This Fresh Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is rustic, moist, and packed with fresh apples. No doubt the perfect fall bake!
Apples are one of my favorites things about fall. Bryan and I eat quite a few each season, and our current favorite variety is SugarBee. They’re sweet, crisp, and perfectly juicy. What’s your favorite apple variety? I’d love to hear about it!
And of course, today’s recipe is all about apples! I wanted to bake a cake using fresh apples, and I stumbled upon a recipe on King Arthur. After a few small tweaks, it turned out beautifully. Super moist, full of tender apple pieces, and incredibly easy to make. You can actually see and taste the apples in every bite.
A Few Things to Note:
Apples:
When baking, I like using apples that are slightly tart but still firm. For this recipe, I used a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp. Granny Smiths are classic. Tart and hold their shape well during baking. While Honeycrisps add a nice balance of sweetness and flavor. Combining the two gives the cake the perfect mix of sweet and tart.
Mixing:
This part is simple. Combine all the ingredients except the apples and give it a quick mix. The batter will look crumbly at first, but that’s normal! Don’t overmix. Add the diced apples and mix on low speed just until the batter becomes thick and creamy.
Baking:
Since this cake is packed with apples, it’s quite moist and takes a bit longer to bake. After about 30 minutes, cover the top loosely with foil to prevent over-browning. Check for doneness in a few spots with a toothpick. It should come out clean. Don’t worry if the cake dips slightly in the center. That’s totally fine and will be covered by frosting later.
Frosting:
I went with a cream cheese frosting. Sweet, creamy, and just a little tangy. It’s made with cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a little bit of heavy cream. Because cream cheese frosting needs refrigeration, I recommend frosting the cake close to serving time. Store leftovers in the fridge, and bring slices to room temperature before serving for the best texture.
This rustic apple cake is moist, tender, and filled with chunks of apple in every bite. It reminds me of a cozy coffee cake. Not too sweet, perfectly spiced, and ideal for a fall treat. Let me know if you tried this.
Fresh Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 140 grams all-purpose flour
- 165 grams sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 210 grams apples (about 2 apples) (peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch dices)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup cold heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F (165˚C). Lightly grease a 6-inch cake pan with unsalted butter and line the bottom with a round parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine all the ingredients except the apples. Mix on low until the mixture looks evenly crumbly. Do not overmix. Add apple dices and mix on low until it looks like a thick batter, about 2 minutes. Transfer batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Bake in the oven for 55 – 65 minutes, covering loosely with a piece of foil after 30 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick for doneness. The toothpick should come out clean. Remove the cake from oven and place on a cooling rack. After 15 minutes, carefully remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on the rack, at least 1 hour.
- Before serving, get the frosting ready, beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract at low-speed until combined. Add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to use. Frost and decorate the cake.
Notes
- This cake can serve 5 – 6 people if cutting into smaller slices.
- For the apples, I used 1 granny smith and 1 honeycrisp.
- The cake is dark brown when done, but it remains very moist.
- Frosting is not a must, but it adds a little bit more sweetness, which is a nice addition.
- Cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated, so it’s best to frost close to serving. The cake can keep at room temperature covered for a couple days. Once the cake is frosted, covered and keep in the fridge. Take the cake out of the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving.
Leave a Reply