Super Moist Apple Cake Recipe

This super moist apple cake recipe is the best apple cake recipe EVER! It’s lightly crunchy on top, super moist and soft on the inside, and it’s full of delicious apple pieces all over everywhere! This apple treat is great anytime of the year, but it tastes even more special in the fall.

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My favorite fall apple recipe

Oi Gente!

Truth must be told, I’m pretty picky when it comes to apple baked treats. And if I’m being 100% honest, I usually avoid them out of fear they’ll be soggy, too sweet, or just boring and not worth the calories.

But everything changed when I was in Germany and ate the best apple cakes and desserts ever! The apple to everything-else ratio was always on point, they were never too sweet, and the texture always seemed impeccable.

So, I came back inspired to create something to give me that special feeling I got, every time I ate anything delightfully apple-y when I was there.

This super easy, tea-time, single layer cake, is my unofficial version of a German apple cake recipe.

It’s made with butter for richness, fresh apples, a blend of all purpose and almond flour for texture, and of course, some sugar on top to get that nice, crispy top.

It’s seriously one of my favorite fall cakes! And when paired with a great coffee like this Pumpkin Spice Whipped Coffee, it’s even better!

Bom Apetite!

Apple Cake Ingredients

Here’s the list of ingredients you need to make this moist apple cake recipe, and some recommended substitutions if you need.

• Eggs — large eggs are my go-to for baked goods. Make sure they’re room temperature.
• Unsalted butter
• Baking powder — make sure yours is fresh!
• Vanilla extract — use the real deal as opposed to imitation vanilla.
• All purpose flour
• Almond flour — I love adding almond flour to this recipe in addition to the all purpose flour because almond flour adds texture, richness and a mild sweetness to the cake. My favorite reason to use it in this recipe, is that it also adds moisture since it’s high in fat. That said, instead of half all purpose half almond flour, you can totally just go for a 100% all purpose flour cake if you’d like.

• Superfine sugar — I like using superfine sugar (instead of granulated sugar) because superfine is finer than granulated sugar. This makes it dissolve better, and faster into the recipe. Superfine sugar will yield a more delicate batter and therefore a more delicate cake. If you don’t have superfine sugar, you can totally just use regular granulated sugar instead. Alternatively, you can also make your own. Check out how to make superfine sugar here!

• Turbinado sugar — now this one is totally optional. I just use turbinado sugar for sprinkling the cake right before I bake it, but you can totally just use granulated sugar instead. The reason why I like turbinado sugar is because it has big, coarse crystals that take longer to dissolve and help give this cake a crunchy top when mixed with the almond flour.
• Honeycrisp apples — these are my favorite apples to bake with. They are perfectly crisp, and hold their texture very well after baked. If you can’t find honeycrisps, Granny Smiths or even Pink Lady apples should work as well.

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Tip: to make this cake completely gluten free, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten free 1 to 1 all purpose baking flour, like this one, or this one!

You’ll also need:

• A hand mixer, electric mixer or a whisk
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mixing bowls
• 9 inch round removable bottom pan
• Cooling rack
• Parchment paper

How to make the BEST Apple Cake

Preheat the oven, and prepare the pan. Line the bottom of a 9″ removable bottom cake pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter, and set aside.

Combine the topping ingredients. Measure the turbinado sugar and a little almond flour to a small bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, the baking powder and the salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine, then set aside.

Mix the wet ingredients. Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Beat them together using a hand mixer until the eggs look frothy and stringy. This will take a few minutes on medium speed.

Add the melted butter and vanilla to the egg mixture. Mix for a few more minutes to combine.

Sprinkle in the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Beat until combined.

Measure in the apple chunks, and fold them into the cake batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and decorate with the sliced apples. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out crumbly to clean.

Cool in the pan in a cooling rack for approximately 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, slice and enjoy!

Tips on how to make apple cake:

Here are some useful tips on how to make this easy apple cake recipe even more delicious.

• Line the pan — Cover the bottom and enough of the sides of your removable bottom pan with parchment paper. This will make sure the batter doesn’t leak and make a mess at the bottom of your oven. You can also put the pan on a baking sheet to make it easier to move it in and out of the oven.

• Don’t peel all the apples – I only just peel the one apple I’ll use in the filling, and I keep the skin on the apples that go on top of the cake. I think it’s pretty, very delicious, and less work for me!

• Don’t skip the topping — Sprinkle the turbinado sugar mixture on top to give your apple cake a little crunchy texture on top. It makes a world of difference, and it’s quite the tasty surprise to bite into that crunchy top, then be greeted with a very moist cake inside!

• Make it crunchier — The top of the cake will crisp up more as the cake cools, but you can also just give it a little boost by putting the cake under the broiler for about a minute, to get an even crunchier top!

The finishing touches!

You can dust your super moist apple cake with a little confectioner sugar after it cools, then serve it by itself with a cup of tea or coffee, or add a dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for the perfect fall apple dessert!

Try these other delicious cake recipes

• Brazilian Carrot Cake
• Spiced Brown Sugar Cake
• Nega Maluca – Brazilian Chocolate Cake
• Banana Bread Cake (Bolo de Farinha de Rosca com Banana)

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5 from 23 votes

Apple Cake Recipe

This super moist apple cake recipe is the best apple cake recipe EVER! It's lightly crunchy on top, super moist and soft on the inside, and it's full of delicious apple pieces all over everywhere! This apple treat is great anytime of the year, but it tastes even more special in the Fall.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Author: Aline Shaw

Ingredients

• 3 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup of superfine sugar
• 1 stick about 1/2 cup of butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of almond flour plus 1/2 Tbsp for dusting
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 3 Honeycrisp apples, cored 1 peeled and cut into large chunks (approximately one heaping cup), the other 2, sliced
• 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar for dusting

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Line the bottom of a 9-inch, removable bottom pan with parchment paper, and brush the sides with a little butter – set aside
• Add the turbinado sugar and the 1/2 tbsp of almond flour to a small bowl, and whisk to combine – set aside
• Add the all purpose flour, the almond flour, the baking powder and the salt to a large bowl, and whisk to combine – set aside
• Beat the eggs and the sugar in a large bowl, using a hand mixer, until the eggs look frothy and stringy (a few minutes on medium speed)
• Add the melted butter and the vanilla extract to the egg mixture, and beat a few more minutes
• Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, and beat until combined
• Add the apple chunks, and fold with a spatula to combine
• Pour batter into lined pan
• Decorate with the apple slices
• Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar mixture, as desired
• Bake for approximately 45 minutes to about an hour, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• Cool in the pan in a cooling rack for approximately 10 minutes

Did you make this recipe? Show me how it turned out! Snap a photo and share with me on Instagram tagging @aline_shaw!