Simple and sweet and jam packed with apple-y goodness, this Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake is the only recipe you need for fall.
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Simple and sweet and jam packed with apple-y goodness, this Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake is the only recipe you need for fall.
I can’t speak for everyone, but come September 1st, my mind starts to wander to thoughts of Autumn. At this point, my birthday is over, school is back in session, and I’m just about done with 90 degree days. And while I wont indulge myself in a good old Pumpkin Spice Latte until that first true chilly morning, I feel like apples are fair game.
My grandmother used to make a similar apple spice cake to this, but I’ve been unable to find the recipe, so I decided to try to recreate it myself. It’s not exactly like hers, but it’s a pretty darn close approximation, and I think she’d be happy with how this turned out.
And full disclosure, in one of my recipe tests for this cake I completely forgot the vanilla, and it STILL turned out great!
Recipe Highlights:
- Easy to Make
- Super moist
- Full of delicious fall apple flavors
- Great for sharing with friends and loved ones
- It has fruit in it, so it’s healthy right? 😀
Ingredient List
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Allspice
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- White sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Vegetable Oil
- Orange Juice
- Apples (good baking apples, Granny Smith is my preferred variety for baking)
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t overmix the batter – the cake will be lighter the more air you can leave in the batter.
- Start checking the cake for doneness about 10 minutes before the timer goes off. Every oven is different, and your oven may bake hotter/faster than mine.
- This isn’t strictly necessary, and requires dirtying another bowl, but it does make a difference. Split up your apples, and then take 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss the apples that you’ll be mixing into the batter with the flour. This will keep the apples from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
- I don’t recommend baking this in any smaller of a pan than 9x13. Any smaller, and the outsides of the cake will be very overdone by the time the middle is finished baking.
- Letting the cake sit overnight (in the fridge) will allow the flavors to meld and get stronger – I definitely think this is a “better the next day” kind of cake.
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How should I store this cake?
Because this is an incredibly moist cake with fruit in it, it stores best in the fridge. It will last about 5 days.
Can I use other spices?
f course! My husband hates nutmeg, so I usually leave it out and sub in cloves, but nutmeg would be great here! You can easily add a ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg for an even spicier cake.
How should I serve this cake?
I like to warm the cake up in the microwave for about 20 seconds, and then serve it with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! I’ve also been known to have a piece for breakfast. 😀
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Apple Cinnamon Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon + ½ teaspoon cinnamon divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup orange juice
- 5 granny smith apples peeled, cored and diced into half inch pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper. Spray parchment with non-stick spray.
- Prepare your apples and set aside.
- In a medium bowl stir together the flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt and baking powder.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, white and brown sugars, oil and orange juice.
- Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring just until the batter comes together and no large flour streaks remain.
- Fold half of the apples into the batter, and pour into the prepared pan.
- Scatter the rest of the apples over the top of the cake, and then sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon over the apples.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until browned and a tested inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
How do you make the brown sauce topping?
Hi Joan! The sauce I'm using here is my Salted Caramel Sauce. https://www.sarastinykitchen.com/recipes/salted-caramel-sauce is the link to that post! The cake doesn't require a sauce, but it sure is delicious!