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This Best Apple Cake Ever is super moist and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness and spice!
If you’re still looking for an easy – and really delicious – dessert to serve over the holidays, have we got the recipe for you! My sister-in-law Pam shared this recipe with us over email with the subject line: “Best Apple Cake Ever!”
Pam celebrated her birthday last month, and a friend of hers showed up with this cake – the best apple cake ever. In fact – the cake was so good, the three of them ate the entire cake in about 24 hours.
Pam then made this apple cake for us for Thanksgiving – and it was so good, Jack and I immediately looked at each other and said, “We’re making this for our blog!”
This apple cake is moist and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness and spice – plus large chunks of apple and chopped walnuts add great flavor and texture to the cake too. Once this apple cake comes out of the oven, a wonderful sweet buttery vanilla glaze is poured over the top which soaks in to make the cake even more delicious.
Not only is this apple cake really delicious – but it’s also very easy to prepare.
Can I make this cake in a 9×13-inch pan?
Yes – and this easy apple cake comes out just as moist and delicious. Click here to see the instructions for baking this apple cake in a 9×13-inch pan.
You may enjoy these other Bundt Cakes:
- Spiced Eggnog Chocolate Chip Cake
- Kathy’s Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake
- Toffee Pecan Bundt Cake with Caramel Drizzle
- Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Best Apple Cake Ever
This Best Apple Cake Ever is super moist and delicious with the perfect amount of sweetness and spice!
Ingredients
Baking spray with flour, or shortening and flour to grease the pan
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 large apples, peeled and cut into large pieces (Note: The original recipe calls for tart green apples, but we used some red Cortland apples we had on hand and it was delicious!)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sift two additional times and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine oil and both sugars, and mix until well blended.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla and mix again.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the batter and mix thoroughly. By hand, fold in apples and walnuts and mix until evenly combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool in the bundt pan for 20 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine all of the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil and allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute.
- Remove the cake from the pan, onto a serving plate. Spoon the glaze over the warm cake.
- Cool for a little longer before serving.
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I wanted to know if i can use can apples because my hands are messed up with arthritis and its hard cutting
Hi Janice – I don’t think canned apple filling will work because of the sauce/syrup and other seasonings. I suppose you could try to rinse the apples off, but because the canned apples are already cooked, you might not get the same texture as if you used fresh in this cake. I’m wondering if you might be able to find peeled and sliced apples at the supermarket – or I’ve seen some at Walmart in the produce section. That might be a better alternative for you. Hope that helps.
This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made (and eaten!). I made individual Bundt cakes, added a little rum to the glaze and served warm with ice cream and extra glaze. SOO good.
Thanks Brittany!
This is a fantastic cake. I use 3 different apple varieties for texture, honey crisp, granny smith, and fuji. I boil the glaze for an extra minute to make it a bit more caramelized and thicker. This is now my go to apple cake!
Thanks Michael! Great suggestions!
Hi. Can I bake this cake in a casserole dish or a rectangle cake pan? And how do I adjust the temp and cooking time for that?
Hello Nazli – We answered this right in the post:
Can I make this cake in a 9×13-inch pan?
Yes – and this easy apple cake comes out just as moist and delicious. Click here (https://www.afamilyfeast.com/apple-dapple-cake/) to see the instructions for baking this apple cake in a 9×13-inch pan.
This is the best apple cake ever. Appropriately named!!
Thanks Carol! 🙂
THIS IS A KEEPER! I made this quickly today without having to run to the store for anything! That is a bonus during COVID! I love when that happens. I Used the Nordic Ware Soft Swirl Bundt Cake pan (12 cup pan) prepared with Baker’s Joy. It does just to the top of the pan. perfect!
I cut three different types of large apples (Granny, Pink Lady, and one more) in about 1/2” cubes. Living in Denver required extra bake time at the suggested 325 degrees F but testing with a knife did the trick; I think it baked for about 20 to 30 extra minutes. I served it for our weekly family dinner. My daughter, her husband, my husband and even the 2 young grandchildren loved it. My grandson said this was the best dessert ever! The apples were not mushy! The glaze made it have a little crunch, especially after the Grandkids insisted on sprinkling icing sugar on the cake before we served it. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Oh and I almost forgot, my son-in-law said it reminded him of a cake his Polish Grandmother made him. Happy memories.
Thank you!
This is the best moist apple cake I have ever baked. I followed the exact recipe – I didn’t change a thing. At first I wasn’t going to add the topping but I did and I would have made a huge mistake if I didn’t add it. Just Delicious. We can’t stop eating it. I had to share with neighbors because it really is the best cake ever. I’m making it for Thanksgiving. It’s definitely a keeper and a great cake to give away or bring to a gathering. Thank you so much for such a great recipe. Can’t wait to try all your recipes while I’ll be staying home a lot this winter. I have a stocked pantry!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe Elly!
I cut the sugar by 1/2 cup .. cut the oil by 1/2 cup and added 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce … Instead of the glaze … I greased my bunt pan and instead of flour I prepared the greased pan with a cinnamon sugar mix it was delicious , moist snd flavorful … I also use a variety of apples to cook with .. The mingling of apples created much flavor!
It was a big hit!!
Thanks Marianne!
The other day come I was reading recent comments from 2020, and left a comment and question. Now I only see things from 2017 and 2018. Am I looking in the wrong place or did something happen? Thank you
Hi Paul – You’ll just need to scroll to see the newer/most recent comments – yours is definitely there! (This recipe is very popular, so I’m afraid you will need to scroll for a while…)
I haven’t seen anyone respond yet about using smaller bundt pans.
Does this cake freeze well?
Hi Alison – My apologies, I had a freezing question on a cookie recipe right next to yours and accidentally replied to your question instead! Yes, you can freeze this cake – I’d suggest adding the glaze after thawing.