Apple cakes come in all shapes and sizes, and this Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake has exceptional flavor and texture and is so pretty, too!
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Why You’ll Love this Recipe
This Old Fashioned Apple Cake Recipe isn’t too much trouble, and it looks like a million bucks. It also tastes amazing, which is the most important thing, right?
Fresh apples are quickly sauteed before getting covered in an easy, hand-whisked cake batter that’s made extra tender with sour cream. This is the best apple cake recipe I’ve made, a perfect dessert for guests or just yourself!
Apple season lasts for months, so here are some good reasons to try this cake:
- When it’s picking time and there’s an abundance of apples, why not make elegant and easy apple desserts that use simple ingredients and taste incredible?
- This is a moist apple cake recipe using basic pantry ingredients.
- This recipe comes together easily and is wonderful as dessert for a dinner of Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage or Ravioli with Sausage. a hearty soup like Chunky Corn Chowder and maybe a simple salad.
Do you love apple recipes as much as I do? You should try these Mini Caramel Apple Pies. And for a special weekend breakfast, why not these absolutely delicious Waffles with Spiced Apples, or something fun like these Apple Hand Pies with Pillsbury crust, or homemade Amish Apple Fritters.
These Apple Butter Cookies are easy and very good too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the full recipe and list of ingredients, please scroll to the recipe card below.
- Apples: Fresh apples like Granny Smith are the best variety for this cake.
- Butter, eggs, vanilla extract: Also knows as essential cake ingredients for flavor and tenderness.
- Sugar, flour: Regular or Bakers Sugar and all-purpose flour.
- Salt, baking powder: Essential dry ingredients for flavor and for cake rise.
- Sour Cream: For a nice tender crumb.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the full recipe, scroll to the recipe card below.
- Peel and chop the apples from the stem to core and cut into thin slices.
- Melt a little butter, then saute the apples until barely tender and slightly caramelized, add brown sugar and lemon juice.
- Arrange the sauteed apples on the bottom of a prepared cake pan lined with parchment paper.
- Whisk together a flour mixture in a separate bowl made with pantry ingredients like brown sugar and flour in a large bowl, a little butter, plus sour cream for tenderness, no electric mixer needed!
- Pour: Pour thick batter over the apples into the prepared pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes.
- Cool the warm cake on a wire rack for 20 minutes before inverting onto a platter for best results.
- Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Tips for Success
- For most of my baking recipes I prefer to use Bakers Sugar, which is ultra-fine sugar, and it’s pretty easy to find in well-stocked grocery stores. Regular granulated sugar works fine too.
- It’s important to “condition” your ingredients by taking the eggs and sour cream out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before starting to bring them to room temperature. This helps everything to combine together.
- The batter is thick in this recipe, so when you pour it into the prepared cake pan, spread it evenly over the top with a spatula or butter knife.
- When you remove the cake from the oven, cool it on a wire rack for 20 minutes before attempting to invert it onto a serving plate.
Serving Ideas
- There is nothing, and I mean nothing better than warm apple cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Unless you want to use whipped cream instead, which would be wonderful too.
- Serve this for dessert after a cozy dinner of Chicken Sausage and Vegetables or this fantastic Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake Recipe and a Roasted Pear Salad with Goat Cheese.
Frequently Asked Questions
Granny Smith apple variety is my favorite apple for this cake as it holds its shape, plus they’re easy to find in the grocery store. Honeycrisp is another tart apple that would be a good substitute. A Golden Delicious apple variety will work in a pinch, but they won’t hold their shape as well.
This cake looks fancy, but it’s an easy apple cake! Once you prep the apples, make a simple cake batter (no electric mixer needed) pour it over the top and bake!
Yes, for this recipe, you’ll want to peel them with a vegetable peeler or a small paring knife.
Loosely wrapped with waxed paper or plastic wrap, this cake will hold for a couple of days.
More Recipes to Try:
- Baked Apples with Oatmeal Crumble: Comfort food at its finest.
- Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp without Oats: A delicious warm dessert.
- How to Make Banana Bread without Butter: A delicious, easy cake.
- Easy and Fun Halloween Fruit Snacks: Cute and easy snacks for all ages.
- Ginger Pistachio Biscotti: A classic, dunked in white chocolate.
- How to make apple pie with graham cracker crust: A new favorite recipe.
- Party Olives: Get the party started with these addictive, warm olives.
- Roasted Nectarines with Caramel Sauce: These taste just as good as they look.
- Fig Banana Bread: The figs make this banana bread super moist.
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies: These are so great-looking with amazing flavor.
- Fresh Tangerine Sorbet: You won’t believe how juicy and fresh this tastes.
- Fresh Banana Cake: Easy and so delicious…cream cheese frosting is the best.
- Ice Cream Cake with Peanut Butter Ganache: You can’t tell there are shortcuts to this recipe.
If you’ve tried Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe, or any recipe on Studio Delicious, please leave a 5 star rating and tell me about it in the comments below, I’d love to hear about it!
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Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, light
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 cup flour, all purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, light
- 2 eggs, large
- 6 tablespoons butter, unsalted, and melted and cooled
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- PREP THE BAKING PAN Grease a 9" non-stick cake pan on the bottom and sides with butter. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper round that's cut to size, greasing the top of the parchment paper with butter and a light sprinkling of flour. Tap the excess flour out of the pan.
- Heat oven to 350F degrees and adjust rack to lowest position.
- Make the apple mixture: Slice the peeled apples in half from the stem to the bottom. Cut two of the apples into quarter-inch (¼") thick pieces, set these aside in a medium-sized bowl. Cut the remaining apples into half-inch (½") thick slices.
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the half-inch( ½" ) slices of apple to the pan first, stirring to coat. Heat the apples in the skillet on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until they begin to lightly caramelize, stirring occasionally. You don't want the apples to fully cook.Add all of the remaining apples to the skillet with the brown sugar and lemon juice, stirring everything to coat, then continue cooking for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour the cooked apples into the prepared cake pan. Use the back of a spatula to evenly press the apples down into one layer in the pan.
- For the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- In another (large) bowl, whisk the sugar, brown sugar and eggs together until thick and combined.
- Slowly whisk in the 6 tablespoons of cooled, melted butter, then add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to mix until combined.
- Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined, then pour it over the apples in the cake pan.
- Bake until golden brown, about 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the middle of the cake.
- Cool a wire rack for 20 minutes, then use a sharp knife to go around the edges to loosen the cake from the pan. Using a cake plate or platter, invert the cake and pan together, lifting the cake pan off the right-side up platter to catch any drips. If any of the apple pieces stay stuck in the pan or fall off, just position them on top of the cake with a fork.
- Cool another 20 minutes and serve with whipped cream.
Notes
- Tip: Whenever the recipe calls for sugar in a baking recipe, I use Bakers Sugar which you can find in well-stocked grocery stores.
- Take the eggs and sour cream out of the refrigerator thirty minutes prior to using to bring them to room temperature.
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
This recipe was updated with improved instructions and text October, 2024.
My sister used to bake a pineapple upside-down cake for my birthday every year. This looks like a great substitute and a reason to implore my sister to bake for me again! Though honestly this looks easy enough for me to bake myself, I’d rather make your other recipes for me and have my sister bake this for me! <3
Pineapple upside down cake is one of my all-time favorites too. This is just as good!
I can’t believe how amazing this turned out!! I am definitely going to make this again for Thanksgiving!
Great! Yes, you can make this one all through the winter…:)
Beautiful and delicious! I took this with me to a gathering last weekend and everyone loved it!
Oh awesome! Glad you liked it!
Wow! This turned out so good! Perfect way to use up apples from apple picking!
This apple cake looks and sounds fantastic! I love the taste and smell of apples, plus who wouldn’t love how simple this is to make!
Right? Thanks 🙂
This was absolutely delicious! My new favorite dessert! Will be making this over and over!
So happy you liked it…one of my faves too 🙂
This cake is so soft and tender with tons of delicious apple. We loved this recipe and the family is already asking for it again!
Good news on that! Thanks!
I love making upside down cakes, and can’t believe I have never tried it with apples!! This looks fantastic!
Well thanks!
Made this today afternoon. The cake is one of the most delicious and moist cakes I have ever baked. However, the apple layer on top was a little too tart to my liking. Went back over the recipe and noticed an extra 2/3 cup of light brown sugar listed in the ingredients but the instructions don’t mention it. I’m guessing perhaps it goes in the pan with the butter when we caramelize the apples?
I looked over the instructions I’m so sorry this wasn’t made more clear. I’ve made a correction, and really appreciate you letting me know!