The Best Fresh Apple Cake Recipe With Oil (EASY)

The smell of fresh apples and cinnamon baking in the oven is incredible. I love how the warm spice combines with the apples to create a flavorful aroma that permeates through your home. This fresh apple cake recipe with oil is a delicious and moist cake that is perfect for breakfast or dessert. It’s filled with chunks of sweet apples, and the cinnamon adds a nice spicy flavor to the apple cake. It makes a scrumptious dessert for fall or winter holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time of the year!

This recipe is sentimental to me. When my youngest son was in elementary school, this was his favorite dessert (it actually still is). While the other kids were bringing cookies and cupcakes to school parties, my son was having me make this apple cake so he could take it. It’s a cake he still asks for. He turned 29 this year, and this was the cake he requested on his birthday.

You will love this recipe if you are not big on frosted cakes (like my son). It’s similar to banana nut bread or coffee cake, and it’s fantastic with a cup of coffee or cuppa tea!

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Supplies You Will Need to Make Fresh Apple Cake

The beauty of this recipe is you don’t need a ton of kitchen supplies. You don’t even have to pull out your hand mixer. Hey, the fewer dishes I have to wash, the better! Here is what I typically use.

• Bundt Pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium bowl
• Wire Rack
• Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients for Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe

This is a simple old-fashioned apple recipe with common ingredients often found in your pantry. I don’t know about you, but I always have apples in a fruit bowl on my dining room table.

You’ll need

• Apples- You can use any apples you have. My favorite is honey crisp or gala apples. I’ve also made this with granny smith apples. They are just a bit more tart. You can make this cake any time of the year, but it is excellent during apple season, which is around September, depending on the apple variety.
• Oil- You can use vegetable oil or canola oil. I’ve used both, and they worked equally as well. I couldn’t tell the difference. Use whichever one you have.
• Large eggs
• White sugar 
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda 
• Cinnamon– If you want a high quality cinnamon check out this one! All their spices and seasonings are incredibly fresh!!! Love! Love!
• Salt – I use kosher course salt for all my cooking and baking. I get this one.
• Nuts – You can use chopped walnuts or pecans. Either one will work in the cake.

To Make the Fresh Apple Cake

The first thing you want to do is preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

While your oven is preheating, prepare your bundt pan. I spray it with Baker Choice. It’s a combination of oil and flour. My cake always comes out of the pan easily.

Peel and core your apples and dice them into one and a half inch pieces (give or take). This recipe calls for 3 cups of chopped apples. Usually, 1 apple will be about 1 cup, but that will significantly depend on the size of the apple. I used Honeycrisp apples when I recently made this and only needed 2 apples because the apples were ginormous.

You can sprinkle freshly squeezed lemon juice on the apples after you chop them if you want. I usually don’t. It’s up to you.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla with a wire whisk. Stir well. 

Note: You can use an electric mixer, but because the batter is so thick, I find it easier and just as quick to mix by hand.

Next, in a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.

Add your dry ingredients a little at a time to your wet ingredients and mix until combined. Use your wooden spoon for this.

The batter will be thick!!! As you are stirring it, you will think there is no possible way this will make a cake! Don’t freak out. It will be awesome. Just make sure it’s combined well.

Next, add your diced apples and pecans. As you stir and the apples combine with the batter, the juices and moisture from the apples will moisten the cake batter, and it won’t be quite as thick.

Pour the cake batter (more like spoon it because it’s so thick) and spread it into your prepared pan. 

Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until a tester or a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Please be mindful that the baking time can vary depending on how juicy your apples are. I typically set my timer for 45 minutes and check it; if it’s not done, I recheck it in 10-15 minutes. On average, it takes one hour to bake.

Remove the cake from the oven and place pan on a wire rack. When cool enough to handle, gently remove from pan.

Let the cake cool until room temperature, or if you’re impatient like me, have a warm piece and enjoy it with your afternoon tea!

Store it on a beautiful cake plate or stand like one of these!

Fresh Apple Cake Tips and Serving Suggestions

I believe this cake is better on the second day, but it’s also delicious while it’s still warm or at room temperature. 

Make a glaze and pour over the top of the cake by combining powdered sugar and orange juice.

You could also make a brown sugar glaze to drizzle over the top. 

Serve a piece of warm cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and drizzle caramel sauce on top like this one. Yummo!

Add a dollop of fresh whipped cream and sprinkle it with cinnamon, apple pie spice, or chai spice. My son got me one of these for Christmas a few years ago, and it makes the best homemade whipped cream ever. You add heavy cream, a small amount of powdered sugar, and a dash of vanilla and shake it up. It’s sooo good!!!! 

This apple cake is excellent served with a cup of coffee. I actually had it for breakfast this morning! It was so good!

This apple cake freezes well! You can make it ahead and freeze it.

To freeze: Wrap the cake tightly with a double layer of cling wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze for up to three months. 

To thaw: If you freeze the cake as suggested, remove it from the freezer, place the cake still wrapped on a wire rack, and let thaw at room temperature.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for an easy, moist apple cake recipe, this is the one! This is a great way to use up some apples you may have sitting in your kitchen. It’s also a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen. They can help you make it, and they’ll love eating it too! This is one of those recipes that everyone can enjoy! Happy baking!

P.S. If you liked this, check out my other dessert recipes!