This Apple Cake recipe is from a reader and is a gem of a find! The cake is really moist, perfectly spiced, and studded with tender pieces of fresh apple. The batter is incredibly fast to make with just a wooden spoon – no electric mixer required!
Dozer got in so much trouble over this Apple Cake.
This is how the usual routine goes down: He’s technically not allowed into the kitchen – albeit my house is open plan so strictly speaking, it’s hard to have a clear boundary that he needs to stay out of. But when I shoo him away, he is generally pretty good about taking himself off into the yard to chase rabbits, bark at birds or whatever other important contribution he’s making to make this world a better place.
But the minute whatever I’m making is ready and I take it to the area where I shoot my photos, he comes dashing inside.
“Dashing” is honestly the word. He doesn’t walk or lope. He dashes at a very fast paced trot, his heavy footed paws thudding through the house making the wooden floor shake (really, he does).
And that’s when he becomes a real nuisance. Because I’m concentrating on taking photos, I don’t always manage to catch him in the act of photo-bombing.
Case in point: Dozer photobombed EVERY SINGLE photo of this cake being dusted with icing sugar. 🙄
THAT CHEEKY BUGGER!!!
See look. Here he is AGAIN. And again. And again. GRRRRR!!!!!
So I apologise profusely to all those who find it a real turn off to see a DOG in food photos, but my bottom can’t afford for me to make this ridiculously delicious Apple Cake yet again just so I can get one single shot (I just wanted ONE!) of me dusting the Apple Cake without Dozer in the background.
OK, now I’m done stomping my foot over Dozer ruining my photos, a quick word on this Apple Cake recipe: It’s crazy easy and fast to make the batter, it’s made with FRESH apples (won’t work with canned, cake is not as moist), and it really is beautifully moist.
This easy Apple Cake recipe was given to me by the lovely Dorothy in Tennessee in the US. It was meant to be, because I had just shared an Apple Cake disaster on Instagram then a couple of days later, she shared this recipe with me (without having seen my epic failure!). I tried it once, twice, three times, then I decided I had to share it here because it is that good and that easy!
– Nagi x
More afternoon tea favourites
Cinnamon Swirl Bread – easy, no yeast!
Cheese, Herb and Garlic Loaf or Zucchini Cheese Loaf– quick bread, no yeast
Blueberry Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze or Blueberry Lemon Yoghurt Cake
Savoury Cheese Muffins or Cornbread Muffins (personal fave😇)
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Easiest Ever MOIST Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour , plain / all purpose (Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda) (Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp EACH salt, cinnamon and ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp freshly ground)
- 1 1/4 cups white sugar (Note 2)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs , large, at room temperature (55-60g/2oz each)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups apple , peeled, cored and cut into 8mm/ 1/3" cubes (~2 large, 3 small) (Note 3)
Optional Extra
- 1/2 cup flaked raw almonds
- Icing sugar . confectioners sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Grease and line a 21 cm / 9" springform cake pan. (Note 4)
- Place flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Whisk oil and sugar in a bowl, then whisk in eggs and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden spoon until JUST combined. Stir through apple (optional: add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or other nuts).
- Pour into cake pan. Sprinkle over almonds.
- Bake for 50 minutes – 1 hr. Check at 50 minutes – it is cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar if using, then serve. This cake doesn’t need cream or ice cream because it is so moist, but I wouldn’t turn it down!
Recipe Notes:
2 1/2 cups sugar (I reduced to 2 cups)
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups sifted flour
1 tsp EACH baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves
3 cups peeled and chopped fresh apples
1 cups chopped nuts (I use walnuts) 5. Measures – Cups and teaspoons are slightly different in size between some countries. For most recipes on RecipeTin Eats, the difference is not large enough to matter or is relative throughout the recipe. For recipes where the difference does matter, different measures are provided for different countries, like in this Soft Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. For this Apple Cake, the measures per the recipe can be used no matter which country you are in except Japan. If you are in Japan, please do not use cups, use the weight measures provided. OVENS: I have a fan forced / convection oven but have made this in a standard / conventional oven too. I found that this recipe works better using the same temperature no matter which oven type you have. The only difference is the cook time – fan forced is ready at 50 minutes, standard oven is ready at 60 minutes. But no matter which oven you have, check your cake at 50 minutes. If your oven is weak, it may take over 1 hour for the skewer to come out clean. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 servings.
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Well! After telling you how naughty he was while I photographed this Apple Cake, I’m not sure he deserves to be featured in his own section on this post…..
But who am I kidding. I can never stay mad at him.
Here he is “minding” the Apple Cake as it cooled. Just minding it. No cheeky thoughts running through that furry head, I’m sure….
OMG this cake did not disappoint. It was easy to make, it smells devine while it’s cooking, it looked fabulous when it was cooked and sprinkled with icing and it tasted amazing 🤩
I made this this evening and just had a piece after tea, still warm, and I can’t wait for tomorrow so I can have some more! 😋😁
Lovely! Perfect with a cup of tea. Lots of “that was yum” comments from everyone. Cut down on the cloves as I am a little adverse to the taste of it. So easy to make and will be a regular from now on.
I’ll be honest – I was a bit apprehensive to make this recipe. I’ve trusted Nagi’s recipes since lockdown started in 2020, and every recipe delivered what it promised. This was no different. Yes, the batter was a bit thick but the final product was moist, light and fragrant. No substitues. No additions. Thank you Nagi.
I think this te Joe is kissing more liquid? Milk?
Mixture was much too thick! Difficult to spread.
What would the ratios be if I was using gluten free all purpose flour?
I love cooking your recipes Nagi thank you. This cake was a complete disaster. Didn’t rise well and texture is lumpy. I followed your recipe exactly. Any thoughts?
Check that your baking powder hasn’t gone off (1/2 tsp powder, 1/4 cup boiled water, if it fizzes vigorously its still good, if not turf it and buy a new one
Sony you mean baking soda and not powder? It’s easy to get them confused
Oh oh…mine cake is in the oven. Should have read comments first! I don’t see baking powder as a listed ingredient only baking soda. Hope mine doesn’t flop as I’m serving for company tonight
Wonderful recipe. Made it for the family , every one wanted more. Thank you.
I followed the recipe to the letter and the batter wasn’t even the slightest bit runny, it was like a thick cookie dough. I still baked it and ended up with a cookie like cake which went into the bin. I don’t know what went wrong, I’ve never had a Nagi fail before.
Would this cake work for layering with an apple compote and stabilised cream?
Baked spiced apple cake. Absolutely delicious! Only change I made. Didn’t have vegetable oil so used melted butter & 1/4 cup milk.
Hi I’m interested how much you butter and milk you used, would like to try it with butter aswell😊
Hi,
I made your moist apple cake twice over the weekend and it has been an absolute hit!!! Thank you so much for the beautiful recipe.
I did however go to make it again and I have measure my baking soda and spices wrong. Instead of measuring 3/4tsp of spices and baking soda I got my spoons muddled and I measured half a tbsp plus 1/4tsp of all spices and salt. Is there anyway I can tweak this recipe so I can use these dry ingredients and not waste!
I have the dry ingredients including flour all ready to go and whisked up – and then I realised my mistake..
Hope to hear back soon =)
This was delicious! It smelled like a fall day in my house while this baked. It was so simple to make. I will be making this again.
Yep – love this cake – and right now my couple of heritage apple trees are laden so the more options the better !! So i would love an apple tart recipe – i am yet to find one that meets your recipe standard – so thought id ask. The ‘rustic’ one i found is close.
Unfortunately, my cake did not turn out well, like Christel. The mixture was very thick, and as I tried to spread it evenly around the pan, the baking paper was moving around as well. The end result is a shallow cake, which is uneven in height. I had a slice and it is slightly dry; although it still has to cool down overnight, i think.
BTW, I used peanut oil, would this change the result, instead of vegetable oil?
Thanks Nagi,
Nick
This recipe is a keeper! I was “gifted” some lovely organic, crispy, red variety apples and came across this site. I used brown sugar (ours is granulated) and reduced the sugar by 40 grams since the apples were sweet. It’s moist and delicious! I can’t wait to try more of Nagi’s recipes!
Fantastic, as always. Have followed you for years Nagi. Thanks for being awesome!
Un fortunately, the cake did not turn out well for me. I was very careful following the recipe and weighed the ingredients. I used Granny Smith apples. I tested the cake after 50 minutes and the skewer came out clean. The cake was well risen and had browned nicely. However, when the cake had cooled I noticed that the middle had sunk which was a bad sign. The cake was undercooked in the middle. I cut the uncooked bits out. The cake tasted really nice and I will make it again next week. I have no idea what could have gone wrong. Any suggestions?
Happened to me exactly as you described as well. I wonder, did you find out what could have caused that problem? I made it twice with same results, sunken middle part. Appreciate it if you or anyone could help.
Thanks.
The pics were all the better with Dozer in them.
Cake turned out well & was moist.
cheers
The spices are beautiful! And such a perfectly moist cake ❤
What do you use for vegetable oil? (what kind of vegetable oil)