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Moist homemade apple fritter cake made with fresh apples with a brown sugar glaze. This is the best apple cake recipe and a perfect Fall dessert.
As the leaves begin to change and the crisp, cool air signals the arrival of autumn, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than by indulging in delicious, homemade desserts.
The dessert that captures the essence of fall is the Apple Fritter Cake. Combining the comforting flavors of apples, cinnamon, and a sweet brown sugar glaze, this is the perfect Fall apple cake recipe.
Why you will love this Homemade Apple Cake:
- This apple cake recipe calls for fresh apples so there are bites of fresh apples throughout the cake.
- There are three different apple ingredients — fresh apples, apple cider, and applesauce to make it the star ingredient in the cake.
- The brown sugar glaze just puts it over the top. By poking holes in the baked apple cake, the glaze soaks into the cake to give it a caramel butterscotch flavor.
- It is so moist and tender. Since this recipe calls for both oil and applesauce, it has such a tender texture.
Apple Sheet Cake
I love easy sheet cake recipes because they are so much easier than layer cakes. No worries about stacking the cakes and hoping they are perfectly even and frosting each layer. This is such an easy apple sheet cake recipe!
Apple Cake Ingredients:
This fresh apple cake uses chopped fresh apples to be the star ingredient on the cake.
Fresh Apple Cake:
- Oil — use a neutral oil such as canola or vegetable.
- Sugar + Brown Sugar — always pack down the brown sugar in the measuring cup. This recipe calls golden light brown sugar for or richer molasses flavor, you can use dark brown sugar.
- Applesauce — this adds moisture and helps to make the cake extra tender while adding more apple flavor throughout the cake. Only use unsweetened applesauce.
- Eggs — use large eggs in this recipe
- Vanilla + Spices — add pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg to bring out the warm flavors in the cake. If you love cinnamon, add 1/2 teaspoon more to the cake.
- Apple Cider — this adds more fresh apple flavor while adding moisture to the cake.
- Fresh Apples — use a firm yet sweet apple in this recipe and chop it into small bite-size pieces. See below for more details on the types of apples to use.
- Flour — use all-purpose flour or cake flour in this recipe.
- Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt — gives the cake the perfect amount of rise once it bakes in the oven.
Brown Sugar Glaze:
This brown sugar glaze has butterscotch and caramel notes and is so easy to whip up.
- Butter — use salted butter for a salted caramel taste.
- Brown Sugar — use light golden brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
- Heavy Cream — use heavy whipping cream for the thickest glaze.
Best apples to use in Apple Cake:
When baking, you want to look for firm, sweet yet tart apples. I like to use a combination of honeycrisp apples, gala apples, fuji apples, and if I want to add more tartness, I will add a granny smith apple.
For this apple fritter cake recipe, I used honeycrisp apples.
We went apple picking in Vermont and I came home with a suitcase filled with honeycrisp apples to make homemade apple cake, the best apple pie, and apple crisp.
Tip: Use firm apples!
Avoid mushy apples. Use firm apples for the best texture in this cake.
How to make Apple Fritter Cake:
See the recipe card below for more details and exact measurements.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking pan. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set this aside.
- Mix Oil and Sugars: In a larger mixing bowl, stir together, oil, sugar, and brown sugar together. Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Make sure to mix well after each addition.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredient mixture and fold together until just combined.
- Fold in Apples: Gently fold the diced apples into the batter, making sure they are evenly distributed.
- Assemble the Cake: Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake to Perfection: Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Prepare the Glaze: While the cake is cooling, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 minute longer. Allow the glaze to cool.
- Drizzle and Serve: Once the cake has cooled for a bit, using a toothpick or fork, poke holes throughout the cake. Drizzle the brown sugar glaze over the top, allowing it to soak into the cake. Allow it to soak into the cake and set for a few minutes. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
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Apple Fritter Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup Oil
- 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup Sugar
- 3 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider
- 2 1/2 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 3 cups Peeled Chopped Apples (about 3 large)
Brown Sugar Glaze:
- 6 Tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a larger mixing bowl, stir together, oil, sugar, and brown sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Make sure to mix well after each addition. Add applesauce and apple cider.
- Add the dry ingredient mixture and fold together until just combined. Gently fold the diced apples into the batter, making sure they are evenly distributed.
- Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Since this cake can brown on the top before it is fully baked through, place a piece of foil on the top of the cake after 25-30 minutes of baking time.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 minute longer. Allow the glaze to cool.
- Once the cake has cooled for a bit, using a toothpick or fork, poke holes throughout the cake. Drizzle the brown sugar glaze over the top, allowing it to soak into the cake. Allow it to soak into the cake and set for a few minutes. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi, This looks amazing! Can I make it in two 8 inch pans? How would it affect the cooking time? And does this cake freeze well?
Thanks!
Hi Barb! I bet that would work great. You will need to adjust the baking time. I would suggest a baking time of 18-22 minutes but it will depend on factors such as accurate oven temperature, altitude, etc. You may need to bake it longer than that so I suggest checking to see if it is done in the center. I hope you love it!
Have been scrolling up & down just to make sure I didn’t dream there was apple cider & applesauce used in this recipe. Had to come to the comments to voice my concern & found what had happened. Is there any way to put a notation at the top? Most people won’t make the effort to come to the comments section & I would hate to see you lose downloads due to a mistake.
Hi Kim! All of the ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card so you should be all good! 🙂 I hope you love the apple cake recipe!
Looks delish. Can this be frozen by chance?
Hi Sylvia! Yes, I have frozen this apple cake before and it turned out beautifully. Just make sure it is securely covered to prevent freezer burn. 🙂
Do you need to serve this immediately or can you make it ahead of time?
Hi Bev! This is a cake you can make ahead of time, no problem! How long in advance would you want to prepare it? If it is several days, I suggest freezing the apple cake.
I can not wait to try some of these recipes 😋
Thanks so much, Eleanor! I hope you love my recipes!
Does this cake freeze well?
Hi Roseanne! Yes, I have frozen this apple cake before and it turned out perfect. Just make sure it is securely covered to prevent freezer burn. 🙂 You can remove it from the freezer and let it come to room temperature. If you want to warm it, I suggest letting it come to room temperature and then placing it in the oven at 300 degrees to warm it.
Applesauce and cider??
Hi Laura! You can add it in with the wet ingredients (eggs and vanilla). Thank you so much for letting me know!
What can I use in place of the cider.
Hi Robin! You can use orange juice or apple juice in place of apple cider. I haven’t recipe tested it yet but you should be able to use buttermilk as well. It will make it a tad less sweet but will definitely make it a more tender texture. I hope this helps!
WOW!!! This sounds delicious and very fattening right up my alley too. This is a Beautiful Cake and the glaze makes it more amazing. Thank you for this recipe. Of course I will have to try this out before the Holidays get here….
Thanks so much, Donna! Oh, I think you will love it…the glaze definitely makes it. Hope you are doing great, my friend.
Hi — this looks great just as it is, I can’t wait to try it.
Sorry to bombard you with so many questions- trying to work with what I have!
I just made apple butter for the first time. (It took ages but I love the deep taste). Could I use some of this instead of the applesauce — and would I need to change the amounts of anything else?
If I were to substitute buttermilk for some of the oil in the cake, what should be the ratio of buttermilk to oil?
Also (realize I sound like a recipe barbarian) what about subbing some buttermilk for some of the cream in the glaze?
Trying to cut down on my calorie intake and I like that bit of tang buttermilk gives.
Thanks so much!
Hi Suzanna! I like your creative mind! Let’s dive in and see how I can help. I haven’t recipe tested any of these ideas but these are my suggestions…
1. You can swap out apple butter for the applesauce….but since apple butter does generally have sugar in it, we may want to reduce the sugar slightly in the cake. Does your recipe have added sugar? 🙂 Since apple butter is cooked longer, it has deeper, richer flavors so that will be evident in the cake.
2. Anytime you reduce oil in a cake, you may run into a less moist cake. Now, with the addition of buttermilk, you may have less problem with that. I would reduce the oil to 3/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup buttermilk. Again, I haven’t recipe tested it. 🙂 Many times you can reduce oil in cake and replace it with applesauce. You could increase the applesauce slightly as well.
3. I love the idea of subbing out some of the cream with buttermilk. I make a yummy buttermilk syrup and use all buttermilk with the butter and sugar. It is delicious! It would reduce the calories substantially.
I hope that helps!
Can this be made as a pound rather than in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Amy! I haven’t recipe tested it yet but you should be able to use a pound cake pan, no problem. It may be a little thicker so you will want to increase the baking time. If you need to, you can cover the pound cake pan with foil about 15 minutes before baking time is over to ensure it doesn’t become too brown. I hope that helps!