Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe
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!
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.
Key Ingredients:
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.
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.
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.
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.
Can I use different apples in this recipe?
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.
Is this an easy cake to make?
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!
Should I peel the apples before using them in the cake?
Yes, for this recipe, you'll want to peel them with a vegetable peeler or a small paring knife.
How do I store the cake?
Loosely wrapped with waxed paper or plastic wrap, this cake will hold for a couple of days.
Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe
This Fresh Apple Cake Recipe is moist and delicious and uses fresh apples for a delicious, homemade flavor
Course: Dessert
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 8
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.