Originally published in 2014, this deliciously moist and spiced apple Bundt cake is smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Use your favorite apple variety such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. It’s like a denser, more cinnamon-y (technical terms!) version of this fresh apple cake.
I love old-fashioned desserts. The kinds of desserts grandmas make so well, often memorized in their heads. Like buttery homemade caramel corn, banana bread, and apple pie. Or peach cobbler, cornbread, and teeth-rotting sweet chocolate fudge. Yum.
Today’s recipe is just that. It’s like a big, sweet hug from grandma’s kitchen.
If you’re a regular reader, you know what my favorite dessert is. Do I talk about it all the time? Probably too much. Apple pie, apple pie, apple pie. And I’ve even written extensively about the pie crust that accompanies this holy grail of desserts.
Let me continue. Today’s apple Bundt cake was inspired by my Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Bread recipe in my cookbook. The first recipe in my cookbook because it’s the best. Soft, dense, and absolutely packed with apples. It’s the kind of bread you bake on lazy Sundays not only because it’s so good but because it makes your house smell so good.
And this cake is exactly like it. It’s a combination between buttery pound cake and apple pie. It is, simply put, the quintessential recipe to make in the fall season. Sweetened mostly with brown sugar, this cake will melt in your mouth. Cinnamon spice and apple chunks are in every bite. Seriously, I do not skimp on apple chunks in my apple dessert recipes. They’re the best part, yes? The cascade of brown sugar glaze was an afterthought, but might just be the best decision I’ve ever made.
Because the Bundt cake is so large, it will take a good amount of time in the oven. Larger recipes like this have bake times that vary greatly between ovens, but I find 1 hour and 10 minutes is the perfect number. Your bake time may be higher or lower and that’s normal, so don’t get discouraged as you watch the clock.
What Kind of Apples to Use in Apple Bundt Cake?
You can use your favorite apple variety in this apple Bundt cake. Some friends and I went to the apple orchard a couple weeks ago and picked some juicy Jonagolds and Granny Smiths. If they had Honeycrisps available that day, I would absolutely have made this cake with those. All hail the Honeycrisps! For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties, and when to use each, you can visit my post on the best apples for baking. If you find yourself with a plethora of apples like I did, you should also make these apple cinnamon scones for breakfast.
Enjoy, my fellow apple dessert lovers. See all my apple recipes and a list of 30+ fall cake ideas.
More Bundt Cakes to Love
- Peach Bundt Cake
- Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
- Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Marble Banana Bundt Cake
- Hummingbird Bundt Cake
Glazed Apple Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tender and moist homemade apple Bundt cake smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Your new favorite cake for the crisp fall weather.
Ingredients
Apple Bundt Cake
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3ย teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, 1 full Tablespoon)
- 3 cups (360g) peeled and chopped apples, about 2โ3 large applesย
Brown Sugar Glaze
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ยฐF (163ยฐC). Spray a 10-to-12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined and creamy. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk until no large lumps remain. Try to avoid over-mixing. Carefully fold in the apple chunks. If you feel 3 large apples is too much, feel free to cut down to 2 apples. I like a lot of apple chunks in my cake!
- Spoon/pour the thick batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55โ75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The baking times may vary depending on your oven, if you used a 10 cup bundt pan or 12 cup, or if you used less apple chunks. Keep your eye on the cake after 55 minutes. Feel free to cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil about halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top. Allow the cake to cool in the pan set on a wire rack, then invert onto a serving plate once cooled and ready to serve.
- Make the glaze: As the cake cools, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream 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 confectionersโ sugar. Allow glaze to cool and slightly thicken for at least 10 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.
- I like this cake warm, at room temperature, and even cold. Coverย leftovers and store at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Flavor is outstanding on day 2!
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cake freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 10- to-12-Cup Bundt Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack | Saucepan | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Nuts: For some texture, add 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.
- Yogurt: I prefer plain Greek yogurt here, but regular plain yogurt or sour cream works as well.
- Apples: I prefer a mix of tart and sweet in my apple dessert recipes. Here are the best apples for baking.
- Sheet Cake or Cupcakes: Try my similar recipes for apple cake or apple spice cupcakes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I use olive oil instead? Thank you
Hi Hope, olive oil would change the flavor quite a bit, but you could certainly give it a try.
Hey Sally and team, I was wondering if I could bake this in a loaf pan instead of a bundt? Thanks
Hi Ana! You can use two 9ร5-inch loaf pans for this recipe (or you might enjoy this apple cinnamon bread, too). Weโre unsure of the exact bake time. You can use the bake time for the apple cinnamon bread as a guide, and begin checking early to ensure itโs not over baked. Enjoy!
Excellent recipe- the cake turned out very moist and absolutely delicious
If I am making it for a dessert the next day. When would you recommend I glaze it? Thank you.
Hi Stephanie! We would wait to add the glaze until the day of serving.
Have you tried using nuts either in or on the cake. Iโve made this cake many times and itโs great. Bringing it to game night tomorrow evening.
Another winner! We loved this Bundt cake and all Bundt cakes because we get to imitate the Greek Mom in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. IYKUK Donโt skimp on the apples and the glaze which is delicious. โค๏ธ
My glaze crystallized too. In researching further, I read that in addition to sugar not fully dissolving, adding a cold liquid to the hot cooked sugar and butter could cause the glaze to crystallize. Sally, do you have any thoughts on this? Thanks!
She mentions somewhere to not stir the glaze too much to avoid crystalization.
Can I use a different topping? If so any suggestions.
Can I use apple pie spice? If so how much would I use?
Thank you
Martha
Hi Martha, you can use any topping you’d like! Some suggestions: this brown butter icing, salted caramel sauce, vanilla icing, cream cheese icing, or maple icing. Enjoy!
Also can I prep the batter ahead of time and stick in the fridge and make it 2 days later?
We donโt recommend making cake batter ahead of time, no. It wonโt rise properly when baked. See recipe Notes for our recommended make-ahead instructions.
Could you add cranberries to this recipe? Add in addition to apples or reduce apples?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tried making this cake with cranberries, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You may need to reduce the apples somewhat to account for added cranberries. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
I do not have a bundt pan. Can I use a springform pan instead?
Hi Leslie, if you don’t have a Bundt pan, you may love our other apple cake recipe instead!
Made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a huge hit! The glaze was a little too thick, but everyone still seemed to love it so can’t complain. Everything came together so quickly and easily – hardest part was chopping the apples!
The cake came out perfectly and looked lovely out of the oven. My only problem is that the glaze got a sort of grainy texture as it cooled. Itโs not lumpy or anything just grainy. Itโs sort of matte in appearance and is not as attractive as the glaze in your picture. I would love to give this another try. Can you tell me what might have caused this graininess/crystallization and how to avoid it next time?
Hi Alice, it sounds like the glaze may not have been cooked long enough for the brown sugar to completely incorporate with the other ingredients. You may also want to give your confectioners’ sugar a quick sift before using to help smooth out any lumps. We’re glad you enjoyed the cake!
This cake is so good! I took it to a party at a restaurant and the chef told me it was the best cake he had ever tasted!
The cake was a hit. I did not care for the glaze since it got grainy when it completely cooled. I think your caramel sauce would work much better.
I’ve made so many of your recipes, followed every one of them to the letter. And this one, like the others, did not disappoint. You always provide such great narrative and notes, too. The icing in this really was the key to the flavors coming together.
Can’t wait to make this cake full of apples and warm spices! What’s your advice on approx size of the chopped apples? Would like to do small pieces if it doesn’t affect quality of the cake.
Hi Vicki, we typically chop the apples into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces in size.
I had a problem with the glaze. The color was almost exactly the same as the cake. The result was no attractive contrast.
Any suggestions on what might have gone wrong? I used light brown sugar.
Sally’s is my go to site for baking.
this is perfection! I followed the recipe exactly except I subbed out the regular flour for cup for cup gluten-free flour. It came out beautifully and it is so delicious! The cake itself is not overly sweet, but the glaze adds the perfect finish. This batter is super thick, when you fold the apples in it almost feels like youโre folding them into peanut butter. 10/10!
Hi!My friend love s apple spice but
Can I make this without apples?
Can’t see why not, Kathy!
Would it be easy to use this recipe as a layered cake?
Hi Patrice! This Bundt cake recipe will be quite dense as a layer cake. We would use our Easy Apple Cake instead – see Notes after the recipe for layer cake instructions. Happy baking!
Will nonfat greek yogurt work for this recipe or should it be full fat?
Hi Kelli, full fat is best, but non-fat will work in a pinch.
Thanks for putting ingredients like flour in grams also. Measurement vs weighing is worth it for decent baking.
It makes a difference!
could I sub applesauce for yogurt here? Thanks!
Applesauce wonโt add the same thickness and richness, but could work in a pinch.
Hi!
Do you reckon I could substitute oil with melted butter?
Hi Eszter, you can use melted butter, but the cake will taste a little dry. For best results, we recommend sticking with oil as written.