This easy recipe for apple cake is a wonderful way to showcase fresh apples. Soft and tender with a stick-to-your-fork moist crumb and juicy apples in every bite, this cake is delicious plain, topped with buttery brown sugar glaze, or even a quick dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
This apple cake is just the thing to make when you have some freshly picked apples from the orchard (or the grocery store), and you want a simple recipe for a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s ready to eat in the next couple of hours. And will be just as tasty served tomorrow!
The apple flavor is front and center, complemented by the background flavors provided by warm spices and sunny orange juice. If a beautiful fall day were a cake, it would taste like this.
Everything You’ll Love About This Fresh Apple Cake:
- Tender, soft, and moist like peach cake, banana cake, pumpkin cake, and spice cake
- Chock-full of juicy apple chunks
- Perfectly spiced with the flavors you love in apple pie (with less time + effort)
- Easy to make—no mixer required, no fussy decorating
- Don’t have to wait hours for it to cool completely before eating
- Dairy-free cake recipe like zucchini cake
- Transport and serve right from the baking pan
- Wonderful plain or topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a brown sugar glaze
Sheet cakes are renowned for being easier than layer cakes—no leveling off cake layers, no fancy decorating tools, no assembly whatsoever. Slicing and serving is a breeze and you’ll appreciate that this dessert can feed a crowd, but is still completely manageable to make. It’s easy to transport, too!
Favorite Pan: I really like to bake quarter sheet cakes in a glass 9×13-inch pan or this metal pan that comes with a lid. The lid is super convenient for storing & transporting!
Recipe Testing: What Worked & What Didn’t
I love this spice cake and knew it would be the best starting point for today’s version. The biggest change, besides altering the spices, is using apple chunks instead of shredded.
- Test cake #1 included 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 cup each of brown and white sugars (like the spice cake). The cake browned pretty heavily and rose a bit too high, and needed just a touch more moisture and flavor.
- For test cake #2, I reduced the baking soda slightly, to 3/4 teaspoon, and changed the ratio of sugars to be 1 cup white and 1/2 cup brown. To brighten up the apple flavor, I added a little orange juice and a bit of lemon zest. This cake came out lighter in color and perfectly moist, but the lemon zest was overpowering the apple.
- For test cake #3, I kept everything the same as the previous cake, but left out the lemon zest. This apple cake turned out perfectly golden and rose up just enough, with those beautiful dimples on top revealing the apples within. And the orange juice adds the perfect amount of fresh flavor and moisture, allowing the apple flavor to really shine.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
Key Ingredients You Need
- Flour: All-purpose flour serves as the base. You’ll use sturdy all-purpose flour instead of cake flour in this recipe because of the thick, wet batter.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These ingredients help the cake rise.
- Spices + Vanilla: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and vanilla—apple’s flavor support team!
- Oil: Helps guarantee a moist crumb without weighing the cake down.
- White + Brown Sugar: Both sweeten the cake and brown sugar provides flavor. We’re using a mix of brown sugar AND white granulated sugar, though, because brown can weigh down a cake.
- Applesauce: Applesauce adds moisture, and the combo of applesauce + apple chunks ensures an apple-forward flavor in every bite! Make sure you use unsweetened applesauce.
- Eggs: Eggs add to the cake’s structure. This is a big cake, so you need 4 of them.
- Orange Juice: I promise this cake doesn’t taste like oranges! We’re using 2 Tablespoons, and it works so well to bring out the sweet-tart apple flavor. I love using orange juice with fall spices—it’s also the surprising ingredient in my pumpkin bread.
- Fresh Apples: I like to use a mix of sweet and tart apples.
Best Apples to Use
Firm apples are ideal for baking, and you may remember that if you’ve tried my apple crisp before. Avoid soft or mealy apples. For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of sweet and tart apples. For this fresh apple cake, I usually use about 1 and 1/2 Honeycrisp apples and 1 Granny Smith apple.
- Tart apples I love to bake with: Granny Smith (in my opinion, this is the best overall apple for baking), Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose
- Sweet apples I love to bake with: Jazz, Pazazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady/Cripps Pink, and Fuji
For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties, and when to use each, you can visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
Peel & cut the apples into 1/2-inch chunks. You need about 3 cups (360g) of apple chunks:
No Mixer!
Since we’re not creaming butter, you don’t need a mixer. Grab a big bowl for your dry ingredients, a medium bowl for your wet ingredients, combine it all, and then fold in the apples.
It will seem like too many apples. It’s not, I promise!
Topping Fresh Apple Cake
Today’s fresh apple cake is so moist and flavorful, like a lighter, spongier version of apple cinnamon bread. But here are some optional toppings… because who doesn’t love an accessory?!
If you’re looking to add some extra flair and sweetness to your fresh apple cake, I guarantee no one will turn down a slice smothered in the buttery brown sugar glaze. It’s the same exact glaze I use for this apple Bundt cake (just added a bit of salt), and it gives the cake a caramel-apple flavor profile.
I also love this cake with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar (pictured above). Note that the confectioners’ sugar will melt and disappear into the cake after a few hours, so it’s best to do this right before serving. Other topping suggestions:
- Drizzle with salted caramel sauce.
- Spread some apple butter on a slice, for extra-deep apple-cinnamon flavor.
- Add brown butter icing from these apple blondies.
- Slather on a layer of salted caramel frosting—if you’d really like to indulge your sweet tooth!
I hope you LOVE this!
Print
Fresh Apple Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You’ll love this easy sheet cake recipe for tender and moist fresh apple cake. The pictures above include a few photos of the cake with a dusting of 2 Tablespoons (15g) confectioners’ sugar and some include a buttery brown sugar glaze. The glaze recipe is included below.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon EACH ground ginger & allspice
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 cup (180g) unsweetened applesauce
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) orange juice
- 3 cups (360g) peeled chopped apples (1/2-inch chunks, about 2–3 large apples)
Optional: Brown Sugar Glaze
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- small pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, applesauce, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange juice together in a medium bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Fold in the chopped apples until combined. It will seem like a lot of apples and that’s ok!
- Pour and spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on it. Around the 30-minute mark, loosely tent with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before topping or serving.
- Right before serving, you can top the slightly warm cake with a dusting of 2 Tablespoons (15g) confectioners’ sugar or make the brown sugar glaze in the next step.
- Make the glaze: As the cake cools, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter has melted, and then stop stirring and let the mixture come to a rapid boil. Boil for 1 minute. Turn the heat down to low, give it a quick stir, and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Allow glaze to cool and slightly thicken for at least 20 minutes. Spoon glaze over the cake right before serving. (Cake can still be warm when glazing.) If your glaze thickened up too much as it cooled, warm in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir until smooth.
- The cake (glazed, dusted, or plain) can be served warm or at room temperature. Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you topped with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, note that the sugar will melt and disappear into the cake after a few hours.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 5. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and bring to room temperature before serving. Continue with step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass 9×13-inch Pan or Metal 9×13-inch Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack | Fine Mesh Sieve (for confectioners’ sugar topping) | Medium Saucepan (for glaze topping)
- Can I replace or reduce the oil? Vegetable oil is the best option for this cake. You can replace with a neutral-flavored oil such as avocado oil or canola oil. Feel free to use melted refined coconut oil (refined doesn’t have much of a coconut flavor) and make sure every other ingredient in the cake batter is room temperature, so the oil doesn’t solidify. Do not replace with melted butter because the cake will taste dry. You can replace a small amount of the oil with applesauce if needed, but keep in mind that the cake will begin to taste dry/rubbery the more oil you replace.
- Orange Juice: If you don’t have orange juice, you can substitute apple juice, apple cider, or any type of milk. I don’t recommend using lemon juice in this recipe.
- Apples: For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of sweet and tart apples. For this fresh apple cake, I usually use about 1 and 1/2 Honeycrisp apples and 1 Granny Smith apple.
- Layer Cake: Grease 3 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. Divide batter between the 3 round cake pans. Bake for around 26–32 minutes, depending on which size pan you used. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The brown butter cream cheese frosting used on this banana layer cake would be very tasty on this cake.
- Bundt Cake: Try my recipe for glazed apple Bundt cake.
- Cupcakes: Try my recipe for apple cupcakes.
Keywords: apple cake
Every recipe from Sally has been 100% amazing. This cake is no exception. I am so happy and pleased how awesome this recipe was to follow and how the results came out. Moist, fully and full of flavor. Great choices in the spice combination. The brown sugar glaze is just straight up tasty. Great consistency, great texture and flavor and the best addition to this cake. Thank you so much for the recipe!!! A++
★★★★★
Turned out fantastic!!
Moist and full of fall flavors! A winner for sure.
★★★★★
Made this tonight and it came out perfectly moist and delicious. Made it with the glaze on top but it would be delicious with the dusted powdered sugar as well if you prefer less sweet. All of the autumn flavors you love and want! This is an easy whip-together cake that is perfect for groups/easy to cut with the 9×13 pan. Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
★★★★★
Hi! I would likw to substitute Splenda for tge white sugar, but keep tge brown. Would sucralose work in this?
For best results, I wouldn’t make that substitution in this recipe.
Ah, I see—but if I did use butter instead of oil, would the apple cake still turn out okay? Thank you.
We haven’t tested this recipe with butter, but yes, it should be fine! Let us know how it turns out if you try it!
This cake is absolutely the perfect fall cake! I made it for my son’s birthday party, which we had at a lake, and the crowd loved it.
★★★★★
So happy to hear you all loved the cake!
It is so easy to make your own applesauce! Just peel apples, core and cut into bite sized pieces and cook on the stove until they are soft. (You can add a wee bit of water if you are afraid of burning the apples. Remove from heat and use a potato masher to mash until you get the consistency you prefer. I also add a tsp of cinnamon. But it’s your choice. If freezes beautifully, too!
This cake is fabulous – so tender and flavourful! Thank you for providing the suggested weight for the chopped apples!
★★★★★
This cake looks and sounds delicious! Could butter be substituted for some or all of the oil? I’ve always preferred baked goods made with butter (and/or other dairy ingredients), though I may make an exception for this cake. How do you decide whether to use butter or oil in cake recipes? I’m just curious. (I’m still looking for a good carrot cake recipe that doesn’t call for oil.)
Thank you for your great website and recipes.
Hi Dorothy, some cakes use oil instead of butter because there’s another flavorful ingredient in the recipe and butter’s flavor isn’t necessary, like with carrot cake and pumpkin cake.
Hello! I’m so excited to try this – are you juicing your own oranges or using store-bought orange juice? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, we just use store-bought orange juice, but fresh-squeezed would also work! Hope you enjoy the cake.
Would this work in mini cakes ? Like a Nordic Ware skull “cakelet” pan for a Halloween party? Or would the apple chunks interfere with the cake coming out of the mold shaped properly?
Hi Alie! The cake should work fine in those pans, but like you mention, the placement of the apples may make some of them difficult to remove or they won’t keep shape as well. You could try chopping the apples smaller like we do with apple spice cupcakes. Or this spice cake recipe would also be an option!
This recipe looks delicious. I was wondering could you sub grated apples for the apple chunks.
Hi Darlene, yes, but you’ll need to considerably reduce the amount down because they will act more like a wet ingredient than an add-in (see our spice cake recipe as an example). Chopped is best in this recipe so you can really taste the flavor!
Thought this was excellent. Truly. Only changes I made was to cut the granulated sugar from 1 cup to 3/4 cup because all I had was sweetened apple sauce. And I had about 3.5 cups of apples (because that’s how much the three granny smith apples generated). I liked all the apple in the cake. There was pretty much apple in every bite. But I agree with Sally that it seemed like a lot of apple when I folded it into the batter. That said, I wouldn’t exceed 3.5 cups of apple.
Other things I really liked about this recipe: No need to cream butter. No hand mixer necessary. Loved that all can be mixed with a whisk.
Didn’t make the glaze – will try that next time. And might use a combo of apples like Sally suggested. But what I made this first time out of the gate was excellent.
★★★★★
Could I bake this recipe in two 8” squares and wind up with 2 nice cakes? Not sure of the conversion…
Thank you!
This batter could fit in 2 8-inch square pans, but 9 inch would be much better. The cakes will be thick. I’m unsure of the best bake time.
Hi everyone! I don’t have confectioner’s sugar, I was wondering if something else could be substituted? Thank you so much!
Hi Priyanka, unfortunately, there is not a good substitute for confectioners’ sugar in the glaze. You could make salted caramel for a topping instead. Or the cake is still delicious without a topping!
I ended up making the salted caramel, and it was absolutely lovely on top of the cake!!! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Very nice recipe chef . Delicious . Thank you for your effort
★★★★★
I only have the kid-size cups of sweetened applesauce. Would I cut back on the sugar?
Hi Emily, I would slightly reduce the white granulated sugar then. (Maybe by a couple Tablespoons.)
What type of vegetable oil do you recommend?
Hi Yvonne, I usually bake this cake with oil labeled “pure vegetable oil” and have used the brand Crisco.
This recipe seems delicious! I’ve been on the hunt for a apple cake. Is there any way to turn this into a 6 inch cake?? Thank you in advance
Hi Linda! I would use my apple spice cupcakes recipe and turn that batter into a 6 inch cake by following these 6 inch cake instructions.
Brown Butter Glaze would send this already great recipe over the top!! Yum!!!
Think it would freeze well? I have family coming and I need to cook ahead because I will be out of town until the day they arrive. I’d defrost and then make the glaze. Think it would work?
Absolutely! See recipe notes for more freezing details.
Guess I need to read those notes! Thanks …I’m sure I’m going to hate waiting to eat it!
Made it! Has great flavor and very easy to make.
★★★★★
This recipe sounds delicious but there are only 2 of us. Can I halve the recipe? (Usually I’d freeze the other half of a 9×13 cake but there’s no freezer space with the bumper crop of vegetables put up this year!)
Absolutely! Use a 9-inch square baking pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time, but use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Ooh this recipe sounds good. What would I need to do if using wholemeal flour? ….I like the idea of the wholemeal flour with the warm spices and apple!
Also, thanks for suggesting unsweetened apple sauce alternatives. I live in the UK and I haven’t been able to get unsweetened apple sauce from any of my local supermarkets. I can only get the sweetened applesauce.
Thank you for this recipe! I haven’t tried it yet, but this is absolutely perfect for the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashana, where apples shine! (thank you for making it dairy free too! I don’t keep kosher, but many Jewish families do and a non dairy dessert is very helpful)!
I can’t wait to hear how you like it, Ally! Thank you!
In keeping with the Rosh Hashana theme, is there a way to incorporate a little honey in this recipe?
How about a nice honey glaze on top? I’ve made this one before and it’s fantastic: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/honey-glaze
All set to bake and no heavy cream☹️ Can whole milk work as a substitute?
Hi Marilyn, the glaze won’t thicken as much substituting whole milk. Half-and-half would be a better option if you have that.
Thanks so much for the quick reply; will do
Hi Sally and team! Do you think french vanilla creamer would work?
I always keep a few cans of evaporated milk (not skim) in my pantry for substitution.
Any substitute for the applesauce?
Hi Ana, applesauce adds a lot of flavor so I wouldn’t leave it out unless absolutely necessary. If you’re in a pinch, you can substitute mashed banana but the flavor will obviously change. You can try 1/2 mashed banana and 1/2 yogurt/sour cream though!
What kind of apples are the best to use in this recipe?
Hi Teresa! I like to use a mix of tart such as Granny Smith and a sweet red variety such as Honeycrisp. I have more options listed above if that helps too!
Can chopped walnuts we added to this recipe?
Absolutely! I recommend about 1 cup chopped, about 130g.
Very nice cake, easy to make.
★★★★★
Is there a way to replace the eggs? Adding more applesauce or maybe sour cream?
Hi Swati, we haven’t tested a substitute for the eggs in this recipe. Here are all of my tested egg free baking recipes if you’re looking for one though!
What’s a substitute for applesauce? You don’t get it where I live 🙁
Hi! If you’re in a pinch, you can substitute mashed banana but the flavor will obviously change. You can try 1/2 mashed banana and 1/2 yogurt/sour cream though!
Thanks so much! Will give it a shot and update here 🙂
Make it! That’s what I do. It’s as simple as cook peeled apples in a little water (apples are wet so little is key) until they’re soft and purée them with a stick blender etc.
It is so easy to make your own applesauce! Just peel apples, core and cut into bite sized pieces and cook on the stove until they are soft. (You can add a wee bit of water if you are afraid of burning the apples. Remove from heat and use a potato masher to mash until you get the consistency you prefer. I also add a tsp of cinnamon. But it’s your choice. If freezes beautifully, too!
I can’t easily get unsweetened apple sauce in Australia so many thanks for your advise here. Would you suggest tart apples like Granny Smith or sweeter such as Pink Lady? Thanks again!
Unsweetened applesauce is still quite sweet so I would use Pink Lady apples.
can you use an angel food cake pan instead of a 9×15
Absolutely! The bake time will be similar to this apple Bundt cake.