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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.
This cake is absolutely delicious! I’ve made it three times in two weeks! My family just can’t get enough of it! Thank you so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try all of your recipes! Thanks again!
You are so awesome, Cindy! Thank you so much for making it three times. That’s amazing! You made my day.
QUESTION?? This cake sounds amazing! I would like to make it for Thanksgiving but with everything going on I wanted to know if it could be made a day or 2 ahead?
Hi Toby! Well, I apologize for such a late reply. But you can definitely make it ahead of time. You can cover it and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
The cake is very good. I added some chopped walnuts. There is a lot of sauce and it is very sweet.
Thank you so much for making it, Marsha! I appreciate it so much.
Hi! What can I substitute in place if apple sauce?
Hi! This one is a tough one because this recipe calls for 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce and it is an integral ingredient in the cake. You could use an apple butter but most apple butters contain sugar which would mean you would need to reduce the amount of sugar in the cake.
Oh noooooooo. I’m planning on making this tomorrow & realized I forgot the apple cider. Can I leave out or add more apple sauce? Help, please! Thanks.
Hi Linda! You could use apple juice if you have that on hand or you could substitute buttermilk for the apple cider. It will have less of an apple taste, but still taste delicious. I hope that helps!
This was the best apple fritter cake I’ve ever tried. I followed the instructions to the T and it was perfect! I even made my own applesauce beforehand and used apples from our trees. The caramel sauce was sooooo good! There was sauce leftover after I loaded the cake so we poured extra over our pieces, and the last little bit I used for caramel apples. This will be our go to cake for everyday meals and special occasions. I highly recommend trying this recipe! Thanks to Melissa Stadler for sharing this recipe with us!
Hi Cheryl! I am swooning over the fact that you made your own applesauce from your trees. How heavenly! That is such a dream of mine. I bet that made it taste so amazing! Thank you so much for trying my apple fritter cake recipe and for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it so much!
Does this cake need to be stored overnight in the refrigerator, if serving the next day?
Hi Michele! You can keep it out for 1 day, covered, but after that, I suggest putting it in the refrigerator to keep the apples fresh. I hope that helps!
I love trying new recipes for apples, this Apple Fritter cake was delicious and the instructions were easy, thank you for sharing recipe, will definitely be making this again❤️😊
Hi Sue! Thank you so much for trying my apple fritter cake recipe. So happy to hear that you loved it. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Have a great day!
Can l replace the apple cider for some type of apple liqour or something…to give it a little bit of a warmer adult kick?
Hi Scott! I haven’t recipe tested it but you could substitute something like bourbon in this recipe. You could also put something in the glaze as well. I hope that helps!
Hi! This cake sounds super ! I would like to make it for Thanksgiving. Would a springform pan or a Bundt pan work so I could make it a little fancy ?
Thank you, your recipes are very nice!
Hi Kathy! I love that idea! I think a bundt pan or springform pan would work great. I haven’t recipe tested it in those particular pans but you would need to bake the cake a little longer in a bundt pan. Just make sure to grease it well so the apples don’t stick to the pan. I hope you love it!