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Apple Topped Cake is easy and super delicious – just perfect for baking with in-season apples!
Easy Apple Topped Cake
I clipped the recipe for this beautiful Apple Topped Cake from the pages of the Boston Globe newspaper many years ago – long before Jack and I started sharing recipes here on A Family Feast.
I first fell in love with the appearance of this pretty cake: Cinnamon-coated apple slices tucked into the top of the cake as it bakes, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on top, helping the apple design really standout.
The cake is also very delicious, with hints of orange juice and vanilla in the simple batter. This Apple Topped Cake is sweet – but not too sweet – and the apple flavors really shine through in every slice.
Why You’ll Love Apple Topped Cake
- It’s a very easy cake to bake but it’s still a show-stopper apple dessert.
- The sweet apple and cinnamon topping and the lightly sweet cake with orange and vanilla notes are perfectly balanced flavors in every bite.
- This cake is another delicious way to enjoy fresh, in-season apples.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Apples – Choose an apple variety that remains firm even after it is baked. Choices include Cortlands, Honey Crisp, Macouns, Ida Reds, Jonathans, Empires, Baldwins and Rome Beauties. (We used Honey Crisp in our photos.)
- Orange Juice – This gives the batter a little hint of orange flavored undertones.
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Canola or Vegetable Oil
- Eggs
- Ground Cinnamon
- Confectioners’ Sugar (aka Powdered Sugar) – For the topping.
- Butter and Flour – To prepare the pan.
Special Tools You’ll Need
- 9″ Springform Pan
- 2 Medium Bowls
- Whisk
- Mixer – Either a stand or hand mixer will work fine for this cake.
- Mixing Bowl
- Vegetable Peeler
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Mixing Cups and Spoons
- Cake Tester or Skewer
- Wire Cooling Rack
- Dusting Wand or Small Mesh Strainer – To dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar.
- Cake Platter
How do I make Apple Topped Cake?
- Prepare the springform pan with a light coat of butter and flour.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
- Mix oil, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
- Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix just until smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared springform pan.
- Toss apple slices with cinnamon.
- Arrange apple slices on top of the cake batter in a circular pattern. (Rounded edges should be facing up.)
- Bake in a slow oven until a cake tester or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a rack for half an hour, then release the cake from the springform.
- Dust cake with powdered sugar before serving. (Cake should be completely cooled, otherwise the sugar will dissolve.)
Does this cake REALLY take an hour and a half to bake?
Yes – although every oven is different so your baking time may vary.
This cake bakes at a low (325 degrees F) temperature which is lower than most other cake recipes.
The slower baking temp allows the cake to fully bake through to the center without scorching the outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make this Apple Topped Cake ahead of time? Yes, in fact, the cake should be completely cooled before dusting with the powdered sugar. (The sugar will dissolve if the cake is still warm.)
- Should I refrigerate the leftovers? You don’t have to. This cake is fine left at room temperature. But make sure to cover it well, or use an air-tight cake storage container/carrier.
- Can I freeze this cake? Yes. This cake freezes and thaws nicely. Make sure to wrap it well before freezing.
This Apple Topped Cake recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in September 2013. We’ve updated the post and photos but the delicious recipe remains the same. Recipe clipped from the pages of the Boston Globe where it noted that this is a variation of a cake that cookbook author Julie Riven’s mother used to bake.
You Might Like These Other Apple Cake Recipes
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Apple Topped Cake
Apple Topped Cake is easy and super delicious – just perfect for baking with in-season apples!
Ingredients
- Butter (for greasing the pan)
- Flour (for dusting the pan)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 apples, peeled, quartered and sliced (we used a mix of Honey Crisp and Cortland but any apple that stays firm after baking will work for this recipe)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon mixed with 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 9-Inch Springform Pan, tapping out any excess flour. Set pan aside.
- In the medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir with a whisk until well blended.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the oil, eggs, orange juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix just until smooth (do not over mix), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure that all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan.
- In a bowl, toss the sliced apples with the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well-coated.
- Arrange the apples all the way around the edge of the cake so that the rounded side of the slices are standing up and the pointed end of each slice is pressed into the batter. Following the same method, make additional inner rows of apples (depending on the size of your apples, this could be one or two rows) until the entire top of the batter is filled in with apples.
- Bake the cake for 1½ to 1¾ hours* or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (The skewer might be slightly sticky from the apples, but there should be no wet batter on the skewer.)
- Cool the cake on a wire rack for about 30 minutes, then release the cake from the springform (use a knife around the sides of the cake if necessary to loosen it from the pan).
- Cool the cake completely and dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
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Notes
*Ovens may vary so if your oven tends to run hot or you are using a dark colored springform, the baking time may be less. Ours baked for 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Do you have to use a spring form pan?
No – it just makes it easier to get the cake out of the pan for serving. If you have a similar size cake pan and don’t mind serving slices from the pan, you can use that.