This buttery apple cake is soft, moist, and warmly spiced, making it the perfect fall dessert. Topped with a caramel glaze, it has a buttery, toffee-like finish that pairs perfectly with the spiced apple base.
Key Takeaways: Apple Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Bake Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Servings: 16 slices
- Cook Method: Baked in an 8″ x 8″ baking pan
- Flavor & Texture: A soft, spiced apple-flavored cake with a buttery, toffee-like texture from the glaze.
- Difficulty: Easy. This cake provides showstopping results with minimal effort in the kitchen.
- Why this Recipe? This delicious apple cake is perfect for fall and is easy to make with basic ingredients
Something is so comforting and perfectly cozy about the scent of apples and spice wafting through the kitchen. It’s a perfect way to celebrate the changing of the seasons. When apples are abundant, we love to make homemade apple sauce, sourdough apple cobbler, or apple butter. We also enjoy this delectable spiced apple cake for a yummy treat during the fall season.
This apple cake recipe is delicious when served with homemade old-fashioned vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. It’s perfect for a cozy fall afternoon, paired with a cup of coffee or a rooibos latte. Try this recipe the next time you want a delicious and easy seasonal dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy to make – This is a great recipe when you want something delicious but not time-consuming. Don’t let the glaze fool you either. It’s incredibly simple and adds such elegance to this spiced apple cake.
Basic ingredients – Everything you need for this cake can be found in a staple pantry. No offhand ingredients here. Just warm spices, seasonal apples, and pantry staples.
Perfect for fall – There are a handful of desserts we are always dying to make when the season comes around. Homemade apple pie, apple cider donuts, and this apple cake are always top contenders.
Ingredients
Apples – You can use any type of apple, but I like to mix sweet, fresh apples like Honeycrisp with tart apples like Granny Smith for a delicious apple flavor.
Greek yogurt – I like to make homemade Greek yogurt when possible. If you must, you can substitute sour cream (you can also make sour cream at home, too!)
Dark brown sugar – If you don’t have dark brown sugar, you can make your own by mixing white sugar with molasses. For dark brown sugar, mix 1 cup white sugar with 2 tablespoons molasses. You can also use light brown sugar if that is what you have.
Vanilla – Homemade vanilla extract is easy to make and elevates any baked good.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Apple Cake
Step 1: Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). You can clip and fold the corners to get the paper to lie flat against the sides of the pan.
Step 2: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Make sure to get all the ingredients off the sides of the bowl as you mix. You can use an electric mixer or a stand mixer, if desired.
Step 3: In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the Greek yogurt and vanilla.
Step 4: Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped apples with a wooden spoon.
Step 5: Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
Step 6: While the cake cools, make the optional caramel glaze. Combine sugar, butter, cream, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is gently bubbling. Remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes.
Step 7: Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled cake and allow it to set and cool for 15 minutes, then cut into 16 squares, and serve.
Lisa’s Expert Tips
- Check for doneness early. Ovens vary, so start checking at 32 minutes. The toothpick should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Make-ahead: Bake the cake a day ahead and add the glaze just before serving to keep it looking fresh.
- Chopped pecans would be a great addition to this cake if you like a crunch!
Recipe FAQs
You can truly use any apples, but I like the apple mixture of a tart and a sweet variety. Honeycrisp and Granny Smith pair well together and are what I used in the original recipe.
Cover leftover cake tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store at room temperature for 24 hours. The glaze may soften slightly, but the cake will stay moist and flavorful. After that, place the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature before serving, or warm slices slightly for the best texture and flavor.
Butter is going to give you the best texture (we love the flavor of raw milk butter!), but if you must substitute, I would try avocado oil or coconut oil. Sub the same ½ cup oil as the ½ cup of butter.
The secret ingredient in this apple cake is the Greek yogurt. The homemade Greek yogurt adds a subtle tang that rounds out the flavor profile and adds extra moisture.
More Fall Recipes from the Farmhouse
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Apple Cake
Video
Equipment
- 1 8×8 pan
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour, 245 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup butter, melted, 114 grams
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, 150 grams
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, 100 grams
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 15 grams
- 2 cups peeled and chopped apples
Optional Caramel Glaze:
- 3 tablespoons butter, 42 grams
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, 66 grams
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, 28 grams
- Pinch of salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pure vanilla
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Whisk in the Greek yogurt and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped apples.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
- To make the optional caramel glaze, combine the butter, brown sugar, cream, salt, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is gently bubbling. Remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes.
- Pour the glaze evenly over the cooled cake and allow it to set and cool for 15 minutes then cut into 16 squares, and serve.
Notes
- You can use any type of apple, but I like to mix sweet, fresh apples like Honeycrisp with tart apples like Granny Smith for a delicious apple flavor.
- Check for doneness early. Ovens vary, so start checking at 32 minutes. The toothpick should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Make-ahead: Bake the cake a day ahead and add the glaze just before serving to keep it looking fresh.
- Chopped pecans would be a great addition to this cake if you like a crunch!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I can’t find the toggle to get the metric version of the recipe…would appreciate help finding how to do that.
That’s no longer an option, unfortunately. Here’s my conversion chart.
Can this be made with sourdough discard? If so, how would I do this? Thanks! 😊
I have not tested this but if I were to try it this would be where I would start…Reduce the All-Purpose Flour: Use 2 cups of flour instead of the original 3 cups (reducing by 1 cup / approx. 120g-125g).Reduce the Greek Yogurt: Use ½ cup of Greek yogurt instead of the original 1 cup (reducing by ½ cup / approx. 120g)
Do you have a fresh milled flour version of this, or could you just use it interchangeably? And if so, which type of wheat berry would you use?
No substitutions needed. You can use soft white wheat berries. I do recommend weighing the flour for more accuracy though.
I’ve made this twice, the first time according to the recipe and the second time with non dairy swaps and it was fantastic both times. Vanilla coconut yogurt plus a teaspoon of lemon juice worked perfectly in the batter. Vegan butter and nut pods original creamer worked perfectly in the caramel. My husband declared it the best apple cake he’s ever eaten both times. I’m going to double the spices next time just because I like heavy spice foods during winter.