in a 9-inch cake pan lined with parchment.
Sugar: I have reduced the sugar in the cake recipe, so the sugar on top is pretty crucial. 🙂
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10th of the cake
- Calories: 354
- Sugar: 28.7 g
- Sodium: 142.1 mg
- Fat: 16.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.4 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 80.2 mg
