Apple Cake Recipe

When the weather turns cooler, my thoughts turn to apples and my buttery apple cake recipe ….sigh.

It’s a cake I’ve enjoyed for as long as I can remember. It was first introduced to me as an Italian Apple Cake and after a few changes to the recipe the results were a this moist delicious cake that’s easy to make and easy to adapt to the fruits you have on hand.

And the best part about this cake is it only takes two-thirds a cup of flour to make.

Ingredients

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make a Buttery Apple Cake. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.

Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

What kind of apples should I use?

Whenever anyone mentions baking and apples, the first thought turns to Granny Smith. It may be sacrilege, but I don’t like those apples. And because I’m baking for my family I use the kind of apples I like. Feel free to use your favorite apple for this cake.

These are the varieties of apples I use for baking:

• Gala
• Fuji
• Honeycrisp
• Pink Lady
• Winesap
• Jonathon

Can I use canned or frozen apples?

Yes you can. I’ve never used canned apples for this cake, but I’m pretty sure they would work. I just wouldn’t cook the canned apples in butter, just use them straight from the can (without any extra juice).

Do I have to use apples in this cake?

No, you don’t. This is a very forgiving cake recipe and can be used with a variety of fruit. These are some of my favorites.

• Pineapple
• Mango
• Peach
• Blueberries
• Pears

**You don’t have to cook berries or stone fruit for this cake, but any firmer fruits like pineapple or pears would benefit from sauteing with butter. You can also mix different fruits together if you don’t have enough of any one variety.

How to Make an Apple Cake

Follow along with my easy instructions to see how to make an apple cake in your own kitchen.

The first step is melting the butter for the cake. Reserve six tablespoons of butter for the batter, using the rest to saute the apples.

Add the apple chunks to the pan and cook until tender over medium heat, 7-10 minutes. Remove the apples from the pan and allow to cool.

**Don’t remove any of the butter that may be left in the pan

While the apples are cooling, prepare the ingredients for the apple cake.

• In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
• In a large bowl beat the whole eggs and egg yolks until blended. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Add the flour mixture and sauteed apples to the egg mixture, mix just enough to blend in the flour.

Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. The batter may seem a little loose, but trust me, as long as you follow my recipe, it will turn out great.

CHEF DENNIS TIP** 

Add parchment to the bottom of the pan before you add the batter. It will be much easier to remove the finished cake from the pan.

Bake until the cake is golden brown, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Don’t expect this cake to rise very much. There isn’t enough flour vs butter in the cake to get much of a rise. I use standard 9-inch baking pans. An 8-inch cake pan will give you a taller cake. 

Invert the cake onto a plate to remove the pan, and then invert again on your serving dish.

Serve warm from the oven with a sprinkle of confectioner sugar, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Recipe FAQs