Cooking with Toti
cookingwithtoti.com/recipes/easy-apple-cake
Easy Apple Cake
Soft, buttery, and full of fresh apple chunks — a simple one-bowl apple cake dusted with powdered sugar.
Serves
one round cake
Prep
15 min
Cook
40 min
This is one of my favorite apple desserts because it is so easy, light, and not too heavy. The cake is soft, buttery, full of fresh apple pieces, and comes together very quickly. I like using sweet apples rather than very tart ones, and I add a little bourbon for extra flavor — dark rum or brandy will work too.
Instructions
Prepare the pan
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- 2
Use a round cake pan or another baking dish you like — a round pan gives a beautiful presentation, but the exact shape does not matter.
- 3
Grease the pan well with butter or cooking spray, then lightly dust it with flour so the cake releases easily after baking.
Prepare the apples
- 1
Peel the apples and cut them into chunks.
- 2
You can make the pieces as large or small as you prefer. I like mine a little larger because I love getting visible pieces of apple throughout the cake.
- 3
Set aside.
Make the batter
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture becomes very thick, pale, and fluffy and almost doubles in volume.
- 2
Add the vanilla and mix briefly.
- 3
Combine the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt, then gradually add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Mix gently and only until combined.
- 4
Add the very soft butter and the bourbon. Mix gently just until incorporated — do not overmix.
- 5
Add the chopped apples and fold them gently into the batter with a spatula or whisk until evenly distributed.
Bake and finish
- 1
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.
- 2
Bake at 350°F until the cake is beautifully golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- 3
Let it cool slightly before removing it from the pan.
- 4
Once the cake has cooled enough to handle, carefully turn it out onto a serving plate and dust generously with powdered sugar before serving.
Toti’s Tips
- ✓Choose sweet apples rather than very tart ones. There is only ¾ cup of sugar in the whole cake, so the apples themselves carry a lot of the sweetness.
- ✓Cut the apples into whatever size you prefer. Larger chunks stay juicy and give you noticeable apple pieces in every slice; smaller pieces melt into the crumb.
- ✓Beat the eggs and sugar very well at the beginning — thick, pale, and almost doubled. That trapped air is most of the lift in this cake.
- ✓Sift the flour. It breaks up packed clumps so the flour folds in with far less stirring, which keeps the texture light.
- ✓The butter should be very soft, almost melted, so it blends in with a few gentle strokes. Cold butter needs beating, and beating at this stage knocks out the air you just whipped in.
- ✓Bourbon gives the cake a lovely warm flavor; dark rum or brandy work just as well.
- ✓Once the flour is added, do not overmix. Extra mixing builds gluten and turns a tender cake rubbery.
- ✓Grease and flour the pan well — this batter is soft and clings, and a floured pan is what lets the cake turn out cleanly.
- ✓Dust the powdered sugar just before serving. On a warm cake it dissolves and disappears within minutes.
Storage
- •Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- •Serve simply with powdered sugar, or warm a slice slightly and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
More photos
Get my free e-book — 7 quick & easy dinners + 3 sweet bonus desserts
The weeknight dinners my kids actually ask for seconds of, plus the sweet treats — with photos from my own kitchen.
Free PDF · Unsubscribe anytime
