My mother makes the best apple cake, and has for as long as I can remember. Big cinnamon-y chunks of apple nestle into a coffee cake I would call “unbelievably” moist, but really, should not be hard to believe considering that my mother is also the one who brought us another of the best cake recipes on this site, The Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake. The cake gets better the second day, when the apples juices seep further into the cake and I have seen the conviction of many a chocolate-obsessed/fruit dessert non-believers crumble upon trying a single slice of it. The apple cake, it’s some good stuff.
Not above pilfering content for my website from my nearest and dearest, I talked my mom into coming over (and heaving up all 51 stairs–she likes to count them) on Sunday to bake the cake with me for the New Years dinner at my in-laws today. I wanted to get the recipe down, but also to get the back story on the cake recipe. In bits and pieces, I remember it being called at different times a “German Apple Cake” and a “Jewish Apple Cake”, though what made it either was unclear. I suspected that if was indeed German, it came over with her parents as they escaped the Holocaust. I imagined that my grandmother and her mother before her must have made this cake often, as it uses such simple ingredients but the final product is so much better than the sum of its parts.
As it turns out, the actual story is, uh, a little less romanticized. My mother has been making this cake not for 60-something years, but since I was a kid. And the recipe, it didn’t come from her mother or her mother’s mother (“My mother? Bake a cake? Ha!” my mother said.) but a clipping that a neighbor gave her from some now-defunct magazine. Entirely crushed that the recipe involves no escapes from terror, no bits of the old country, no tales of war rations or ingredients that don’t translate well into English, I briefly considered where my more interesting history of the cake should be the only story I tell, but alas, I am a terrible liar and find the vast expanse between my version and the actual truth to be as funny of a story as any.
My grandchildren, however, will be able to talk all about how this recipe was passed down their crazy Grandma Deb (with the awesome hair, I hope they’ll add), because we’re not getting rid of it any time soon.
One year ago: Bronx-Worthy Bagels
Two years ago: Flower Cupcakes
Mom’s Apple Cake
Refreshed: September 2015 with fresh photos, a couple additional notes and a slightly streamlined process. Hooray!
For the apples
6 apples, Mom uses McIntosh apples, I use a mix of whatever looks good
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons (65 grams) granulated sugar
For the cake
2 3/4 cups (360 grams) flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil (safflower, sunflower, olive and coconut oil also work, as does melted butter)
2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) orange juice
2 1/2 (13 ml) teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup (130 grams) walnuts, chopped (optional and to be honest, we never use them)
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a tube pan. (I use this one or an equivalent one-piece tube.) Peel, core and chop apples into 1-inch chunks.Toss with cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar and set aside.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix wet ingredients into dry ones; scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples (and their juices) over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.*
Cool completely before running knife between cake and pan, and unmolding onto a platter.
Do ahead: This cake is awesome on the first day but absolutely glorious and pudding-like on the days that follow, so feel free to get an early start on it. I keep it at room temperature covered with foil.
* Tip: The apples love to hide uncooked pockets of batter, especially near the top. Make sure your testing skewer or toothpick goes not just all the way down to the bottom, but does a shallow dip below the top layer of apples to make sure it comes out batter-free. Should your cake be browning too fast, before the center is baked through, cover it with foil for all but the last few minutes in the oven.
Yum, that looks awesome! I think every grandmother — or future/potential grandmother — should have her own version of apple cake (mine does, and it indeed came over with her from Russia, so you can take heart in the fact that there are stories just like the one you imagined, though the disparity is very funny). My grandma slices the apples very thinly and adds raisins, but it’s basically the same. Shana Tova!
Could you use a bundt pan? What is the real difference between tube v. bundt?
I made it in a bundt pan! I put about half the apples in first, then half the batter, then more apples, and then the rest of the batter. It was probably done a little earlier, but I pulled it out of the oven at 1:20 noticing that it was looking pretty browned (er, maybe slightly burnt) at the top. I was worried I had overcooked it but I tried it the next morning and it was great! However, since the apples are completely in the pan, they don’t get crisp. I don’t know if they would get crisp in a tube pan, but mine were pretty mushy (which I’m 100% fine with).
This was delicious!
I am currently watching mine bake as I’m typing. I used a Bundt pan as well and it is currently overflowing in the oven (thankfully I have a sheet pan underneath catching the mess. Not sure how it is going to turn out but I shall report back with the final verdict.
How did it work with a bundt pan? I’m trying that now. I put batter, apples, batter and apples.
Thanks Deb and Mama
I’ve just put mine in the wood burning oven, in a Bundt tin ..oh Lordy there’s plenty to go wrong now! … following instructions to the tee I put apples on top
.. forgetting in a Bundt the top will be the bottom!!! ..I should have read comments first as well with all of you clever people who did it the correct way round. The proof will be in the pudding, I’m going to eat it no matter what 😆
Now for the clean-up 😭
2 3/4 cups of flour weighs 260 grams, not 360 grams. I’m guessing you meant the former not the latter, but for those of us who weigh instead of measuring that would be a big difference.
No wonder the cake was so firm, I did 360 grams!
Oh no, the one time I decide that weighing instead of breaking out the extra cups and I should have read the comments. Hope it will turn out OK and not too chalky. 😞
I think it is 330 g
(Google told me)
This morning I’m making 1.5x the recipe. All in 6”, 7” and one 3” (for me) round pans. To share with the apple providers and friends. All the comments have been helpful.
It’s the fifth straight rainy Saturday in NY, and this amazing—-and easy—-apple cake was the perfect remedy!! So delicious and so comforting! 🍎
Hi. Has anyone frozen this cake? If so, did it come out OK?
YES!! Freezes perfectly … I usually double wrap it (one layer of plastic, one layer of aluminum foil). A friend brought me a ridiculous number of apples, so I made two and froze them.
Thanks Jennifer!
It freezes well.
Nancy
Lots of Granny Smiths in my fridge. Could I use these and increase the sugar? If so, how much more?
You don’t need to make an adjustments.
I made a ‘lightened up’ version of this subbing half the butter for applesauce (so 1/2 c butter + 1/2 c unsweetened organic applesauce). Still delish! Baked in a Bundt (batter , apples, batter, apples) and was lovely. Thanks for sharing!
This cake is really delicious! I used a variety of apples which I had on hand including Granny Smith and Honey crisp. I substituted a quarter cup of applesauce to reduce the oil to 3/4 of a cup. I used a fluted bundt pan which was a mistake because the batter slightly overflowed the top of pan. Baked it for 1:20 minutes. Next time I’ll use a deeper flat sided Bundt pan.
Sounds amazing. If you’re using the walnuts, do you add them to the cake batter?
Yes.
Well, oops. I decided to sprinkle them under the two layers of apple 😐
My mother makes the same EXACT recipe from a magazine clipping given to her by my Dad’s mother. Weird!
Mmmm I LOVE APPLE CAKE so I am so excited to make this!
Are there any pics of you on this site? Do you have crazy hair or something or were you just saying that?
I’d like to try these in individual 4” round cake pans – has anyone tried them in a cake pan? Thanks!
did you try it in the individual 4″ round cake pans?
thanks
I did – it made 6 adorable cakes. My pans are 3” tall, so I made a collar with parchment and was glad I did. I didn’t keep track of how long they cooked, just set the timer for 40 mins and then kept checking every five minutes or so.
Hii is there any way to make this gluten free?
Here are comments from people who have made this without gluten — there are even more comments if you do a word search for “gluten”, you will find them:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642539
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643057
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-856475
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-979286
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-985886
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1187050
Ok, a tribute to your site. I am a petrified cook. My mother was amazing amazing amazing and died unexpectedly before I learned to do anything. (True story: I have an email from her telling me how to hard boil eggs with her apologizing for not teaching me anything in the kitchen.) So what little I do has been self-taught from Food Network and the internet. Your site gives me the courage to ask questions I’m sure are stupid and no one else would ask, like “Can I use my bundt cake pan for this? And what’s the difference between a tube pan and a bundt pan anyway, except for straight vs. patterned sides?”
And then every time I come here with a question I am sure will make me the laughingstock of the foodie cognoscenti I discover someone else has asked it first and I don’t feel so alone in my kitchen anymore.
So thank you Kaitlin for beating me to my exact question. Thank you Deb for creating a site where I can come with these questions. And thanks to all the others here who have created a place where it’s ok to just be learning.
I love this post so much. Sorry for your loss. Keep experimenting and asking questions.
I got married fairly young (20) and had not paid much attention to my mother’s cooking. As my wedding date approached I started to get nervous about how little I knew about cooking. I told my mother, and I will never forget her words. She said, “Honey, always remember if you can read, you can cook.” To this day, some 50 years later, I still read recipes and do very little instinctual cooking! Mom was right.
I think my tube pan is a a chubby 12-incher. Will that make a flat and sad cake?
My grandmother makes a very similar cake in a bundt pan. I liked to make up stories that it was from her mother’s mother and filled with mystery and mystique and then she told me she got it out of a Home and Garden magazine only 20 or so years ago.
I like my version better, so I’m sticking to it!
This seriously looks INCREDIBLE! I must make it!
That looks so wonderful and fall-ish. I love apples in the fall and use them in every possible way, but never before in a cake! This might be the inspiration I needed.
This is identical to my recipe for Jewish apple cake. I love it!
The difference between a tube and a bundt is that a tube pan is smooth and a bundt pan has decorative elements, and you serve the cake flipped out of the pan, or upside down. So, I don’t know that a bundt would work for this. Technically, I guess you could put the apples in first so they’d be at the top and not the bottom when you flipped it out, but of course we haven’t tried it this way so you’d be the guinea pig for it! (And do let us know if it works fine.)
I believe you can also bake it in one layer in a 9×13 pan, and I suspect in two loaf pans, but um, don’t quote me on that (unless it works awesomely). To give you a guideline, the cake was barely halfway up the pan when we put it in the oven, and rose quite a bit, but very slowly. Hope that helps!
isn’t a tube pan also two parts (the bottom/tube and the edge – like the pan you use for angel food cake)? Or is that something else again entirely?
I use a one-piece tube pan. Others mention in the comments using a two-piece kind — doesn’t sound like it’s been an issue.
Interesting. You have a link to a 9″ two piece tube pan on Amazon. I bought it because I wasn’t happy with the one I had. The dark interior and exterior caused the cake to burn and the apple juices ran out the bottom.
I am so sorry. I don’t think I ever noticed the words “2-piece” when I linked to it (it’s possible the description has changed in 8.5 years since I linked to it but who knows) because it looks exactly like mine in color and shape. The color shouldn’t have been a problem (it hasn’t been for me with the same color, although I think the photos show that the cake gets to a medium brown on the sides) but leakage? Ugh, again, I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized the link wasn’t to the right pan or that 2-piece tubes were a problem here (or I’d warn in the headnotes). See this comment and this.
I take credit for the burning because I know to lower oven temp when using dark pans. I’m very impressed that you get that wonderful, moist cake out of a one piece pan.
As an aside, this is one of my family’s favorite cake. My 38 year old son it’s the best cake he’s ever eaten.
I think that when you cut into it on the first day, with those moderately dark sides, etc. it’s a “good” cake. On the 2nd and beyond though, it’s a “great” cake because the apples have more time to soften it and the firmer edges aren’t noticeable.
Oh no! I make at least a dozen of these every year, and I always use a 2-piece tube pan I inherited from my grandmother. Maybe it’s an issue with that particular pan?
Looks amazing! I am going to make today. How far in advance can you make it from the ideal day to eat? Thanks Deb!
Easily 3 days. It’s good at 5 but 2 to 3 is peak.
I use a two piece pan and it’s fine.
me too.
What can I use instead of orange juice,as my daughter is allergic to oranges?
What did use instead of Oranges? I’m making it now with lemon juice. The batter tasted fine so i hope it comes out ok.
Someone previously had suggested apple cider as a sub for the orange juice.
I made your apple cake with a two piece tube cake pan that is years old and it came out perfect!
Be used the exact linked (2 piece) pan. Half dozen times and it’s perfect! This is my go to easy dessert.
Ugh *I’ve used
I have a two piece tube pan too and mine also leaked. Thanks to you I realized I needed to put a sheet pan under it and just fixed it. :) Thank you!
I made this today and looks and feels delicious and moist.Have to take it to my daughter tomorrow. However I halved the recipe and made it in an 8″ cake pan. I gave it half the time 45 mins but it was no where ready had to give it another 25 mins. Waiting to taste it!!
The link is to a one piece tube pan. I had to scroll down on the Amazon description to find where it said that it was 1 piece, but I finally found it.
The link she provided in the recipe is a one piece tube pan. The picture of the pan did not indicate that it was 2 pieces…so I scrolled and scrolled down far enough where it finally did say that it was a 1-piece tube pan.
I halved the recipe and baked it in one loaf pan because I was running low on apples. It worked great!
I made it in a 9×13 and it’s absolutely perfect.
I made the apple cake in 2 – 9” loaf pans, after mixing the apple chunks throughout the batter. Beautiful and Delicious.
I think the two piece pan folks are referring to is the Springform pan. Its often used for cheesecake. Another two piece pan is the Flan pan but it is shallow.
No it’s a 2 -piece tube pan where the bottom and inner hole part are separate.
In Nebraska we called 2-piece tube pans, “Angel Food Cake” pans. I’m making this a second time with such a pan. The first time around I used a bundt pan. Both time my baking time was much longer than the recipe suggests. I don’t know why. The cake was fine it just took a long time.
Deb, I’ve made this cake twice now for friends since you posted recently on IG. One was for the man who mills and bags our livestock feed down the road. His wife has had a terrible few years and is on oxygen. I learned today that this cake absolutely brought her to tears, as it’s the exact same cake she ate as a kid. She is allegedly mystified at how I could have reproduced her family’s apple cake 😂 So funny to know this cake has circulated in magazine clippings for decades. Thank you so much.
I made this cake today for a Rosh Hashanah dessert in a bundt pan. A few minor modifications: I substituted the sugar for 1 cup honey and 1/2 cup coconut sugar. I substituted the OJ for apple juice/cider. I used 1 stick of butter and 1 cup of olive oil. I made a cinnamon honey glaze to drizzle on top after it cooled. I used some of the apples on the bottom of the pan, then mixed the rest of the apples into the batter and poured over the apples at the base of the pan.
The cake was amazing! Moist and delicious with good apple flavor. However, no joke that the cake *really* rises…so much so that it was hard to get the cake out of the bundt pan (if you use a bundt pan, cool cake completely before trying to remove).
I meant 1 stick butter and 1/2 cup olive oil!
What type of honey/cinnamon glaze did you use on top? Thanks!
Hi Deb,
Dividing the batter in two and using two 9×13 pans works very well. I do not own a bundt or a tube pan so I decided to try with what I had. I also substituted the sugar for Stevia and my husband and daughter didn’t notice the difference. This is an amazing and beautiful cake! Will keep this recipe forever. Thanks for sharing with us.
My mom made a cake very similar to this (and that woman could NOT cook!). She mixed the batter and apples together and baked in a bundt pan. The apples were only lightly covered. When it came out of the oven the and was flipped out it had the most wonderful chewy caramelized crust. She drizzled with a cream cheese frosting!! YUMMY
I have baked this in a bundt pan as well as a 9 x 13″ pan. The bundt is good, but you can’t really run a knife all around the edges down the whole cake, so you take a chance of bits not coming out clean (can be covered up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar). The 9 x 13″ is good. But I sometimes want somethings smaller and have easily halved the cake both in my small bundt and well as 8 x 8″. In all cases it worked well and people loved it:-).
Can you use lemon juice? No oranges in the house!
Yes, although I might dilute it a little. Apple juice or cider work too.
I made this in a 9×13 pan and it worked great. Delicious! I’m not sure any will make it until tomorrow, but we will try! I cut the sugar in half (only used 1 cup in the cake) because I ran out. I actually like it a lot with less sugar and may never try it with more. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Thank you so much for mentioning a 9×13. I am itching to bake it in a casserole dish.
Re MemeGrl:
I feel the exact same way. I’m not a horrible cook, and my mom taught me a thing or two, but something about this website keeps me coming back despite the fact I’ve only made one or two receipes that have been posted. This is the only “food blog” I read, and I do just that; “read” it. The stories that go along with each post are just as wonderful as the photos and receipes themselves! Thank you!!!
My Irish Nana (may she rest in peace) made a cake just LIKE this and I always regretted not getting the recipe from her. I can’t wait to make this! Oh, the childhood memories it will stir!
I love your recipes! I was wondering the same about whether I could use my bavarian bundt pan, and whether I could just layer the apples and batter so that it is batter on top and bottom. Also, whether milk could be substituted for orange juice.
Yeah, I love fruit desserts but I hate citrus in my baked goods. Do you taste the orange?
No, not really. It’s only 1/4 cup.
I replaced it with reduced apple cider. I highly recommend the substitution.
I’m intrigued- how do you make reduced apple cider? Is it concentrated? Thanks in advance!
We use reduced apple cider (but there it’s reduced a lot more than you’d need it here, if at all) in these caramels, for reference.
It’s gotten to the point where I only check this site while I’m eating something… everything looks so fabulous that I get insanely hungry otherwise. Thanks for this Deb! I can’t wait to try it– my Nonnie will be SO proud.
As a member of the not so into fruit for dessert and all hail chocolate, this looks pretty good. I bet the husband would like it…maybe it’s time for a trip to the orchard.
Don’t think of it as dessert, think of it as breakfast! I make it with whole wheat flour and have it with a scoop of plain yogurt, feeling rather satisfied that I’ve hit all the food groups. : )
This looks amazing. I am going to the apple orchard hopefully next weekend so this might need to be made with the fantastic apples. This looks great!
Do you think it will taste good for the break fast on Yom Kippur? That’s when I am baking it! L’shana tova.
For those of us who fast it won’t work for breakfast but i bet it would be great for the break the fast supper.
Has anyone made an egg free version or does anyone have recommendations? I am contemplating a flax egg..thank you!
YUM. I’m making this this afternoon, though I’ll have to substitute grapefruit juice for orange juice.
Would you be willing to share the coding for the the part that posts your year-ago and two-year ago posts? I’d love to have one . . .
As soon as I go apple picking in a couple of months, I am making this sucker. Looks incredible!
My mother has made a very similar recipe for years (hers includes currants, which are quite nice with the apples). She always uses a 9×13 pan, and the cake comes out very dense and moist. This cake was the first thing I made for my husband and his family (before we were dating even). I like to think that it played a small part in catching his interest – it’s that good!
Thank god for this post. I was telling my friend less than two hours ago that I needed something to bake tonight. It’s in the oven as I type, and it smells amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This looks amazing! I guess I know what’s for dessert tonight (and breakfast tomorrow, etc.) I’ll definitely be making it in a bundt pan – I guess I’ll just have to eat it upside down – oh, the sacrifices I make :)
This looks delicious, I love apple cake!
Ohhh that looks good! I bought the ingred to make apple cake just this last weekend.I will have to try your recipe too!
This type of weather makes me want to bake apple cake, plant mums and roast marshmallows.
Stupid question but i’m a baking novice…i’m going to make this the day before a dinner party – do you keep the cake in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven when it’s time to eat? or do you keep it out at room temperature. I’m afraid of the bugs coming out for it, and I don’t have anything to succesfully cover it with. Also, should it be reheated?
Love this recipe! Can it be made in advance and frozen??
Yes, it freezes well.
You can leave it out overnight, covered. This cake keeps so well and tasted even better the next day!
also, as someone who just ordered that tube pan online for this cake…i hope you’ll show us more recipes in the future so I can utilize it!
I will definitely be making this recipe on Sunday! I will be going apple picking then and have been waiting for a wonderful recipe — this is it!
Thanks Deb!!
Btw, I love to read your stories, too, so fun :-)
I’m a new reader of this blog and I have one thing to say: you are absolute hell on my diet! Here I am, trying to be good, munching on carrot sticks and eating cottage cheese, but all that falls by the wayside when I see these drool-worthy pictures and fabulous recipes. I guess I’ll have to start sharing some goodies with my friends, else I might end up gaining weight instead of losing it. This apple cake is definitely getting a try out this weekend. I’ll console myself for the diet cheating by reminding myself that apples are good for you :-)
I was just looking at my apple cake recipe..it’s almost the same except the apples are sliced and it only has 1/2 tsp cinnamon! It’s the first cake I ever baked in my life…I was 19 (too many years ago!) I always thought it needed more cinnamon but recently I traded 1/4 C of the oil for maple syrup and that gave it enough flavor. I like the layered effect that yours has..it’s much like my Jewish coffeecake with struesel layers. Think I’ll chop my apples this time and layer them like yours. Thanks for this!
Picked a bunch of small apples at a local orchard and would love to get the ratio right – anyone have an estimate in weight or volume of apple cubes? 6 cups?
Can you google how much one apple weighs and then you can find out how much 6 apples weigh, approximately as apples vary in size. Then weigh your smaller apples to that amount.
I came here to ask this exact same question! I have all kinds of apple sizes after we went apple picking.
I had the same question. Googling it, I came up with 154 grams for a medium Macintosh apple. That’s 5.5 oz.
We just made this yum-mazing cake! Incredible! We didn’t have a Bundt pan so did it in a spring form pan. More apples for everyone! Thank you!!!!
Absolutely gorgeous! It is on my list of apple cakes to make this week.
I have made a very similar cake using apple cider or juice instead of orange. For those who don’t like the citrus in their cakes, this works quite well. Lovely photo of the recipe card—-priceless.
Has anyone had success baking this in something other than a tube pan? Also, I’ve never seen a recipe that mixes in the eggs after the dry ingredients. I’ll probably still follow the recipe as it’s written because it just looks so good, but maybe someone can explain this unorthodox technique to me!
I baked one recipe split between two 9” disposable cake pans (gifts for new neighbors) and it worked great. I think I baked for ~50 minutes, turning the temp down 25* halfway through.
(Got rave reviews, btw) 😊
I have had this exact recipe for at least 30 years, except that mine doesn’t say MacIntosh apples, it just says apples. It’s a wonderful recipe.
AAAh this cake looks heavenly! I need to bake this ASAP! Happy New Year!
It looks like my question about the bundt pan has been asked. But I’m thinking maybe there’s no reason a springform pan wouldn’t work? I have both a bundt and springform pan (in addition to layer cake pans and two pie plates and a tart pan) and I have a hard time justifying a new one.
Ooh, apple cake, definitely German! When I was in Berlin a few months ago, I ate Apfelkuche every chance I got — which was basically once a day. Often for breakfast, I might add…
This is the s*&t! Nothing better thans a spiced, moist apple cake and it’s even better ’cause its a family recipe.
Wherever it came from, it looks fabulous! I’m looking forward to trying it out!
It’s in the oven as I type. Num.
Oh, dear…
I’m trying to carve out the time to bake your Challah…I thought maybe tomorrow night.
Now I have a problem…Challah, or Apple Cake, Challah, or Apple Cake…(lather, rinse repeat..)
Such a dilemma. Maybe both this weekend?
Deb, thanks so much for this trip down memory lane. I grew up on Long Island, the sole Lutheran amidst a neighborhood full of cherished Jewish friends. I was invited to Bar/Bat Mitvahs, Holidays (High and otherwise), and actually ended up teaching at a Jewish Day School after college.
Can we count on you for a wonderful recipe for Noodle Kugel?
L’Shana Tovah!
Deb, too!
MemeGRL, just for the record, I totally want to give you a hug. Do you happen to live in the weird and wacky South like I do? If so, come have a glass of wine and let’s try and make an fabulous, edible mess in the kitchen!!
Seconding Elissa’s question – where do the walnuts get added? (And I’m guessing, from the photos and from this step being missing, that you prefer the cake without nuts?)
I have a fluted bundt pan that never seems to get used. If I use 2/3 of the batter to fill in the pattern of the bottom (really the top) and sides of the pan and create a chunnel to put the apples (in the center of the batter in a ring inside the cake) and follow up with the rest of the batter so that the cake has a bottom, then I won’t have to buy a tube pan. The apples won’t get browned at all even if they sink into the pan, but it would be fun to try it and see what happens. I wonder if this would work for that chocolate chip sour cream cake, that could be fun to try, too.
I made the honey cake and received rave reviews from co-workers and from my husband’s co-workers as well. Now I have to make this cake and buy this cake pan as well. Deb, your site is so inspiring. Thank you.
Ha! I just made this for Rosh Hashanah also. It’s so good-I don’t know why i don’t make it any other time of the year. My mom gave me the recipe too but she doesn’t remember where it came from….
Hi Suzanne — It’s not special code. I just do it manually (groan).
Baking beginner — You don’t need to reheat the cake, or at least that is not common–unless you really want to serve it warm, in which case, go for it. Room temperature or the fridge are fine overnight. Foil or plastic wrap–once the cake has completely cooled so condensation doesn’t dampen the top of the cake–is fine to wrap the pan in if you don’t want to unmold it.
Bee Cake — Yeah, the arrangement of the ingredients is pretty odd–and was even more so before I edited it. (Adding baking powder long after the flour, etc.) I am sure it will also work if you whisk the eggs in with the wet ingredients, but can assure you it works this way too.
Gwen — The walnuts could be mixed in in the end, I suspect. It’s funny because the recipe doesn’t say and we’ve never used them. But I am sure the end would work.
I tried out this cake tonight, and I’m happy to report that it bakes great in a loaf pan. I made half the recipe and it all fit nicely in my bread loaf pan. Delicious!
We have something in common! This exact recipe was considered a family heirloom. I remember adding it to my family tree history for a school assignment. My father made up stories about it – something about escaping Poland with it. And then one day my mother came clean, it was just a recipe my mom got at the tennis club from one of her friends. The horror!
Well, the apple cake is still one of my favorites. My mom makes it for me every time I visit.
It’s funny – I just made a very VERY similar cake for the holiday from Arthur Schwartz’s new cookbook, and for years my mom has also made a similar cake. In fact, it’s my absolute favorite cake!!
It’s says 6 apples but what should that come to in cups? Apples are so many different sizes
Thanks!
I tried out the cake substituting milk for orange juice (which I didn’t have), and baking in a 13×9 pan for 1.5 hours–worked out great! And it’s very tasty. I’m going to try the challah tomorrow. My Jewish boyfriend will be happy.
This looks absolutely wonderful. I would have thought the apples would be dry, but I suppose it’s more like a apple cake/pie combo so the moistness is still there. Love it, want it.
I made this with apple juice rather than orange juice and it was incredible. (Didn’t have orange juice in the house.) Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! :)
Does anyone else get kind of grossed out when a recipe calls for a cup of vegetable oil? The cake does look fantastic and I would love to make it. Is there a good substitute?
I used melted butter.
I substituted applesauce for half the oil and it came out great! Read somewhere years ago that you can do this to lighten a recipe and and it has worked for me many times.
I think Deb told me to use applesauce in place of 1/2 oil. I almost think that consuming a healthy dose of oil is worth it for this cake.
What a fantastic use for my tree full of apples that are about to turn into sauce! I imagine it might also be divine with pears, although completely different…
Leslie – vegetable oil – canola oil is the best – is so good for you! It’s the kind of heart-healthy fat we need in our diets!
It looks gorgeous and must taste heavenly! A wonderful home recipe!
Cheers,
Rosa
That looks fantastic. And what’s better, it goes well with a funny story.
Awesome-looking cake! And so easy, I must try it. Love the backstory, too. (Or should that be “bakestory”?)
Leslie, I’m not sure what’s gross about vegetable oil, but you probably could use grapeseed oil or even olive oil instead (I’ve used both in muffins and they tasted fine).
Leslie…you can use melted butter. Or half applesauce and half oil or butter.
Oh Deb. Manually? There has got to be a way to code this . . .I’d go research it but I have APPLE CAKE to eat. We love it. Thank you so much for sharing it.
PS I layered the walnuts pecans on top of the apples.
Oh awesome, this is basically a carrot cake base but with apples!
Hi love, i live in Australia and have made a many a recipe of yours. I just made your spinach quince, it was bliss, best ever great idea with the pie crust! just one question … what is ‘half and half’ ? my mother did’nt know either , i dont think we have it here. Oh and i have a request if you might like to consider =D a lime and coconut cake? i’ve been tying to find a recipie aboslutly everywhere, and not smart enough to come up with one myself. I can see it now… crumbly coconut on top mmm. i have no idea how make up my own recipie. Thanks for the fantastic websites im sure everyone really appeciates it .
Love from Australia!
Half-and-half, also known as half cream in the United Kingdom, is a simple blend of equal parts whole milk and light cream. It averages 10 to 12% fat, which is more than milk but less than light cream. Due to its lower fat content than cream, it can’t be whipped.
Oh yay, it is dairy free! I am avoiding all dairy as we live in China and the dairy here is all contaminated at the moment. Thank you!! It is in the oven now- 25 minutes after reading the recipe! :) Smells great already!
Heh heh, I felt the same way when I found out that our family’s “traditional” Christmas Eve Beer Cheese Soup did not have some illustrious familial past, but instead was something Grandma saw in a magazine and started making. Ah well, that doesn’t diminish the absolute deliciousness of the soup.
Oh dear. Apple cake is my FAVORITE and my friend won’t give up her awesome recipe. I’m TOTALLY making this in hopes my recipe trumps hers for not giving it up. LOL! Thanks for posting. :)
okay okay stop I have had enough!!!! Now I have to make this one also?? I am going to the store down in my village-hoping for Macintosh apples and I am making this today.
Wow it’s amazing how many names this cake gets. My grandmother used to call it Jewish Apple Cake, here in MD its reffered to as Carolina Apple Cake, and I’ve also heard it refered to as Ma’s Bunt Apple Cake.
Whatever you call it, it still tastes amazing!
Holy connoli, this looks delectable!. A decadence of cinnamon, apples and cakey goodness! I melted at the mere site of this cake. Although I am not an expert baker of cakes ( maybe bread) & tremble at the thought of making one ( I don’t like to fail when cooking/baking ), I can’t wait to try this out. It looks too simple to mess up and too yummy not too face my cake-make fears.
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! Thanks for sharing!
I grew up in the Bible Belt South (didn’t even meet a Jewish friend until grad school) but grew up with this much beloved Jewish Apple Cake. When I was a freshman in college my mom sent one in a care package (mails beautifully, by the way) because it’s a pretty effective “I love you.” I haven’t made it in a year or so, but will have to do so soon. Thanks for the reminder. BTW, I need to get my recipe out to check, but isn’t this a huge cake? Lots to share…
I like that you posted your mother’s apple cake recipe. I just posted my mother’s apple crisp recipe this week and it will always be one of my favorites. I am also going to have to check out your mother’s chocolate chip sour cream cake.
I made this yesterday about 4.6 seconds after I read the recipe – it’s great! I used a bundt pan, as it was the only pan with a hole that I had, and it worked just fine! Mmm-mmm.
Happy New Year from Israel and thanks for sharing this recipe with us!
Though the tube pan I have has been bought in Germany….. it is definitely too small for your Mom’s Apfelkuchen, what size of pan should I get??
Thanks!
As you were describing the cake at the beginning, I kept thinking, there’s no way this could be the same recipe as MY mom’s apple cake, right? WRONG. It’s exactly the same recipe. We call this the ten-pound-apple cake because it’s so damn heavy!!! And, delicious.
PS I’ve used gala apples before, successfully.
This cake looks incredible. My keyboard is covered in drool. I have no shame.
I’m actually going to rush home and bake this tonight AND I WON’T SHARE ANY WITH ANYONE.
Debra,
I made your honey cake for the holiday, and everyone loved it, along with a brisket from 95 Gourmet magazine and a noodle kugel.
WHY didn’t you show me this before? I have a zillion apples sitting here!
I am going to get right to it! It’s gorgeous, and my favorite cake of all time.
Happy New Year.
Stacey
PS
Do you have a tube pan with removable sides?
I have springform pans and a tube pan, but none like this one.
Makes it easier to take the cake out? I will find go buy one. Didn’t know they existed.
Stacey
that looks amazing! just made my first apple +cinnamon cake and loved it. this sounds awesome – thanks for the recipe!
Another key difference between tube pans and Bundt pans if the volume they can hold. Tube pans come in various sizes but generally they are larger than stylized Bundt pans which typically hold about ten cups. I use an Angel Food cake pan as my tube pan it is quite large. If I were to transfer the batter from that pan into a Bundt pan it would overflow the Bundt pan and create a disgusting mess in the oven. I have to use a additional small pans to contain the extra batter when I want to put one of my pound cakes in a Bundt pan. I make a pound cake that is about the same size as this cake. It fills a Bundt pan and not quite a 9 * 5 loaf pan. Oh, one other thing. The original Bundt pan was large – it held/holds about 15 cups so if you have one of those you probably can put this recipe in it with no problem.
Today is the coolest day Nashville has seen since early spring – PERFECT baking weather, especially when it comes to apple cake!
That cake looks soooo freeking good!! I’m going apple picking again in a couple weeks, so this is what I’m making…I’m getting tired of the same old apple crisp or pie!
One of the reason that oil is used, rather than butter, is so that the cake can be parve, and eaten with either a dairy or meat meal, right? It is, after all, a Jewish holiday cake. And as many have already said, using a vegetable oil is much better for our health and hearts.
I just made an orange cake for a second night dinner, which would be a MENA (middle east north African) version of a Jewish New Year cake–more like an upside down cake with slices of oranges but a similar dense batter cakey-ness. I think it’s important that some of the apples remain outside of the cake to get that soft sweet caramelized gooey-ness which is probably always the best part of such cakes…
thanks, deb!
I live in Zurich and there were Bundt -tins aplenty. I bought a flexible silicone one and am looking forward to the resulting cake – I am sure it will be fine. The oil is a bonus – I am trying to avoid dairy for a few weeks, so this is perfect :0)
Thanks for sharing.
India
Well, I just popped this in the oven in my bundt pan, but must have done something wrong as my pan was just about full before it went in the oven–am worried about how much its going to rise. . .I also subbed buttermilk for the OJ, as I had the buttermilk in the fridge and thought it might be a nice flavor along with the apples and cinnamon–will post a review and update after its done cooking. Crossing my fingers. . .
Wow – this looks amazingly good. My husband loves apple pie, so I bet he’d be over the moon for this cake! Thanks for posting.
Shannon – half and half is sort of like a light cream that many Americans add to their morning coffee (I believe it’s a mixture of half regular milk and half heavy cream). In some countries they call it “light cream” or “half cream.” :)
HI!
This looks DELICIOUS!! Is there a substitute for eggs by any chance for this one? My daughter has diary and egg allergy and I would have loved to make this cake for her bday. Or if you know an good cake without diary & egg that I can make and everyone else to enjoy as well. please let me know! Her bday is next month.
Thank you!
Marcea
My mom made this!!! I remember being grossed out my the orange juice as a kid..I know…random!
She lost the recipe but now here it is. She always made it in a 9X13…I do remember it puffing up and spilling over though so maybe it is too much batter for that pan?
An update: just took it out of the oven after 90 minutes, and while the cake did not spill out of the bundt pan as I had feared, putting the apples in first (a la apple upside down cake) resulted in a not so clean release from the pan. So I scraped out the stuck bits, used them to fill in the whole left by the bundt pan tube, and am now looking for a glaze I can use to “pretty it up” a bit. It smells great!
Wow! This apple cake looks so good. I will try the recipe! I love the picture of the hand written recipe card. Thanks for the wonderful blog I read on a daily basis now!
Haha, awesome!!! That’s exactly the recipe from my (German) grand-mother. I loooove this apple cake :)
It’s best when it has rested for a day!
So, my mom got this same recipe from a coworker years and years ago and she’s been tinkering with it ever since. Here’s what I know about her tinkering successes: the bundt pan works just fine. If you want to put the apples in first, spray it really well with non-stick spray first. If you don’t like to use a whole cup of oil, you can use up to half applesauce/half oil and the cake is still yummy and moist. Also, if you get a wild hair (as my mom would say with a completely straight face) – add a little rum to the apple mix. (If you’re me and you add more than just a little, you get this fabulous rum-apple cake which smells oh-so-good! I have to go bake now.)
The rum is exactly what I was thinking. Nice to know someone has already tried it with good results.
I’m going to make this cake with my son when he get’s home from school today. No walnuts in the house but I do have pecans, so they’re going in! I will probably mix them in with the apple and spice mixture myself. I love fruit desserts(and chocolate ones too, heck anything dessert) but it’s rare to find one that isn’t just pie or a tart. Thanks for the recipe!
Shannon, half and half is a light cream. It has about 12% butter fat in it. It’s called half cream in the UK.
this looks do good. I love apple cake especially with some whipped cream . I m in heaven thinking about it only. :-)
It is definitely the season for baking with apples. Your cake is beautiful and looks delicious! Wish we could have a tasting party!
Just visiting everyone in my blogroll today gathering recipes for National Apple Month (October) Looks like I’ve harvested not only a delightful Apple Cake recipe but also memories in the making…GREAT post!
Thanks soooo much for sharing!
don’t forget to add this recipe to your apple recipes in your topic index!
Certainly DOES look like your mom makes the best apple cake – what a phenomenal recipe!!
just picked 30 lbs of cortland apples last weekend… this might be a must-bake!! :)
Apple Cake with Rum Sauce has been a family favorite for years! Rum Sauce is drizzled over the top, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and that is perfection. This version looks like a great one to try.
Rum Sauce:
½ cup butter
½ cup evaporated milk
½ sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum flavoring
Microwave butter, milk and sugar 2-3 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla and rum flavoring. Serve over Apple Cake (or sawdust… ; )~ )
Sorry, that is 1/2 cup of sugar in the Rum Sauce recipe above…
I got this recipe from a friend about 5 years ago. I get so excited when the apples are in season and I can make this cake. It is especially good with hot custard poured over the top.
Well I made the cake this evening and I must say it was fantastic. I used a mixture of Granny Smith and Fuji, 3 of each-no Macintosh where I live. The cake fit into a spring form pan with a tube insert for the center. I though this cake would billow over and I would be eating out of my oven, but it all stayed in and It puffed up just a bit over the top of the pan so it was really pretty. thanks for a great recipe!
Tula, the benefit of cooking for your friends, and giving it away is that you don’t HAVE to eat ALL of the calories, and they do. Thus, they become larger at a faster pace than you do, so when you’re standing next to them in pictures, its all relative, ha ha. AND you get to keep cooking the amazing food on this blog! Whoo hoo, LOVE this stuff!
LOVE it, never seen orange juice in a cake before!:)
Anything with two cups+ of sugar will surely taste good… I’ll try it with half that!
You make it look so easy – yum!!
This is something that I am positive I can and will make. Like right now. And it will probably be gone by tonight.
Thank you Deb!!!
PS you were super cute on Martha that day!
This cake is in the oven. I baked it with my six year old after school today, and am planning it for before-dinner snacks tonight. The kids will be forced to eat it still warm… but I don’t think they’ll mind.
I didn’t notice the missing directions for walnuts until I’d started mixing — I decided to mix them in with the apples.
For those who made the cake without a citrus juice, how did it turn out? I would think that the acid in the orange juice (or the buttermilk) would be needed to help the baking powder do its job, and the cake might rise less if you used apple juice.
As I was admiring your mom’s recipe card, I realized I have that same Martha Stewart conversion card that’s peeking out from behind it on my fridge!
Debra,
I made your mom’s cake tonight and it came out beautiful!
I did a post on it tonight.
Thanks!
Stacey
Deb, I can’t wait to make this cake, but please tell me what size tube pan, and by “prepared” do you mean greased and floured?
I’ve made a very similar recipe using either 2 loaf pans or a bundt pan.
When I make it in the bundt, I put the apples in the middle.
Deb — I love your site and visit it religiously (no pun intended today!) but have never posted until now — my mom also makes this cake and calls it “Special Apple Coffee Cake” (not sure why it’s “special” — just delicious).
The only difference in our recipe (probably my mom’s modification) is that our apple mixture uses 1/3 c. brown sugar instead of white and also has 1/2 c. raisins (and no nuts). We use a bundt pan and put in 1/3 batter, then 1/2 the apple mixture (being careful not to touch the sides of the pan so it doesn’t burn), then 1/3 batter, the other 1/2 of the apples, and finally the rest of the batter.
It has definitely made believers out of non-fruit dessert people, as you mentioned, and whenever I make it I always do so about 2 days in advance and have it sit on the counter to let the flavors come together and moisten further. We bake it for 1 hr, 15 min. at 375 and in case you hadn’t tried and were wondering, it freezes beautifully!
Thanks for all the terrific recipes and inspiration!
p.s. My mom says she originally found the recipe 40 years ago in a Mazola Corn Oil ad!
Love the recipe card. totally reminds me of my Greek gramma’s handwriting. and I have been dying for a good Jewish apple cake recipe. you’re nice to share. I might be disowned for doing that in my family!
Unlike almost everyone esle who’ve made comments, I haven’t eaten or made this apple cake. So, I for one, say “thank you Deb’s mother”. Now — how about your chopped chicken liver recipe? your family’s beef brisket recipe? Pretty please.
This looks delicious! I’m not big on fruit desserts, but I do love pretty much anything with apples!
OOOOOO, it’s a good thing I’m stocked with apples from the farmer’s market. Mr Chiots has been begging for some baked apple goodness, this should work.
oh my this is gorgeous! i can’t wait to try it :-D thanks!
An absolutely gorgeous apple cake.
My Mom used to make this cake when I was a little girl. I made it for my little girl a few years ago. It’s a good cake to make in the fall. When we were kids we would spread butter on our piece of apple cake. I better not do that now!
My mom made a cake just like this. Thank you for bringing back some nice memories.
My grandmother makes a variation of this cake in a 9×13 pan – she puts the batter (including walnuts) in the pan, glops some spoonfuls of cherry pie filling on top and swirls it in a bit, then tops it with thinly-sliced apples overlapping in rows or patterns. And like the one described above is always better the second day! Makes a great breakfast on the run.
Oh I have to make this! I really have to make this. I am usually just a silent admirer of your blog but this recipe is to awesome to keep my mouth shut! Thank You!!
Oh no! Now I have to decide between making this or the honey cake for Shabbat. Thanks for a delicious-sounding dilemma!
Ok, I have to have this. My friends have golden delicious trees. will this work? they are a bit tart so will I have to compensate? I’ve never baked with fresh apples before so hurry and let me know before they give all their apples away!
My grandma, bless her soul, made exact sort of cake. In a bundt pan. Or a loaf pan, or a skillet, or a cookie sheet (when I was reaaaally little, she made a slightly flat, but golden brown and delicious version of this cake on a cookie sheet, it was nicknamed Cake-slash-Dunes).
I’ve learned to make it, making it with her, at the tender age of, oh, about six, and since I’ve made it in every vessel from a glass casserole dish to an antique cast-iron duck pan.
My friend Helen makes my other friend Mary’s (rather blonde) version of this cake in an electric Dutch oven, my grandma would often add sweetened, condensed milk or cottage cheese to hers and I, I’ve made this cake with red currant puree instead of apples once.
Awesome, it was not, but point remains – this cake is extremely flexible – no-one I’ve come in contact with so far has had a written or otherwise set recipe for it, yet the only way to truly screw it up is to forget the flour (which we’ve done, don’t worry;).
Now, where’d this wonder come from? Neither German, Jewish or Russian origins could be ruled out, but being as simple as all things truly brilliant, it may have appeared from the primordial goop along with the first amphibians or from the dip dish at one of Adam and Eve’s first housewarming parties…
Either way, it was known as “sharlotka” among my childhood friends and their parents.
Hoiwever , I must say that your version is quite a bit more virtuous than mine – with, oh, I don’t know – half a stick of butter, it’s hardly a health food.
I never realized apple cakes were so popular! My friends and co-workers certainly weren’t familiar with my Dutch version, but they learned to love it fast.
I’ll have to try this one, too. More the merrier.
This is such a great dessert for the new season! Looks so cozy and delicious!
I have just made my first ever “Dorset Apple Cake” which obviously originates from the county of Dorset here in England. The quantities/ingredients differ slightly, no walnuts, the zest of an orange rather than orange juice and all spice rather than cinnamon, but in essence the same thing and totally delicious. I made mine in a square 9 inch pan and it came out fine (beginners luck maybe?). My apples came form a tree in a friends garden so I have no idea what variety they were but they were cooking apples rather than eating apples and tasted great when cooked. Can’t wait to make this again!
Keep on bloging Smitten Kitchen, even though I have to convert your american measurements to the European equivalent it’s so worth it. I love your work!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Hmm, I guess I know why I woke up early, now. To make this. I’ll let you know when I’m done . . .
Duessa — I am actually a big fan of baking with those yellow apples, as they are a little less juicy so make things around them less wet. You shouldn’t need to adjust the sugar.
I actually made a version of this recipe this past weekend, because we had a LOT of apples in the house. The only difference was that I added some orange zest, a little more baking powder, and I did put it all in a bundt pan, mainly because I don’t own a tube pan. The recipe I had also stated to cook it for an hour and a half, but I had to turn off the oven at an hour and ten minutes, otherwise it would have dried out. Maybe my oven is hotter then I think it is. But the most important thing was that apple cake is DELICIOUS! And for those that don’t bake too often it really is an easy cake to bake, and it is perfect for the fall. Thanks Deb for putting forth this great cake for others to enjoy.
I have to make this cake. I have a similar recipe that’s wonderful, but this looks even better. From your photos it looks like the cake is served top side up, not inverted. My tube pan does not have a removable bottom, so I should flip it out of the pan and then fip it right side up again?
Made it last night. It’s great but my apples did not stay on top like yours did. I wonder why.
Strangely enough for a cup of oil it was not the least bit greasy and it worked well eating it out of hand. My Son and Husband had to drive harvesters until late in the night to try and beat the coming rain . They drive and eat at the same time and this was a good choice for them…plus they liked it. Thanks
I made this cake yesterday in a 13×9 inch pan (I didn’t layer it, I just poured in the batter first, then put the apples on top) and have a note of caution: it won’t take an hour and a half to bake. Mine burnt a bit on the bottom (cake abuse!) and it wasn’t even in there for the full hour and a half.
I know, I know, you’re supposed to check on the food you have baking in the oven. I was distracted and forgot!
At any rate: the parts that weren’t burnt were OMG DELICIOUS. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hey everyone — Please keep in mind that baking times can vary wildly from oven to oven, depending on how the ovens circulate heat and whether the have been calibrated correctly. I always recommend that people start testing for doneness 2/3 of the way through a baking time, especially if your oven runs warm. Ours runs cool, and this took well over 1.5 hours to bake! (Most frustratingly, I may add.)
Hi Deb,
Thank you for your comment. The apple cake has been in my oven in a normal cake pan for 2.5-3h so far, and I’ve decided to check in another hour (instead of every half hour after the first 1.5h prescribed baking time). I have done over 30 recipes of yours and this is the only thing as well as the french toast casserole to not have been 100% reliable. I am a little worried the outer parts of the cake will be burnt, but oh well.
I also have to say that I very strongly believe it’s either because I did not have a bundt/ tube pan or because our oven has unsuspectingly started running low…
What size is your normal cake pan? 2.5 to 3 hours sounds bananas long to me. Do you have an oven thermometer in there?
Hi Deb, replied a week later to say that my oven was running low ! I just received my oven thermometer today. Thanks for coming back to me though ! xx
Oops, thanks for the update. I’m catching up on comments I missed while I was on vacation, so my reading is a little out of order.
Found what it was ! My oven runs at least 20° low. Did your “tarte tatin anew” and your blueberry muffins (TO DIE FOR! Never had a muffin this good, where I come from they are always stale and dry) and both were undercooked until I blasted heat on them for 10′. So I got an oven thermometer and am hoping to never have baking issues.
… explains why your jacked-up banana bread was always so small since I moved into my new flat.
Oh that looks delicious! I’m definitely going to try it because I always buy more apples than I intend to eat (with the intent to use the surplus to bake something yummy). Thank you for also adding the recipe card photo to Flickr, makes it easy to fave and and remember where I got the recipe from :)
oh my heavens…this cake looks so wonderful.. I am going to bake it this weekend. Thanks for such a great recipe. I can smell it right now
Deb –
Totally my fault. I just thought I’d throw the tip out there for those who are planning to use a different pan or are new to baking. I should have known better!
Deb, this looks wonderful. I love homey deserts and will try this later this afternoon. Many thanks to you and your Mom for sharing!
You are right; it is even better the next day!
This looks fantastic! I think my family would love this for Sunday dinner. It looks easily vegan-ized, so I may toy with making a vegan version later(but not for my dairy and egg eating lovies, just me). Thanks!
Did you ever veganize it? I usually use flax/chia eggs as a replacement, but 4 eggs seem like a lot to replace.
I think that is the most delicious looking apple cake I have ever seen. Just from the photos alone I can see how great the texture would be if I bit into it…mmmm…apple-y and soft…
Oops. Sorry. Got distracted there. Time to wipe drool off keyboard.
This is literally the same recipe that my friend’s mom gave me about 4 years ago for the holidays, and that I’ve used ever since as my own. Which is funny because as you were describing it, I was thinking “There’s no way it’s better than Barbara’s!” And, it’s the same! Well, there is a slight different. The first step is to beat the eggs UNTIL FOAMY (emphasis in the original). Do you think it makes a difference?
When I was doing a little research, I came across a version from an old Gourmet that had the separated and whipped egg whites. I like the idea, actually–it would lighten the cake up. However, I stuck with this because this is how my mother always makes it.
In fact, in almost any cake you can separate out the egg whites, whip them and fold them back in in the end for an airier cake. It’s a great trick for pancakes and waffles, too.
I saw that the handwritten recipe calls for 3 cups of flour and then the typed version calls for 2 3/4 cups. Which is right?
Thanks!! Looks SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good.
I made your mom’s cake this morning and it was absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
I baked this today and it’s incredible. A friend of mine is going to give me challah making lessons tomorrow, so I’m going to take this over as a thank you. This is the first recipe I’ve made from your site and I’m so encouraged to try even more. Thanks!
No way! My grandmother and mother make the EXACT same apple cake, and have passed the tradition on to me. I am, incidentally, amused to report that our recipe comes not from the old world or even an old neighbor, but instead from a 1960s Catholic church community cookbook.
I made your Apple cake last night and I put it into my silicone bundt pan and it worked fine (I did make a point of trying to mix in some cake batter into the apple bits on the bottom of the tin which would be the top of the cake)
I used only one cup of sugar as I find many american recipes use much more sugar than I am used to, and even a cup of caster sugar made quite a sweet cake.
I also found that the top of the cake burned quite badly (which wasnt too bad as it became the bottom but I had to cut a lot off) and I turned the oven down a bit.
I took it to work and it was very well recieved, and a recipe I would make again. I think I might add some allspice and mace and cloves to make the flavour a little more complex, but I did like the way the apples retained the flavour so the cake was quite tasty!
I just made your Mom’s Apple Cake. It’s really good. I mistakenly
baked it for an extra 15 min and it was still moist.
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing:P
Hi Debs,
This is the second recipe I’ve found that’s calling for so much sugar. The other was the zucchini bread, and for that I didn’t use all that was called for.
I’m just wondering how sweet this apple cake really is and if I want something less, how much should I go for?
Thanks!
my friend mona is bringing this to a dinner party at my house tomorrow night, i cannot wait….
I love apples and this sounds like a great cake idea.
Hey I hope you didn’t already answer this question, but I did not see it addressed. In my experience apple sizes can vary wildly, esp if using grocery store ones versus local, and I have messed some stuff up lately by using not enough small, local apples. Can you give me an idea of the size of the apples–small like local, small orchard grown ones? Large like those huge granny smiths found in grocery stores? Perfectly inbetween?
Thanks for sharing–and thanks to your mom also. This looks wonderful.
the cake looks wonderfully delicous. i tend to use butter more than oil –
do you know why sometimes one is used rather than the other? and is it
possible to substitue one for the other? melted butter instead of oil
in this cake. thanks.
I made it in a bundt pan last night, and it turned out beautifully. However, I found that I only had to cook it an hour and five minutes. And I put a little more than half of the dough in the first layer to make sure the top of the bundt cake didn’t collapse with all the apples.
it was fabulous! thanks deb!
I’m baking this cake right now…. The batter is fabulous! I only had a big round spring-form pan, no bundt or tube, so I’ll let you know how that turns out. I used the walnuts and layered them in before the apple/sugar.
One question however…. about how many cups are 6 macintosh apples? That variety isn’t sold here, so I picked 6 apples from the supermarket at random — and ended up with a lot more apple than your photos show. I didn’t hold back but chucked them all in. Apples shrink when they cook, right?
PS To BlueRose, I skimped on the sugar too
I made this last night with great success! I subbed milk for the apple juice, which turned out fine. One thing – the batter is pretty thick. I was so absorbed with scraping out the remnants of the batter from the bowl and not pouring it down the tube in my pan, I let it all collect on one side of the pan. Since this was my second layer of batter, it promptly sunk to the bottom. To prevent having a cake with all cake on one side and all apple on the other, I mixed it all together in the pan. So instead of having a clearly layered end product, I have a yummy cake with apple pieces studded throughout. Mine baked in exactly 90 minutes.
Sugar questions: You can of course cut back on the sugar, but keep in mind that you should not just look at measurements such as “2 cups” and jump to the conclusion that a cake is overly sweet (which this is not). It is simply a huge cake, 1.5 to 2xs the volume of most single-layer cakes. That said, I am pretty sure my mother often cuts it back by a 1/4 cup. I think you could drop it as low as 1 2/3 without the cake particularly suffering. Hope that helps.
Apple questions: McIntoshes are actually on the small to medium size, but you can of course use any old apple you like. I simply put that in there because my mother has always baked with them, and I have always snacked on them as she baked with them, and they have this uber-apple-y flavor I always associate with early fall.
Oil questions: You can substitute melted butter or margarine for the oil. However, I just wanted to throw one thing out there–butter is, of course, my favorite things to put in cakes. It’s flavor is unparalleled. However, I have found that cakes that use oil tend to stay just that more moist, just a little big longer. Perhaps a half-swap of butter would give you the best of both worlds.
Hope all that helps!
I made this Wednesday night and it is absolutely delicious. I think the next time I would substitute brown sugar for part of the white sugar and use buttermilk instead of orange juice (because I think buttermilk makes everything better). It was a huge hit though!
I just took the kids apple picking. They picked twenty-five pounds of apples. Believe it or not, we are almost out. I was planning to take them again, and I will give this a try before they all get used up.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Deb,
I ended up using 1 cup of sugar instead of 2 and the cake didn’t suffer at all. It’s perfectly sweet, just the way I like it.
Thanks!
I made it! Thank you. The recipe is a keeper! I made it in a square pan … see it at http://sleeplessinwisc.blogspot.com/
Hi Smitten Kitchen.
I made this recipe last night and it was such a hit at work. The only thing is that the bottom ended up being a bit hard .. I should have cooked it about 10 minutes less ..
Thank your mother for the recipe :)
I made your Mom’s Apple Cake the other night and had a piece for breakfast the next morning – incredible! I followed your recipe exactly: perfect, perfect, perfect! Thank you for sharing!
I am now obsessed with your mom’s apple cake. I made it last night and it is delicious!!! ( I’ve had it for every meal since then.)
I’ve made this recipe a zillion times when I was younger. Then I got more health conscious. I haven’t made it in years because I cannot justisfy a full cup of oil in a cake. I should experiment with lightening it up a bit. I do miss it, it is a delicious cake.
I just made this today and all I have to say is wow! It is so easy to make and comes out incredibly moist and flavorful. I gave half to my mom and she called me while she was still eating to let me know how good it was. I’ll be making this recipe again very soon!
I made your mom’s cake and it was delish. My husband loved it. Thank you for sharing. See the pics and my blog at http://gengandchip.wordpress.com/2008/10/04/autum-days-are-here-again/
Hi. I´m a brasilian guy, and made this cake. It´s fantastic! I will make more times.
Wow – this is gorgeous… and it just made me sort of wistful about being a kid! My mom made the Jewish apple cake all of the time when I was growing up. I think the only difference was she sliced her apples. The chunks are gorgeous.
This cake is just wonderful. I made it in a bundt pan, putting the apples on the bottom first. Did not come out as cleanly as I would have liked but tastes amazing. I was a bit skeptical about the batter because it looked more like cookie dough, but once all the eggs were incorporated it looked just like the picture. Thanks for the recipe, love your blog.
Forever the multi-tasker, I decided to bake both your Mom’s Apple Cake, and the Challah on the same day.
Deb, my kitchen has never, ever smelled better than it does right now! I am twitching, because the Challah is still VERY hot, and all I want to do is rip into it and slather it with butter. The Apple cake is waiting patiently for my mom, my daughter and her family to come for dinner tomorrow night. Thank G-d that there are two loaves of Challah- I’m quite sure that one loaf will be gone before morning.
Beautiful recipes, Deb. Thank you!
I have always emphatically proclaimed that I DO NOT BAKE. Since stumbling upon your site, this is the 4th thing I have baked (and I’ve done two of your recipes twice – the blueberry bars and homemade oreos). I’m glad I read through the comments because the cake is in the oven right now and I was just lamenting about how long 1 1/2 hours is to wait. I am hoping that this comes out as wonderfully as the other baked goods have. Keep ’em coming!!
Thanks, Deb’s mom (via Deb of course)! I can always use another apple cake recipe. It looks fantastic!
This looks absolutely fabulous! I’m heading to my very first Thanksgiving Potluck next weekend and am very much looking forward to showing up with this! Apples? Cake? Delish!
WOW….I just made this and it’s WONDERFUL! The only mod I made was the cooking time. It took 2 hours and 15 minutes. This recipe is going in my “permanent” file. THANK YOU!
This cake is absolutely magnificent and mouth-watering. And your pictures are just perfect!
My 4 year old and I just made this cake, and it turned out great! I baked it in a 9×13 pan for 55 minutes and it’s perfect! Thanks!
This looks so wonderful! I will definitely try it.
I am always looking for easy recipes, and this looks pretty straight forward indeed. Judging from the comments left, others’ have been thrilled with it!
Apple recipes are a hit this time of the year! Thanks so much for sharing this! I might just bring it to Thanksgiving dinner :-D
~Cat
my cake came out kind of hard–any ideas what might have happened? (the apples were nice and soft, though)
This cake was my Saturday project and it was just perfect. We had a nice family dinner and this was the perfect ending to our meal. I was just wondering, do you think that it would be ok to add sugar to the greased pan before pouring in the batter to add that caramel-y crunch that some coffee cakes have? Or would it just burn? I’m new to baking and apprehensive about testing ideas that could turn out to just be disasters.
I wanted to share my baking experience with this recipe. As a novice baker, I was impressed at how quickly the recipe came together and at how many of the ingredients I already had in my meagerly stocked pantry. A few things for other novices coming to the plate: first, the batter is super thick. But don’t be alarmed. Second, as others have noted, oven temperature is critical. I already knew my oven ran hot, but even with my adjustments the timing was still off and the cake was overdone. The flavor, however = MAGNIFICENT. Deb, thanks so much for sharing your wonderful gifts with food and photography with the masses.
Thanks to all your encouragement and ideas, everyone–especially Donna and Jenya and Jen, and others whose comments I can’t find right now. Redengine88, I wish I did live in the south to take you up on your kind offer. I made it in a 9×13 baking dish since I had so so many apples and figured this would be the way to go.
HUGE success. Fall heaven on a plate. Joins the similar apple cake from the NYTimes as my new favorite way to eat apples. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04Food-t.html?scp=3&sq=apple%20cake&st=cse
Thanks to all and happy fall!
Deb, keep ’em coming. And thanks too for your assiduous follow-up!
I made this cake this weekend and it was a huge success! It smelled so good coming out of the oven that my husband and I dove in and sampled a slice before it was fully cooled. It was everything you said it would be Deb – flavorful, moist and full of cinnamony apple chunks. I cooked it in a 12 in springform pan and it took almost 1 hour 50 minutes to fully cook in the center. I’ve got an oven thermometer and it read 350 the whole time. I also couldn’t find McIntosh apples so I used a mix of granny smith, gala and golden delicious. My new favorite!
I made this yesterday and it is fabulous! I also had to bake an extra 15 minutes in a standard tube pan. There were still a few crumbs on the tester when I pulled it out, so I let it cool in the pan about 10 minutes assuming that it would cook a little bit more, and it pulled away from the sides of the pan perfectly so I could pop the center out with the cake. I cooled it fully before inverting it off the cone, then back onto the platter. It cuts beautifully with a serrated bread knife. I got tons of compliments and requests for the recipe. I was also thinking that this would be a good one to try with rhubarb (only probably mixing in the rhubarb) Thanks Deb!
whoah! That sounds and looks amazing. Thanks for sharing it…I am sure my crew here would love to devour that.!
Kimmie
mama to 6
one homemade and 5 adopted
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. The pictures were so gorgeous I had to bake it! The smell while it was on the oven was scrumptious.
My husband loves it! We couldn’t wait for it to cool off. Delicious!
Your pictures look beautiful, and you had such a great story to tell, I just couldn’t stop going back to the blog, like it was calling me (that, and the 4 kg apples I bought 2 days before you posted it!). I did not even resist 1 week before trying the recipe! Brought it to my family for the week-end, everyone loved it.
I bake it in a bundt pan, starting with half of the batter, but next time I will put less. As the bottom is not flat, half of the batter makes a really high piece of cake without any apples, which is a shame! :-)
ok… just put it in the oven.. but OMG the batter was THICK! I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out… when I tried the 1/2 the batter thing, it barely covered the bottom of the pan…
wait and see, I guess!
lol.. umm.. i seem to have messed this one up
Made this last week, and the two of us ate the ENTIRE thing in a matter of 4 days. Shameful. Had to tell you that this is my newest favorite cake… Thanks!
Hey Deb – I made this last night for a family dinner and WOW everyone went bonkers!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS – I love the picture of your mom’s recipe card – it makes everything so personal and lovely.
OMG! This is in the oven RIGHT NOW! WE are having it for a brunch kind of thing!!!! I’m sure with the ease and readiness of ingredients this will make it into my family recipe book! Thanks so much !
Made this cake and took it to a gathering of ladies. Everyone loved it, but everyone had a version of the cake that was easier and made less dirty dishes. I think I will try theirs next time!
Perfect for Rosh Hashana or breaking the fast at Yom Kippur. Looks delicious! I have made coffee cakes into individual party favor sized portions by making them in muffin tins (layers and all). Do you think that would work for this recipe too? They would make great favors for Thanksgiving. P.S. The history of the recipe is even more entertaining then if it had been passed down for generations. :-)
I blew off a whole morning of work and made this instead. It is AMAZING! My kids agree. Best cake ever.
I just made this cake last weekend after a trip to the orchard. It was fantastic and so delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
I think I might try this delicious looking cake with my next batch of sad apples!! mmmmm
I would like to emphasize the *greasing of the pan*. Clearly I took this important step too lightly, you can have a chuckle at my expense by looking at the photo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65017068@N00/2920837833/) of my apple cake disaster.
Otherwise, a very moist cake that fills your house with a supremely delish aroma of apple cinnamon. (Of course we still ate it, we just served chunks instead of slices!)
How beautiful of you to share such a recipe! I find my best come from my grandmother. The index cards where you can barely read the writing :) This looks absolutely delicious!
Amazing! I’ve never had an apple cake before and didn’t know what to expect. Oh. My. God. The aroma of it baking was almost too good, and when it came out of the oven I knew I was going to be obsessed. I baked this as a thank you for some family and friends who helped us move house and got nothing but rave reviews. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
I baked mine in a bundt pan with the apples at the bottom, as suggested, and it turned out beautifully. Thanks again!
I have an Apple Cake recipe…almost the same, but without the orange juice. I bake mine in a 9×13 inch baking dish and put a cream cheese frosting on top. One of the best!!!
I don’t know what went wrong. I tried making the cake today but it didn’t turn out right…more like apple pie filling. I followed the recipe. The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn’t have enough dry stuff (seemed a little liquidy when I put it in the pan). It was good anyways…used it on top of ice cream.
This apple cake is AMAZING. I made it yesterday and it was a major hit – we rated it a “10”. I used my own judgement and added the walnuts to the apple mixture since the recipe didn’t tell me when to do so. Also, should the cake cool before being turned out? My cake was still somewhat warm and came out 1/2 at a time. I actually had to carefully scrape the bottom of the pan to get the other 1/2 out and then piece it back together. Trust me, no one cared! It went down just as well and didn’t look too bad but I would like to correct that for future times. I also made the challah on this site and it was incredible too. My family was absolutely delighted with both…and with me :).
The apple cake was divine! I made it for break fast and it disappeared in no time but luckily I did get a slice and it was fantastic. It didn’t hurt that I made it with butter rather than oil, I’m sure. I’ll be making this again. Say, tomorrow?
This is my grandmother’s Jewish Apple Cake–except her apples are sliced and there is a bit less cinnamon. It’s a family favorite and definitely in my top ten of cakes. But, one thing I always wondered–what makes it Jewish?
I made the cake yesterday with my mother, and it’s by far the most delicious cake I’ve ever eaten!! Even the smell of it while it was in the oven was amazing! Thanks a lot!!
In response to Laura–I’d guess that it’s “Jewish” because it’s made with oil rather than butter. This would allow the cake to be permitted in a meat meal and stay within the traditional Jewish dietary laws which prohibit mixing meat and milk in the same meal. On the other hand, I made mine with butter and it was heavenly.
I made this for my husband’s birthday this week. Oh my goodness! it was yummy good. I used Fiji apples and I baked it in a 9×13 since I didn’t have a tube pan. It was very easy to make and tasted very good. Not an overly sweet dessert which I loved.
I second Beth’s comment. I made the cake last weekend in a 9×13 pan (Using my fave baking apple, Haralson) and it looked and tasted fantastic. Another amazing recipe from the Smitten Kitchen! Thanks!
Ugh… maybe I should have read the part about a single layer in a loaf pan… I wasn’t sure how much it would rise, and just split the batter in half in loaf pan. It’s at the top of the pan already and I still have about 30 mins to go… That’s ok… I’m sure the part that spills over the top will be just as yummy!
I’ll let you know how it turns out…
I just took it out of the oven…still cooling in the pan. If it tastes 1/2 as good as it looks I know it will be a winner!
Love your webstie your pictures…I love to cook with the help of pictures and yours are awesome!
Finally had a chance to make this cake and it’s amazing. This recipe is definitely a keeper. In fact, I’ll be making it again later in the week, since we’ll be seeing a foodie friend who’s lactose-intolerant. She’ll be thrilled to have something so yummy that she can eat without suffering.
Update… The cake was fine without being baked in a tube-type pan although even with a convection oven it took ages (this is one thick cake!). What appeared to be an over-abundance of apples turned out just fine. I took it to a party where there was some pretty stiff dessert competition, and I was secretly hoping there would be a piece left to take home. Alas, there was none….
Not having a bundt or tube pan, I used 8″ round cake pans for this recipe. I doubled the recipe and made this in three pans (one good quality, two not-so-great). In a heavy, high-quality pan, the recipe works fine as stated: just grease n’ go. In a cheaper pan, grease the pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, grease the paper as well, and take the cake out five minutes early.
The two cakes in the cheaper pans: well, we ended up eating the cake out of the pan, since the bottom had affixed itself in a burnt glory. Despite this inconvenience, each bite was delicious.
The cake in the good pan: looked and tasted like the best of autumn. So good.
Hope this info helps someone else!
I also used a round cake pan and used 1 cup light brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar. My goodness, i didn’t know i could make such a delicious cake!
I brought it to a friends house for a dinner party and everyone was impressed. I shall definitely be making this one again. Thank you for the recipe!
Made the Apple cake for our Oktoberfest party last weekend… hugh hit! Used 7 Empire apples which are smaller then Macs, thought I could have used another 2…I love apple anything. Making another tonight.
This is my first time to comment on your wonderful blog, I love your recipes, you inspire me to cook more and cook better for my seven kids and hungry husband.
Bu tonight I didn’t do any of the cooking my oldest daughter( 12) and son( 9) did,
I just got to taste the fruit of their labors your dear apple cake, I had to wake up my daughter just to tell her how amazing this cake is!
The next thing we are going to be trying is the peanut butter ganache cake.
Thanks so much for inspiring us!
Dear deb,
The cake looks so good and I’d like to try it.
Would it be OK to post it on my blog, links and credit to you, of course?
My blog is here: 1 Family. Friendly. Food. (http://wflavors.blogspot.com/).
Thanks, Nurit.
By the way, I was thinking, my gradparents (now dead) have also survived Nazi Europe and immigrated to Israel. But no recipes were passed from my grandma, which was a wonderful cook, and that is kind of sad for me. My mom hardly cooks and never baked, so i guess she didn’t have much interest in recipes. I was too young to learn something from my grandma. I just have some blurry memeories of her food…
I’ve made this recipe twice in one week- one for family and one for the office. I ended up using freshly picked apples (Mac’s) and it was super yummy!!! The cake stays so moist 2-3 Days after-if it lasts that long :) I did add the walnuts but only sprinkled them on top, it added a nice crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Wow, this looks incredibly delicious! If you’d like to try something with a little island flavor, I also recommend an excellent cake recipe involving pineapple, found here: http://www.mauipineapple.com/index.php/recipes/desserts/41-desserts/69-allspice-angel-food-cakes. It’s called the All Spice Angel Food Cakes with Maui Gold Pineapple Curd and Oven-dried Maui Gold Pineapple. Enjoy!
Made it today for a friend, it was really awesome and everybody loved it so much! Thanks a lot Deb!
By the way, a 26 cm spring form pan is perfect for those who don’t have a tube pan.
Hi..Just noticed that the recipe says coffee cake but I cant see coffee in the recipe. How much coffee do I add and when?
I’m going to a party at my friend’s sukkah tomorrow. This cake is coming with me!
@sherrie:
A coffee cake is called that because it is usually served WITH coffee.
@ dena
Thanks for that!! I’m Scottish and here a ‘coffee cake’ means it’s coffee flavoured lol.
@sherrie
Funny how there are so many recipes with names that have nothing to do with the ingredients. Deb could probably do several posts about that.
Great cake! Made it for a brunch this morning, and it was a hit!
I made this cake yesterday. My house smelled amazing while it was baking. But the true payoff came when my 15 year old son came home from youth group, cut a huge slice and said “Mom, this is cake is so good…Dad, you gotta try this” Dad’s response, “Could be the best apple cake you have ever made” Truly a keeper!
Just wanted to tell you that this cake is FANTASTIC! I made the cake on Saturday. Eight women gobbled up most of the cake on Sunday, and when I brought reminder to work today it didn’t last until lunch. Definitely a keeper!
I LOVED this cake. I made it for some family that visited last weekend — my sister-in-law can’t eat dairy right now, which limited my options. Everyone raved about it. Forgot to dust it with powdered sugar like you did in the pic.
I loved this cake, moist and great for days. I made it for a meeting and got raves. Turned out just like the picture. Thanks.
I tried it in a bundt pan and it took much less time to cook. In fact, I didn’t check on it until about 1 hr 15 minutes had passed. Of course it was overdone at this point and when I flipped it out the outside was completely charred. It’s still edible if you cut off the burned outside edges, but only the center and near the apples is very moist.
If anyone wants to try a bundt pan, I’d set your timer for 50 minutes and start checking it often for done-ness after that.
I made this cake yesterday and I’m not sure it will survive past tomorrow morning…it’s that good. This is going into my permanent apple/fall dessert file!
I just made this for a dozen people at a pumpkin carving party over the weekend and everyone loooved it. One carver called it ‘the best apple cake she’d ever had’. I made it in 2 loaf pans because that’s what I had handy, and turned down the heat a wee bit halfway through the baking time because the tops were getting quite brown. It was still dense and moist and lovely though, and not too sweet.
I served this at brunch this weekend to rave reviews! Thanks for sharing the excellent recipe.
I’ve made this twice now, and can say for sure–this is my favorite apple cake. Thanks so much for sharing!
Definitely works in 2 loaf pans (or half the recipe and use 1, if your roommate complains that you’re “making her fat” with all of these SK recipes… ) :)
Delicious, a perfect way to use the macintosh apples I bought at the farmers’ market! :)
will be making this apple cake today. pasty chef here, love it all. thanks
I made this apple cake and served it for Dinner. First I cooled the cake down very well.made several slices , and heated up my cast iron gill on the oven top, coated each slice with butter, and gilled for two to three on each slide, and served it with homemade ice cream. OUTSTANDING !!!! the beautiful gilled marks bring out a very beautiful flavor of the cake with it very moist texture. Reginaldi
I made this over the weekend with a friend of mine. He’s a huge fan of Alton Brown and some things were changed to follow AB’s recipe for Apple Cake. We prepared the cake Saturday night, put it in the fridge and then baked it Sunday night. The cake was amazing, but was more brown than Smitten’s and had us all thinking of gingerbread cookies. I’m looking forward to making this again for Thakesgiving, and following just Smitten’s recipe!
Deb – Tried the apple cake last night and it was fabulous. I thought it strange to add the eggs to the already-mixed, dryish dough, but it turned out fine. In fact, ‘incredible’ was the word my husband used. Thanks for the recipe!
Jill
Wow! Made this last night (photos here) and it turned out great. I added some cranberries, and would probably use more apples next time, maybe mixing some into the batter itself. Rhubarb would be an excellent addition, too.
The cake came out super-rich and dense, like pound cake. It took nearly two hours to bake, which may be the result of altitude (or maybe a miscalibrated oven). But the result is stellar.
Thanks, Deb!
Thanks for this recipe! It’s quick and easy, but very tasty and homey. Excellent with whipped cream. I reduced sugar by a third and everyone thought it was fine. I ground the walnuts finely, mixed them with the flour, and reduced the flour by about 1/3 cup. This gives the cake a little more flavor and texture.
An update: The cake remained moist from Friday through today, when I brought it to work and a cow-orker declared, “When I’m on death row, I want this cake for my last meal. This is the best cake I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
what is the ideal sized “tube” pan to use? I went looking for one today and found an angle food cake pan made by Chicago Metallic and also a Coffee cake ring pan that has a much larger sized hole in the middle.. measurments are (3″h X 3.5″ cake width), its much flatter and has a 12 cup capacity.. can you recommend the right sized pan for me?
My apple cake is currently in the oven – can’t wait to see how it turns out. Was out of OJ, so I used a little honey, a little milk…can’t wait to have a fresh slice.
High altitude (4,700′ in my case) adjustments: increase flour and liquid by 2T flour, 1T OJ. Bake at 370 about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Changes from not checking the pantry before you started: substitute brown sugar for half white sugar in cake base; all brown sugar in apple mix. Add nutmeg in apple mix because you like nutmeg. Use 5 eggs because you only have some “large” free-range blue and green eggs that look kinda small.
And? Still comes out great.
WOW, I’m a non baker, but this was easy and taste great. I made this twice in one day!
very nice! Rave reviews from the coworkers. I used a springform pan and found the edge got a little brown by the end of cooking (almost 2 hours), but it was moist and delicious none-the-less :)
I made this cake because it was requested as a birthday cake. I do not eat sugar but was given rave reviews. I used 8 apples, that was the only change I made.
Huge hit and really easy to make.
ladies, i am a virgin baker (first time baker, hehe). Can’t wait to see how this gorgeous cake turns out! recipe says 350 but my oven is fan forced so i set it at 200? hope i’m right! Help?
about the sugar issues for those European bakers:
Caster sugar is much more finely ground than American granulated sugar. The volume measurement will therefore not be the same, try going by weight. A cup of American granulated sugar weights 8 oz, so if you measure your caster sugar by weight, not by volume, it should, by volume, be something that looks more ‘right’.
Celine: rule of thumb for convection ovents: redauce time by 1/4 or temperature by 25 degrees (F) (not sure if this rule works for degrees C).
Yum! I made this delicious cake today and even though I forgot the vanilla and used a bundt pan it still turned out. That’s my kind of recipe, very forgiving. Thank you!
Deb! I baked this cake for my husband’s company’s fall dessert contest and it just won 2nd place! :) Thanks a million. My husband says there are many people saying that I was robbed of first place as they absolutely loved this.
Amazing cake – have made it twice now, both times fantastic. Made it with Bramley cooking apples today (was all I had to hand) and it was still outstanding. I used a little more sugar for coating them as they are extremely tart. Thank you for sharing this fab recipe.
Still haven’t got the answer if one can keep an apple cake in fridge for 5 days. Its still in the round tin I baked and covered this with alum. foil. Thanks for an answer.
I did it yesterday and i reduce sugar and oil. I used canola and olive oil together .
the result is fantastic.
A lot of flavors and a good moist .
Thank you so much for this recipe .
My daughter loves it +++
My post about it is in french …so if you want to see it , it’s here
http://myfoodbox.blogspot.com/2008/11/le-gateau-de-la-grosse-pomme.html
noel Vanderwee, why don’t you try it and see for yourself if it’s still edible and good? You don’t need to ask someone to figure it out yourself.
Hi Noel — This site gets a lot of new comments every day and sometimes, direct questions slip through the crack without me getting to respond to them.
We’ve never made this cake five days early before. I don’t see why it wouldn’t keep–in fact, I am sure that it would–but in my kitchen at least, my preference is to not keep cakes in the fridge too long because something gets lost in texture and flavor. Instead, I freeze cakes when I want to bake them early: triple-wrapped in plastic and then leave them in the fridge for a day to defrost, then out on the counter for a couple hours to get them back to room temperature before serving them.
Has anyone ever topped this cake with any kind of icing? I think I will make it for Thanksgiving.
This is what I am looking for, my daughter called and wanted my recipe that I have for my Jewish apple cake, to no avail I can’t find it. So I do a search and this is the ONE that appears to be the closest.For some reason I was thinking that the recipe called for 5 eggs, but all other ingredient measures seem to have boggled my memory, and the 1 1/2 hour bake time is what is called for. I got this recipe from an ex boyfriends mother over 30 yrs ago and I will say that it is without a doubt the best apple cake you will ever eat.
I just went back and read that you are from MD, that’s were I am, and the boyfriends mother,Baltimore MD. I just wonder if this is the same recipe.
I made this tonight instead of the typical apple pie and it was a HIT. Thank you!!!!
Hi! Greetings from Singapore. I made this a few weeks back and it was sooo yummy. I made them into lil cupcakes and friends, people at work & family all loved them. Thanks ;)
Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! First time poster here, but long time reader. Made this cake today for Thanksgiving, and it was the hit of the desserts. Thank you! My oven is hot and it was done 20 minutes early, thanks for the reminder to check. Can’t wait for some awesome Christmas recipes.
I made this with half of the stuff in a layer cake pan and the other half became muffins. Haven’t tasted the cake but the muffins are great. A bit more spice with the apples (ginger, etc) might add something.
Thank you.
I have made this cake now twice, do i love it ??? Does my husband love it???????????Yes!!!! Delicious!!!!!! My original apple kuchen was a little different, but since I’m always trying new recipes I gave this a chance. Love this cake!! Thank you.
I had a vision of making a fruit cake this year instead of a fruit pie and when I saw this apple cake, I knew I had found the answer. This replaced apple pie as one of our Thanksgiving desserts this year and it was a huge success. The two day old version is perhaps even better, as I just had a piece to get me through the morning. Also my husband made the chocolate peanut butter bars a few weeks ago and though I scorned them as being overkill–I then ate about 15 of them.
ps—I do not weigh 200 lbs.
Ohhhhhh! I had to make this cake when I saw the pictures. I raided my mom’s pantry for tube pan. I must say the cake taste as I imagined. I brought into work. I kind of debated about sharing it. Heh-heh. It was well received. I can’t wait to make it again.
Needed to come up with a Thanksgiving dessert, something OTHER than pumpkin pie (blech). A little hunting online led me to this lovely recipe. No such thing as a tube pan in my house so made it in a 9×13. Got to bakin, discovered I had exactly one and a quarter cup of white sugar, so I subbed one cup of brown sugar for white. Most of the apples on top sank in so it wasnt as pretty as Deb’s photos but no one complained about THAT. My dad the foodie (loves to cook, loves to talk about cooking, loves to watch the family devour the feasts he prepares) gave the best compliment; “that was incredible, please take the rest home with you or I’ll eat it all!”
making this cake for the third time now. it’s too good!
I made this cake today in a regular (not Bundt) round cake tin, but halved the amount, based on the photos and comments, and got a very delicious regular sized cake. I’m also grateful to trickie (#136) for pointing out the similarities between this recipe and Dorset apple cake. I had the most incredible Dorset apple cake 6 years ago while on holiday (in Dorset, England) and try as I might I couldn’t recreate it. Most Dorset apple cake recipes predictably use butter not oil, but I’m going to try out my existing (and not half bad) recipe with oil instead and see what happens!
Made it again:
— added used fresh orange zest in with the apples, cut back on the cinnamon a bit (I have a very strong and sharp cinnamon).
— divided batter into thirds – batter, apples, batter, apples, batter. Better distribution of apples in the “cake column.”
–made a thin crumble for the top (brown sugar, butter, pecans, slight bit of flour). The crumble needs to be put on the top just before it’s finished baking.
My mom passed away 3 years ago and she use to make this same exact cake. Like your mom, she got it from some small magazine clipping. She actually would sometimes add blueberries instead of the apples…it’s really yummy! Her recipe didn’t call for the salt, but the next time I think I might try and include it. :)
Made this cake twice in the last two months. Excellent. Upped the spice levels to make it really Christmas-sy, and even added a little chilli powder to warm things up for frosty days. Great recipe. What more can I say, apart from thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve already used it several times during the last 2 months and each time, it has been a hit. What a simple recipe… the cake is hearty and satisfying. I had to pass the recipe onto a Jewish friend who said that it was better than his grandma’s! (but he’d never tell her)
Thanks for the recipe. I made it over the holidays and the house smelled great. I don’t know whether it was the kind of oven that we had but uncooked batter was still oozing at the recommended baking time and it took about an hour more for it to be fully baked through. But it was greatly appreciatedand coffee was demanded as an accompaniment.
While we are discussing tweaking recipes, I wanted to say that I have been baking a similar cake every Thanksgiving and New Years for many years. I substitute chopped pecans for the walnuts, and also add about a cup of fresh cranberries to the batter. The combination of the sweet apples and the sour cranberries is delicious. I use a bundt cake pan, and simply combine all the ingredients together. I also let the batter sit in the mixing bowl for 20 minutes while the oven is preheating.
When the cake is cooled and on a platter, I brush it with a boiled glaze made of one cup brown sugar, 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup milk…..with an addition of a good splash of Jack Daniels whiskey! EVERYBODY wants this recipe.
Pans- I have a tube pan but it doesn’t fit in my miniscule oven, I used a heavy layer cake pan and one less egg. Fabulous!
Thanks so much for the great recipe and for allowing the comments, they helped me answer almost all my questions. I was surprised how thick the batter was, and I had the same problem with the top getting stuck in the bottom of the bundt pan. Using the bundt pan it took just under an hour to cook. I switched pecans for the walnuts and added a smidgen of cloves and nutmeg……….now I’m off to find a recipe for some caramel pecan drizzle to cover up the mess on the top of the delicious cake.
OH and I upped the recipe by 1/2 and it was enough to make a bundt pan and the oval corning ware dish ( about 8X11) Thanks again Deb!
This is really making my home smell like a slice of apply heaven goodness. I couldn’t find vegetable oil at the store today, so am using canola instead. I also don’t own a tube pan, so am using a 9 x 13 glass pyrex layering in there with batter, apples, skimpy bits of batter left, and then the remaining apples. I am praying that in about 20 minutes or so, this cake will be amazing. I will post back if it is incredible as it smells in here. Thank you for the post!
I must say that i was delighted trying this recipe but I am greatly disappointed in how this turned out.I finally gave up and took it out of my oven after 3 and a half hours and still is not done. It is incredibly gooey the top of it is burnt and the bottom part of the cake is either burnt or incredibly gooey to the point that it looks like I just put it in the oven. I know I didn’t mess up on any of the ingredients and I followed the directions to a T. It is hard to describe how disappointed I am.
Three and a half hours? Have you checked that your oven is functioning at the proper temperature? An oven thermometer may help.
I have a thermometer and it works perfectly. And my oven is working perfectly also so I have no idea what is wrong.
Do you think this recipe could be use for a wedding cake?!!
I usually go for the light recipes.
This time, you win. . .
Am making it now – woo hoo
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Ive made it for a friend as a birthday present.
And she loves it!!!!!! =D
This cake is great!! An ideal treat anytime! Regarding the 3.5 hours cooking time, if the person is using a spring form tube pan that has the double bottom, make sure the second bottom is removed. Example: the spring form pan can be used as a tube pan with it’s own tubular insert, and attached to it the “second” bottom that can be used for regular round cakes, such as a cheesecake. If both bottoms are on at the same time, the “tubular” portion of the cake will not bake correctly. If, when pouring the batter into the tube pan, you cannot see through the hole to the counter surface, then you have a two bottomed pan.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I was looking for a recipe to get rid of some unwanted prunes and pears and thought this might do the trick. I used the prunes and pears instead of the apples and it’s not as good as apple cake, but still pretty good. I wish I hadn’t forgotten the salt–you can taste that it’s missing. I think it needed some lemon zest, too, to make up for the lack of tartness in prunes and pears. Maybe some orange zest? I added about a cup of ground almonds instead of the walnuts and substituted apple-pear sauce for 1/2 the oil. I also used amaretto instead of 2/3 of the vanilla. I’m not sure you could still call it the same cake but if this recipe can stand up to that kind of shenanigans, I think it’s a good sign. :)
Hi Deb,
I’m looking forward to making this! One question though: it sounds like there are two layers of apples, but in the close-up shot (3rd photo), I see only one layer. What gives? Is that a one-layer version, or is it just really really condensed?
Thanks!
Not sure which picture you meant — if the last one, that isn’t the actual cake but a wee “tester” we made in a ramekin (with, yes, one layer of apples and not two) to show you all the texture of the cake’s interior.
I love this recipe! I’ve now made in twice in the last 2 weeks!
Once as a full cake and once (last night at midnight..!) as cupcakes.
Works really well both ways! And the cupcakes look beautiful with the cinnamon apples on top (plus a few well placed dark chocolate flakes to melt in while baking).
Can’t wait to make more things!
I love this recipe!the cake is the most amazing, warm,and delicious cake ever. My mom makes this cake all the time and its just amazing. i think i said that already but ill say it again.AMAZING!!!
This is a great cake. Since there is no meat or dairy products in recipe, it’s parve, great for any meal. My original recipe came from a calendar. I use a Bundt pan, well greased, layering 1/3 batter, 1/2 apples, 1/3 batter, 1/2 apples and remaining batter. For ease in releasing from pan, be certain apples do not touch pan sides. I have used fresh pears or fresh peaches for a change of taste. Always comes out great.
Thanks for sharing this receipe – I simply loved it – the cake came out just as pretty as yours and the taste was amazing and to top it all it was so simple.
I hope someone see’s this….Years ago.. over twenty, i was reading Country Living magazine and found a wonderful pie recipe of apples, sour cream, walnuts and i made the crust and laticed the top. it was the most wonderful pie i’ve ever had. I had to hide it from the husband to make sure we all could share it. my sister and her hubby even took a piece. Now all these years later i’m getting reminded of it and asked about it but have lost the recipe. Does anyone know of a recipe like this. It was so beautiful i didn’t want to cut it and even took a photo of it. I don’t want to crumb the top…….surely someone else found it and loved it as much as we did…….thanks..(your cake looks wonderful by the way)
This recipe is DELICIOUS!! I love it. I am new in the baking world and I did this recipe. It was fun to do it and it was worth all the work. Thank you for sharing! I love this site.
I made this cake and I just loved the moist and delicious texture and flavor! I was happy to post my result on my blog.
Just a response to tendr…there are 2 recipes from Country Living Mag. One is called Dutch Apple Pie and the other is called Apple Custard Pie w/ Cinnamon struesel. They each use sour cream, walnuts and apples. Hope this helps.
This is sooo delicious, quick and easy once you have the apples chopped up. Mine got a little dry around the sides because of the long baking time, but it was beautifully flavoured, moist and totally more-ish. Thanks :)
everyone who hasn’t – MAKE THIS!
Thanks so much for this great recipe:) I made it last night and it really was so easy once the apples were chopped up. I took the tips above and used a little less oil and even a little less sugar and it still turned out moist and sweet:) I love your site!
I have NEVER written on a recipe website before despite years of avid cooking. Hands down, this was the BEST CAKE EVER. My family is sitting around with dreamy stuffed happy faces, some actually hummed as they were eating. I’m converting to Judaism, LOL, just for the cake!!! I suggested we make vanilla ice cream to serve with it next time, and my children actually said, “no mama, it’s perfect as is.” No to ice cream, a first! The thought that this will be moister and yummier tomorrow has me wishing the night away so that I can eat some sooner. I’m taking a piece to my trainer tonight so he can finally understand when I say, “I’m a really good cook, it’s hard not to resist.” Let’s see if he can say no to this!!!
Thank you!!
Hard to stop at one piece. so good. and I baked it in a 9 x 13 pan and it worked great.
INCREDIBLE…. I made a smash with this cake this week-end!!!!! My in-laws loved, no, ADORED it!!!! thank you so much!!! I am planning of keeping it in my BEST recipes section!!!!
This is one delicious recipe. Question, though: I’ve made this four times and each time it was burnt mightily at the bottom. Any ideas for how to avoid this? I’ve tried lowering the temperature, and I’ve cooked it both in a tube pan (bought ‘special!) and a springform.
I just made this cake today for my husband’s 30th birthday. He always requests that I make an apple cake, but I had yet to find a recipe that was to his preference…until today! This cake turned out SO GREAT! I baked it in a 9×13 silicone dish and baked it for about an hour at 350. So wonderful!! I could not find McIntosh apples so I ended up trying pink lady apples. I think I somehow also got two jonagold apples as well… I must say this recipe is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe and the wonderful pictures. I found you blog from the pioneer womans blog. Again, thanks. My hubby loved it :)
Hi! Made this cake today because I had several apples waiting to be made into something. I used Pink Lady apples, and a bundt cake pan, and it turned out delicious – even though the top stuck to the pan so it doesn’t look as pretty as it could. It did take over 2 hours to bake though! Thanks for a really delicious cake!
This was my mom’s signature cake, and has become mine. It seems to be an “east-coast thing”. Now that I am in Alaska, no one has ever had it, and I impress them every time! I use the “ugly apples” leftover at the end of the week (bruised, wrinkled, etc.) I skip the layering and mix the apples in at the end, they stay mixed throughout the cake. I use a bundt pan, but don’t try to remove until the cake is TOTALLY COOL. I sprinkle with powdered sugar, or make a glaze with 2 cups powedered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup melted butter, and enough milk to make is runny enough to drizzle. It also works in bread pans and regular cake pans. …better the second day, though it never lasts that long!
Apple cake is in the oven! :)
Hi Deb! I am writing from Brazil to let you know I simply love your mom’s apple cake recipe, even though I haven’t made it yet. I was looking for a good apple cake recipe and I found yours to be one of the best, not to mention I love the story that goes with it. Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipe!
I made this cake and brought it into work. Everyone asked me for the recipe, I made about 20 copies and they were all gone by the end of the day. THank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Cherish, I did the exactly same thing yesterday and got several enthusiastic compliments. A few weeks ago I tried it with only one cup sugar and otherwise followed the recipe pretty closely and came up with a cake that was really too dense.
This time I took some liberties, adding lots of liquid to compensate for our dry desert air and altitude, used about 1 2/3 cup of sugar, and instead of one teaspoon of salt I used almost 2. The result was a lovely somewhat lighter cake with a great crumb and wonderful flavor. The only problems were a slightly oily flavor (I used soybean, probably a mistake), and that the slices broke into two pieces at the middle apple layer.
Next time–and trust me, there will be a next time–I’ll mix most of the apples in and put some pieces on top, and will try something like canola oil in the hopes that I won’t actually taste it.
Hi,
I made the recipe EXACTLY as the directions specified. The walnuts aren’t mentioned as to when to add so I added them to the apple mixture. But my main concern is when the recipe said to POUR the mixture into the pan. My batter was not pourable — it was a little wetter than bread dough, sticky but certainly not pourable. One cup of oil, 1/4 cup of OJ, and 4 eggs just wasn’t enough to moisten it to a consistency as the one you show in the picture. I actually threw out the first batch because I figured I must have measured incorrectly, but the second time it came out exactly the same. Any ideas as to why? Thanks!
Did the cake work out? Did it taste okay? Whether it had to be spread or poured in your case, I’d think that all that matters is that the results are satisfactory. Anything differences in consistency may be due to variances in measuring or ingredients.
Awesome!
I made this cake yesterday as a birthday cake for a good friend. While baking I was kind of scared cause it took forever (the first time I used my new oven so I was carefully) and it looked so different…but it turned out wonderful! Everybody loved it!
Thanks for this recipe :)
This cake just keeps coming out better and better. This version has a slightly spicy molasses-ey smell, a slight lemon tang, and is so moist it’s almost juicy.
This time I ran out of white sugar, so I substituted one cup sucanat (wholesomesweeteners.com) for white sugar. Sucanat takes a while to dissolve, so I beat the heck out of it in the stand mixer along with the other wet ingredients, then beat in the flour mixture. I made my usual altitude adjustments (less flour & baking powder, more moisture), added about a tsp of lemon juice to the apples, and sort of pushed the apples into the batter in both layers. Oh, and I used canola oil.
I was surprised that this version took only an hour to bake (I’ve started using a thermometer, and the internal temperature was about 200 degrees). And that apparently canola oil is the key to getting rid of the oily taste. And that the sucanat gave it a slightly molasses-ey spicy aroma. The lemon actually brought out the salt; I increased the salt last time because the earlier version was bland, but next time I’ll reduce it again.
I love the incredible moistness, but I have to say that I’ve yet to find a version of the cake that doesn’t fall to bits when it’s cut. But I wouldn’t change a thing. People who want fancy cake can get theirs somewhere else.
I am baking this cake tonight. Can I use apple cider instead of orange juice and can I use pecans instead of walnuts?
I have not tried these adaptations. You will have to let us know how it goes.
I made the cake last night, splitting the mixture between one large (for my husband’s work) and one small (for my coffee date with friends) loaf tin. Anyway the small loaf tin was much thicker and higher and took about an hour longer to cook, and even then the bottom was quite burnt (although not inedible) and the inside not quite cooked! I sliced it up and grilled it before serving to try and get it a bit more cooked. The bigger, flatter one was a bit more of a success cooking-wise, so I will remember that for next time.
I used rice bran oil – being the most neutral-flavoured oil I have – and used 1 cup wholemeal flour and it tasted really delicious. Reading these comments has been very interesting – I also had a thicker mixture that had to be spread, but I can see now it doesn’t really matter.
Thanks for a great recipe – I can’t wait to try it again!
Hi Deb, great great site. thanks for sharing your expertise and recipes. i stumbled upon this site while searching for apple cake recipes and would want to let you know that i tried this recipe you posted… tastes soooo good though i had a little bit of problem with it. I didn’t have a tube pan so i baked it in a 10″ spring form pan. I don’t know what i did wrong as i followed everything here (except the pan) that the bottom of the cake burnt. I had to cut off the whole bottom about 1/4″ thick. I used canola oil by the way. Do you think that was a contributor (or probably just the temp of my oven)? I set it at 175 but I really don’t have a thermometer so I couldn’t check if it was precise. 50 minutes into baking I started smelling burnt cake already but I couldn’t stop it coz it’s still not bake. I bake a total of 1 hour and 35 minutes. Probably the next time, I’ll like the bottom with a double sheet of cookie pan? what do you think?
nonetheless, I am very thankful for your recipe and your site. I would definitely bake this again. Will post a link to your site as soon as I have posted my finished product in my site. thanks a lot.
I just made this cake and I must have tried to flip the bunt pan too early or something because when I tried to get the cake out only half of it came out but it was half like a layer kinda so after taking the suggestion from my sister I manged to get the top half (would have been bottom half if it had flipped right) back into the pan and have covered it with plastic wrap while the pan cools (the cake is already cool to the touch or at least not hot) I’ve cleaned up the big chunks that were left on the counter and it tastes great. Hopefully if I try this again it will come out of the pan like it’s supposed to but we’ll eat it anyway.
Oops forgot to mention that I used apple juice instead of orange juice since my ‘nephew’ who I often watch is allergic to citrus.
Dear Smitten Kitchen, I was looking for an apple cake recipe and stumbed upon your site. I followed your recipe to the T and it turned out fantastic! So simple, so great tasting, with ingredients we can easily find at home. If there was a rating, this goes beyond 5 stars! I am going to bake many of your other recipes. Thank you for sharing! Regards, Doris.
I came upon this recipe while looking for fruit cakes that could be adapted to vegetables, and I wound up substituting grated turnips and carrots for some of the apples, successfully. I’m now calling my version the clean-out-the-crisper cake.
Mixed results:
I had this recipe bookmarked for a while. Yesterday, I finally got the tube baking pan and fresh MacIntosh apples. Everything else was already on hand. I followed the recipe exactly. But to my surprise, the batter turned out too liquid rather than thick as other reviewers noted. The consistency was more flowing than that on the picture. I had to add more flour. The cake took nearly 2 hours to bake through. It looked really nice. I tasted this morning and was disappointed in taste and texture.
Even though it is baked through, the crumbs are very dense and so moist as to be almost wet. Not the consistency of the pieces in the photo. Deb has explained that she took the photo of a cake baked in a small ramekin. I would like to see the photo of a slice of the actual big cake. The small cakes have a single layer of batter and apples, while the big one has to layers of both and is therefore much heavier, which might explain the density of the crumb.
The cake tastes too strong of veg. oil (I used grape oil, which is my usual choice for baking, since it is neutral in taste, so I was surprised to taste it so strongly in this cake).
Verdict: right now, it is not a cake I would serve for company (which is a shame – it is so huge, I doubt my husband and I can conquer it without help; maybe I’ll have to try freezing it). However, I am not giving up on this recipe. Too many people had success with it, and it still sounds enticing. When I have a surplus of apples and eggs, I will try it again, this time with less oil and maybe some other changes.
I just finished making this and put it into the oven, and I realized I did it wrong. I put a layer of apples down first in the bottom, then batter, apples, batter. Hopefully the apples in the bottom won’t burn. I guess I’ll just have to turn the cake over. Oops.
Am I the only person who has trouble getting the cake out of the tube pan? After I lifted the cake, still on the tube, out of the sides, I couldn’t get the cake off the tube without it breaking. I tried one spatula, then two, and finally had my husband push the tube out while I held the cake up with the two spatulas. There must be a more efficient way? Please help!
hi hi everyone….i have modified this recipe a bit, i used self-raising flour instead, so i didnt have to add baking powder. also, i have ommited the vanilla, changed orange juice to lemon juice, added in the chopped lemon zest….OMG!!! let me tell u, it turned out so so so successfully :) i wish i could post photo and show to all of u……i also want to thank smittenkitchen.com for giving me this inspiration :)
oh, i forgot to mention…i used first harvest of granny smith apples to substitute MacIntosh, OMG so sweet n lovely!!! 1 thing i would like to share with all, instead of using plain ground cinnamon, i used dutch cinnamon, which is sold in a small packet, my apple cake turned out to be so so so yummy in the tummy!!!
My, oh my, oh my… This is absolutely fantastic. I made individuals cakes with gala apples in over-sized muffins pans so I wouldn’t have to cut a cake for work! They worked really well, I think that next time I will grease the pans a little bit more, I am having trouble removing the little pieces of deliciousness from the pan…
In my opinion, the citrus is a necessary bit of acidity, it adds a brightness and depth to the cake.
sounds yummy!!!! about to make it!!
Quick question… when I made the apple/cinnamon/sugar mix, there was quite a bit of liquid that gathered in the bottom of the bowl. Was I supposed to pour that on the batter with the apples, or would that make the cake too mushy?
Also, I borrowed my mom’s tube pan to make this recipe, and it was her mother’s. When I showed my mom the recipe that I was making for dinner tomorrow, she laughed at the fact that you still had the center of the pan in the cake. She said that you might not know this trick, but that your Baubie probably did… when the cake is done baking, take it out of the oven and flip it over onto a bottle. She said that her mom used to use a Coke bottle, but now they are plastic (so use a wine bottle or something like that). When the cake is done cooling, you can easily remove it from the ring, then flip it onto a serving plate. Thought that was a fun bit of “baking with Baubie” for you!
I am happy to report that it works in a bundt pan! Delicious, in fact. It did rise above the rim of the pan, but that was no problem.. I layered the apples and batter, because I wasn’t quite sure which side up I would serve it…in the end I served it “upside down” (the curvy bundt part on the bottom) and my guests gobbled it up. Also served a whipped cream/creme fraiche mixture and honey mousse. Thank you Deb!
Made this recipe for the Rosh Hashana holiday. I substituted agave syrup for about 1/2 of the sugar… took more time to bake, but turned out delish! Guests loved it. Just gobbled up the last leftover bits. :)
I brought a piece of the delicious last version to work and decided to experiment with freezing it. I’m happy to say that the cake froze well, and seemed to hold together better than the very crumbly un-frozen version. This means that instead of waiting until I can share it with others (or face the danger of fermented or stale cake when I keep it for myself), I can freeze slices and eat them forever!
This is one of the few non-chocolate desserts I actually crave. Oh, and while visiting my folks in CT I got copies of the apple cake recipes my mom had on hand and–sure enough–one was an exact replica of this recipe, and another was a variation with butter instead of oil!
Oops–forgot to say that the THAWED version held together better than the original.
Congrats on the new babe! If he’s anywhere as delicious as this cake, we are all in trouble!
I made this cake this past weekend. It is so freaking good I can barely even stand it. I brought leftovers into work today and all my friends were practically falling over themselves in joy and ecstasy after their first bites. And it just gets better and better the second and third day. This recipe will definitely be a High Holiday tradition in my family!
I scrolled down all the comment in hopes someone would ask this question but they didn’t! By the looks of the photos you must have to have a pan that the bottom drops out along with the middle tube thing (for lack of a better word) :) Mine doesn’t do that. Do you think it would be impossible to remove from a regular tube pan successfully?
I made this last night for work this morning and it was fantastic! On the suggestion of a friend who had made this, I did sub out a 1/2 cup of the sugar for brown sugar. I checked the cake a little more than an hour into baking and found the apples and walnuts on the top were getting a little singed, so I did lightly cover it with foil for the last 25 minutes or so. Next time I make it, I will leave out the nuts – the flavor was great, but the way I incorporated them (with the apples) made the texture a little off to me. It is a fabulous recipe – very appley and delicious!
Can you specify what kind of sugar I am supposed to use? Love the recipe and planning on trying to make it this weekend for Yom Kippur.
This cake is WONDERFUL!! I’ve made many apple cakes in my life but this by all means is the TOP. The cake doesn’t go soggy around the apples and the cake itself has a moist texture and overall an excellent taste!Excellent choice for a tea/coffee party!
I made this last year and it was delicious. My husband raved and said it tasted similar to a cake his mom would bake. Since then I have found my (deceased) mother-in-law’s recipe and learned it is identical! Clearly she got it from the same magazine. He, too, made it sound as if it had come over on the boat with his ancestors!
This cake is amazing! I just made it tonight. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9-inch cake pan (for about 40 minutes), and misread the recipe so I put the apples on the bottom. Oh, and I didn’t have orange juice, so I replaced it with a tablespoon of Cointreau and one of water.
In any case, it is fantastic and I will be making it again and again and again. I just discovered this blog a few weeks ago and it has quickly become my favorite cooking site on the web. Thank you!
i’m making this recipe today since my parents arrive tomorrow for a week’s visit… i’ve only ever used my tube pan once before, so i’m hoping this will become a standard recipe in my house. i am wondering about replacing some of the oil with applesauce, but thinking that maybe i’d better just follow the recipe for the first time around!
My daughters and I just made this cake – Yummy! It was enjoyed by all! I used a bundt pan and it worked great. We put the apples in the bottom of the pan and spread them up the sides a bit. We used gala apples and cut the sugar in the batter by half (actually used 3/4 c brown sugar and 1/4 c maple syrup) – it was still plenty sweet. I think the biggest difference with the bundt pan is that the cake was done in an hour. Next time (and there will be a next time) I think I will only bake it for 50 – 55 min.
I just made this cake and it is really good.
I made 1/2 of the recipe and baked it in 2 mini bundt pans and 2 mini tube pans. I used Macintosh apples and reduced the sugar in the cake by a little more than 1/4 cup. I also used canola oil.
My kids loved it and so did the people at my husband’s work. Great recipe.
I made this recently and substituted half the oil with plain non-fat yogurt. It was delicious! Making it again tonight in cupcake form instead of bundt pan form. Turning the cake out of the bundt pan resulted in a few apple pieces falling off since I put them in before the batter. It wasn’t the prettiest. But I look forward to the cupcakes turning out cuter.
I love this! Instead of oil I used equal parts applesauce (seemed appropriate) and I added 1 tablespoon of Grand Mariner (which also seemed appropriate) A great fall dish.
My daughter (now 40) brought this recipe home from school in a cookbook her grade 2 or 3 class put together for Mother’s Day. It was one of our favourite recipes. With our many move: I lost my copy, hand written by her. Since we’re Canadian and our Thanksgiving is fast approaching, my mind naturally went to wanting to make this cake. You can just imagine my delight in finding this recipe!
It’s exactly the cake I used to make. As soon as I saw the ingredients, I remembered it!
Thanks!!!!!!
The cake turned out very good, but I had made substitutions based on what I had on hand – I used lemon juice instead of orange juice and after making the cinnamon-sugar, I only had about a cup of sugar on hand for the batter, so the other cup was raw sugar. I also added a heaping teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. I baked the cake in jumbo muffin tins and got a dozen mini-cakes. I mixed about half the apples into the batter and then put the rest on top. They tasted great, and weren’t too oily or dense. The one I tried fresh from the oven was the best, but they were still a hit at work the next day.
Oh, I forgot, I also used a stick of butter for half of the oil.
mine is in the oven right now! i love reading all of the substitutions and additions – it reminds me that i DO know how to bake and have license to do whatever i want in my kitchen – so the apples and cranberries (above had a great suggestions for adding this) after being tossed in the sugar,cinnamon and a dose of lime juice, went right into the batter with half white/half brown sugar with some nutmeg(freshly ground) in the batter for good measure. I am using my tube pan aka angel food cake pan and i am raring to go. one comment was that this was a crisper clearer cake – i am using just that – apples that got neglected and now have a chance to shine in a lovely cake from one of my favorite foodie blogs – thanks again smitten
I made this today in a 9×13 glass dish. 325 degrees for an hour. Love it! It’s exactly the way I thought it would be. Thank you so much.
A wonderful recipe. I’ve made it several times and it’s always a great success. However, on one ocassion I misfired on the time and as I was taking it out of the pan, it flopped out with the inside still raw batter. Never mind, I scooped it all up, put it into a baking dish and popped it back into the oven. It was served as a pudding with custard sauce and still got rave reviews.
i just made it last night in two 9′ square pans cuz i wanted a flatter cake for cutting in the office. subed half apple sauce and half oil. iit is just the cake i was looking for. thanks!
Just a warning that I tried to cool the cake upside down and because of the weight of the apples, a good chunk of the cake fell out before it was completely cooled. Next time I’ll be cooling it upright.
I’ve made this several times, using Granny Smith apples (Australian – New Zealand cooking apples). They dont break up like your Macintoshes but stay soft but chunky throughout the cake. It always works a treat, with or without walnuts.
I use a turban mould… I think that’s like an American bundt cake mould, lots of decorations around the side. Anyway, it always rises way over the top of the mould, but comes out smoothly so long as you take it out before it cools.
I just follow the recipe exactly, use all the liquid left over from the apple/sugar/cinnamon mix and bake in a fan overn for 1 hour 30 minutes at 180 degrees Centrigrade… hasn’t failed me yet, and people keep coming back for more!
I made this cake this weekend and it was fabulous. We’re already talking about when I’ll make it again. Thanks to you and your mom for sharing this recipe.
This was great, thanks for sharing! By the way, for anyone interested, you can *totally* get away with not peeling the apples. There are no tough or awkward peely bits to eat around.
Also, for anyone thinking about using a bundt pan…make sure you fill the layers as directed. I thought I’d like a nice apple topping on my cake…but it stuck horribly. There is something to be said for following the directions.
Mine baked in about 1 hr. 10 min. with the convection fan going.
Hi Deb or anyone else who has made this cake!
Maybe I am being neurotic, but I hate to waste good ingredients through my own ignorance.
The recipe shows, 2 3/4 cups flour, sifted . . . Does this mean that I measure first and then sift? I’m pretty sure it does, but I so really want this cake to turn out right!
Thank you!
Vivian
“Flour, sifted” = Measure it, then sift it. [Had it said “sifted flour” then you’d sift it first, measure it second.]
Thank you, Deb—Much appreciated!
Vivian
Amazingly moist and delicious. I was low on cinnamon so I subbed out about a teaspoon and a half for garam masala; and added a teaspoon of fresh orange zest. It turned out MARVELOUS :-) Thanks for making my craft club’s annual pumpkin-carving night a tasty one!
i have mad this. just loved it and so did all my guest! thank you! bless you for sharing. Lois
holy cow! what a delicious and beautiful cake! just took this sucker out of the oven and have to pray it will last until my dinner party tomorrow evening… i’m going to need a boyfriend force field… too bad I can’t find one of those on amazon.com!
this will most likely take the place of pie for thanksgiving! and every dinner party from now on…
I have made this twice now with amazing results – both times in a bundt pan.
For the first one, I put all the apples on the bottom with almonds and some butter and extra sugar to caramelize them. Tasted great, but all the weight from the apples and almonds caused the cake to collapse.
The second time, I put half the apples on the bottom (which becomes the top), and the other half in the middle. I put the almonds on the top (which becomes the bottom). Worked great!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Our last three farm share baskets have had about a dozen apples apiece and this recipe is getting good use! I’m also using a bundt pan. I’m doing the recipe as written and then flipping the cake twice (so what would ordinarily be the top of the bundt cake is the bottom.. apples still on top). It makes for a weird display.. but I like it.
Great recipe. Many thanks!
I LOVE this recipe!!!!!!! I cake bake at ALL! but I made this work! thanks very clear instrutions!!! I will use this for ever BIG hit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW DO U PRINT THIS RECIPE?
There’s a “print” link at the bottom of each post, before the comments begin.
Deb,
Do I have to use a tube pan? Would a 9 x12 or 11 x 14 work as well? I have a crowd coming.
Thanks. Linda
Yum! I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9″ round cake pan for 40 min. I also substituted half the oil for applesauce. It looked, smelled and most importantly, tasted lovely! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
I made this cake this morning and had to cook it for very close to two hours. Has anyone else had this prbolem? I just took it out of the oven.
I had to write like all those before me and tell you that I just got tons of compliments for the cake – I too made one substitution. Instead of orange juice, which I kept forgetting to get from the store, I used cranberry juice and I also used 1/2 less sugar in the batter portion of the recipe. I made the cake for our Halloween potluck and it was my 2nd time making it in two weeks. The first time I made it because I had a hankering for apple cake. I will probably experiment with it more too and try some of the suggestions above. Thanks for putting this recipe up. I always like recipes that seem easy and this was very easy. :-)
I just made this cake today. I hope it comes out ok because the measurement for flour differs. The homemade recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, but the print out recipe calls for 2 3/4 cups of sifted flour. I used the printed recipe and I’m wondering why the cake is taking so long to be cake-like. Every time I test it for doneness it doesn’t see to be cooked enough. I finally gave up the oven, so I hope when it cools it will be ok. Do you think it’s the 1/4 less flour or is it supposed to be like this?
I made this cake. Mine was disappointing. I used a heavy bundt pan (no tube pan). There wasn’t room for all of the apples, and I, too, was unsure about adding the juice to the batter in the pan, so used only part of it. Also, I used 1/2 c butter, 1/2 c oil.
Baking time is deceiving—tester wasn’t clean after 1 h, 45 min, so took cake out anyway. Cake is dry. Maybe tester wasn’t clean due to hitting apples? The “crust” is very dark and thick, too, maybe due to the butter and heavy pan?
Next time, I might add the apple liquid to the batter in the bowl and also bring cake out of oven sooner. ALSO will get a tube pan!
Thanks for the recipe. I look forward to making it again.
marianne — There is less flour in this adapted version to make the recipe more user-friendly. My mother’s version has you sift an unspecified amount of flour and measure 3 cups from it, which is a pesky way to do it. This one has you sift the flour that you’ve already measured, dialing it back to account for increased volume.
Just made the cake today, because it’s Autumn and this was at the top of a google search. Well, I must have a small bundt pan, because I could have halved the recipe and it would have been plenty. As it was, I had to transfer some to a small ceramic baking dish, which took about 45 minutes to cook. The Bundt pan was taking almost 2 hours, and I finally took it out. From my experience, if the cake is dry today, it won’t be tomorrow…with the apples in it and all. I prefer cooking it as a sheet, just cooks faster and is easier to manage. Also, my husband doesn’t eat Wheat, so made it with Gluten free flour and olive oil, and ran out of white sugar so added some brown. Next time I’ll try to halve the recipe and use half oil half apple sauce. my husband likes it, but my daughter won’t try it…what kid doesn’t like apple cake??
I just found your blog last night, I’m really glad I did! I am excited to make this cake, but am wondering if anyone has advice on baking in the small loaf pans to give as gifts. I have no idea if I would need to change the temp and where to start with time.
I made this cake this weekend using fresh picked apples from the tree in my mom’s backyard for her birthday and had rave reviews. It was amazing. I could NOT stop licking the bowl clean after pouring the batter into the pan. (I’ll risk the raw egg issues for that much deliciousness!) The Orange-Vanilla cake seems like it would be amazing on it’s own.
Made this last night and my roommate could not wait for it to cool enough to eat a slice! I used a 9 x 13 calphalon pan and still layered the apples (I used 4 Macs and 2 Granny Smiths) in between the batter. It only took 1 hr 20 mins for mine to cook all the way through. Absolutely delicious!
Your apple cake is now in my oven and after reading all the comments, I am optimistic about the results. I have a question that I have not seen addressed: What is the desired amount of chopped apples in measurement (cup) terms?
made this twice in the last week. i did it with LOTS of apples (6, but some were really big) and the second time i mixed the apples with the batter before putting it in the bundt. delish. thanks!
Alright, I’ve made this cake twice already this month and my co-workers and husband’s co-workers love me. The recipe is perfect, especially if you add the nuts. I plan on making this for many Fall seasons to come.
YUM!! Mine looked *exactly* like the picture. The bottom got a little dry and is a bit of a crust to cut through, but the flavor is fantastic. So nice to have a mix-in-the-bowl recipe that doesn’t require softened butter. Moist, homey, not too sweet, and lovely scent of apples and cinnamon. Will be making this often.
Deb, I noticed someone asking about a good substitute for the 1 cup of oil called for in the recipe. I have used applesauce for a substitute for half of the oil in many other cake recipes. I tried this with your recipe and and it turned out great. I used the bundt pan (would do it in the tube pan next time to get the beauty of the apples on top!) and I did several loaf pans so I could share with neighbors. It all worked out great! I will definitely make this delightful cake again. Thanks! Happy Harvest! Rosie
Just made mom’s apple cake for the second time. I used the last of the apples we had from when we went apple picking. It came out marvelously. I just substituted 8 oz of sugar-free applesauce for the oil. It really is a scrumptious, beautiful cake.
This cake is on it’s way into my oven right now, but with one small change… I’m using Granny Smiths! ;) Can’t wait to taste!
Deb! What an amazing recipe! It was everything I could do to hold myself back from getting a second slice! I made mine with Granny Smith apples. The tart apples were a nice contrast to the sweet cake. And I don’t know about you, but the crust was my favorite part! So crunchy and sweet! Wow, this recipe is absolutely gonna be a keeper for me!
PS: So sorry for those who tried it and didn’t get optimal results. They don’t know what they’re missing. ;D
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9×5-inch loaf pan. The baking time was about an 50-60 minutes, but I lost track near the end.
Okay – first? I just found your blog and I am ADDICTED and DROOLING. I subscribed, I IM’d your url to all my friends and I’m in LOVE.
Second – You inspired me to make this apple cake to take to my boyfriend’s parents house for Thanksgiving. It’s the first time I’m meeting them and I trust that this cake will ensure that they will like me. I have a question, though… how many days in advance can I make this cake so that it will be fresh and delicious? I was thinking of making it on a Sunday and then bringing it to them Wednesday. I’d keep it in an air tight container. Is that too soon in advance?
Thanks so much!
Jozette — It keeps well, it is very moist. But more than a day or two, I’d keep it in the fridge.
Made this cake tonite, absolutely delicious. I did not change a thing.
im baking it right now while typing thz…but im not sure abt the quatity of d apples to use as the size here in Japan r different…can u roughly give me an estimation how many cups or grams i shld use?i used 3 large apples but cant fit into the pan as too much,so kept half of it…please advise…btw the aroma is killing me,dunno how it will turn out….
I’d also like to know a gram measurement for the apples. The size varies so much among the varieties. Fuji, for example are larger than Macs, so I’d use 5? Or maybe still 6 since Fuji is a subtler taste?
I’ve never checked the weight but also don’t ever use less than 6 apples. No adjustments are needed, unless your apples are unusually small, then use a 7th.
I made this the other day for a picnic with a couple of friends. I was a little scared it did not turn out right because of the batter’s consistency. The cake baked for about 40 minutes as well, so I was scared it was under baked. Once I cut into the cake however, it was pure magic. Thank you for this great recipe. It was extremely easy and delicious, coming from a 19 yr old college student. Thanks! (:
I made this tonight, much too late to go to the grocery store, so I made a bunch of substitutions for what I had available:
-I only had 4 apples, so I substituted grated carrots for the rest.
-Pomegranate juice instead of OJ
-6 egg whites + 2 tsp oil instead of the eggs
I baked it in a 9×13 pan, and it came out fantastic! Perfect thing to greet my dad who just arrived from the airport!
I loved this cake! I just made it for a big group of guys (my husband and his friends) and they all loved it. One of them even asked for it for his birthday. :)
And I did make one substitute to make it a little bit healthier: instead of using 1 c. oil, I used 1/2 cc. oil and 1/2 c. unsweetened apple sauce. And for WHEN I make it again (not if), I will most likely decrease the sugar by 1/2 c.
Thank you so much!
Hello! I’m sure I found a recipe for poached quince cake on smitten kitchen just a few days ago, but now it seems to have disappeared….is there any chance you just took it off the site, and might send it in an email? Or if I’m wrong, and you never had a quince recipe up here, I would still love to see any quince dessert recipe that you might have….
Thank you!!
Annie
Deb, thanks for your help. Sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I’m making the cake again because it was a huge hit!! Thanks so much for a “forever recipe”!! Marianne
Wow! First of all, these comments span over a year! You rarely see that for a recipe.
Secondly, my cake is in the oven ( in a Bundt pan) and by the texture I am sensing this one will come out great.Tried making a different Bundt cake recipe a month ago with the hand picked apples and it wasnt that great I think I overcooked it.Will be watching this one closely… Thanks for the great post!
My Mom has been making this cake for, oh, almost fifty years, and I’ve been making it for my family for at least thirty…..I made six of them for my son’s bar mitzvah luncheon years ago. It’s a wonderful cake that will make your reputation as a great cook. One elderly gentleman tasted this once and told me he could make me a millionaire if I wanted to go in to business – on this cake alone! It freezes well, and like other comments, tastes even better the next day. It’s also great for breakfast with a cup of coffee or glass of cold milk.
Wow the stunning pictures ALONE sold me on running out and buying a tube pan! haha. I think that pan will only exist for this recipe! I’ve made this recipe twice already, the first time I made a half recipe (using granny smiths) which didn’t look nearly as amazing because the apples were more spread out, but it was still delicious. The second time, I finally found McIntosh apples in my store and made the full recipe. It really did look like your picture…well I sorta singed a few apples on top but it still looked good :) And it was DEVOURED when I brought it to church. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Just made this lovely cake for our thankgiving dinner tomorrow. and it came out amazing looking. I did it in a cathedral style bundt pan so i didnt put any apple on the top(my bottom). heres a link to my face book album i upload all my cakes to
http://www.facebook.com/Bobwich and its under photos and bobs cakes
I just made the cake this year for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit I will add this to my keeper box. I also cooked mine in a bundt cake pan. It took a bit to get it out but it came out whole and delicious.
This is a foolproof cake, i love your recipe. i have substituted every kind of pan, lemon juice & apple juice for the orange, decreased the amt of sugar & even changed the type of flour, depending on what i happened to have in the pantry. it always turns out perfect every time.
This cake was sooooo great! I tweaked it by making it vegan and it was delicious and super moist. Instead of the 4 eggs, I used 4 tablespoons of corn starch, 1 cup of soymilk and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Thanksgiving was complete with this!
I made this cake (http://cookingupaphd.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/apple-cake-two-ways/#more-290) with just two slight variations (a bundt pan instead of a tube pan and I added a glaze). This cake was a huge hit.
Delicious! Made this cake for Christmas dinner and everyone commented on how good it was. I got a little concerned when the top became very brown with 10 minutes left of baking but I simply put aluminum foil on top and let it finishing baking. Also used a tube pan and lined the bottom with parchment paper which made removing the cake from the pan very easy. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi, Deb,
Thank you for posting this recipe with such appetizing pictures. I am thinking about making this cake but am not sure if the recipe calls for all-purpose flour or cake flour. Could you help me out? Thank you.
Evonne — All-purpose. You can assume that in any recipe that doesn’t list the type. Enjoy!
Hi Deb, I’m new here!
I was just looking for an apple cake recipe and 3 days ago and I found this one! It was our dessert for our New Year’s Eve Dinner! Everyone enjoyed it and the taste was really delightful! Thank you for sharing such a delightful cake recipe! I’ll try more of your older posts! Happy New Year 2010! Reagards, from Venezuela!
This is awesome. I’ve already made it couple of times in past 2 months.
So, I royally bunged this up but it came out fantastic anyway. Hooray for tasty accidents.
I managed to put the 2 cups sugar in the apples and then five, count them FIVE TBSP of cinnamon in that as well. I don’t know what I was thinking. New stove, overly excited to bake something in it. I suppose.
So I put the 5 TBSP of sugar in the cake.
Then I realized I was out of veg oil, so I used applesauce.
Then I mixed the eggs in with the wet ingredients instead of adding them later. I swear I read the recipe twice before I dove in!
Duh, duh, duh!
At this point, I just had to run with it and then Then I remembered I lent my tube pan to a friend over the holidays so I baked the cake in a 9×13 Pyrex. I really had to pack those apples in there. Boy howdy!
The result was spectacular. I think baking it in a flat pan is what saved me. The apples and sugar and cinnamon oozed into the cake as it rose and took care of all those bungles I made. The cake was moist and delicious and pleased my husband because he LOVES sweet apple desserts where the apples are the sweetest part.
Next time though, I’d like to get it right for the sake of trying it out the way it’s supposed to be made. Cheers!
Oh, and I baked it for an hour instead of an hour and a half. Since it wasn’t as dense as the tube pan, it didn’t take as long.
So, I had to make this. Note that my husband is mildly (wildly) obsessed with apple cake and in his life-long hunt for the perfect apple cake has ended with my Mom’s. Which is totally different from this one. My Mom makes it for him all the time and silently wonders how a person cannot tire from eating the same cake again and again and again. But no other apple cakes will do! Oh, he will EAT others but hardly ever will he even compare them to the one-and-only apple cake.
Until today. I made this cake, although I didn’t have orange juice in the house and replaced it with homemade quince juice (and forgot that it is actually quince syrup, duh!). But it turned out very nice, I thought. The husband, well… The husband uttered the highest praise: “This might almost rival your Mom’s apple cake. Make this again.” And then he went for a second piece.
So, there. I’m having a slice for a before-bed something-or-other. Thanks for the recipe and tell your Mom that this made my day. And my permanent stash of go-to recipes.
This cake is glorious! Why all the changes and substitutions people — don’t mess with perfection! Though I do have to admit, I did have to substitute one ingredient, ONCE… was out of orange juice, and I have a rather prolific lime tree, so I used lime juice instead… absolutely phenomenal!
Since I discovered this recipe almost a year ago, I have made it quite a few times, I’ve done it in a tube pan, I’ve done it in a bundt pan [put all of the apples in the middles, and don’t let them touch the sides, so that the cake completely surrounds them… heaven!], and I’ve done it in a 9×13… actually the 9×13 is my usual mode of delivery for this cake… I have probably made it 9-10 times easily, in my kitchen, my Mom’s kitchen, my sister’s kitchen, the kitchen at my local community theater… and I have never had a problem… hats off to you Deb — you rock!
I made this cake after my boyfriend asked for it!!! It was a very simple question like ‘Do you know how to make an apple cake?’. Your recipie really gave me the answer. And guess what ….it was a HUGE success! Thank you so much!
Tried it yesterday and it is delicious!!! I put apple juice did not have orange juice on hand. Also i cut the sugar to 1 cup. I will surely make it again.
Thanks
This was wonderful!
A friend brought this cake by last night to help welcome in our newborn son. The whole family loved it and my husband insisted I get the recipe, which in turn led me to your site. I’m anxious to try it out, as well as some of your Indian recipes (as my husband hails from Delhi). Thanks for cooking!
I tried this cake yesterday in a 9×13″ pan, and used two layers. It was absolutely delicious. It’s half gone, and I was the only one home!
For anyone looking for a lighter version of this cake – I suggest substituting about half of the oil with plain yogurt. It still turns out moist and delicious, but lighter. I’m sure applesauce would work as well, but yogurt is my personal preference. I’ve made this in both a regular large springform and a bundt pan and both have worked fine.
I just baked it!
It was delicious, specially on the edges, the apples are caramelized, taste awesome!
I have been making this recipe for about the last 10 years with a few variations. The apples must be sliced thinly, there are no nuts and I do two layers of apples with batter between. It is my son’s favorite breakfast food, and you are right — it does taste better the next day — and the day after that too. But I’ll go you one better on the recipe — I sift nothing and mix the batter in one bowl with a wire whisk. It would probably be the easiest cake in the world if you didn’t have to slice and peel the apples.
I am using Gala apples. I only have 1 cup of sugar. Can I use brown sugar and/or molasses for the other cup?
I had 2kgs of apples and a dozen eggs and didn’t know what to do with them all, so I went searching and searching in my cookbooks and on the internet for an apple cake that needed lots of apples and eggs – and this was it!
I sprinkled in the walnuts before I spread the apples on each layer. I didn’t need 1 cup of walnuts, 1/2 cup was enough. I used brown sugar (3 tbsp and 1 cup, not 5 tbsp and 2 cups) and olive oil instead of vegetable oil.
I wasn’t sure when the recipe said ‘degrees’ whether it meant F or C, but I soon realised it meant F as my oven only goes to 250 degrees C! I had to find a F to C converter to work out what I needed to set the oven to. haha!
This great cake has given me a good reason to pull out my new mixmaster too! Can’t wait to eat it! Thanks Deb for the family recipe! Cheers from downunder (Australia!)
I added a TBSP of honey into the apple mixture. (Compliments of my Aunt Carole!) Yummy!
Saying this cake is incredibly delicious is like stating the sky is blue. Nonetheless, . I am baking one right now (the whole apartment smells like cinnamon) and just had to say thanks to you and your mom for all the deliciousness I know awaits me!
I noticed that your picture shows the cake still on the tube. What is the secret for taking the cake completely out of the pan?
A tube pan with a removable bottom is the easiest method.
This cake came out wonderfully in a 9 x 13 (though wasn’t, of course, as pretty a shape as a tube). I also substituted buttermilk for the orange juice and everything was just fine!
Deb, I have so appreciated this site as I’m a college student learning to cook for myself on limited time and space (imagine carrying everything you need up 2 flights of stairs before you bake anything)! Your advice is so helpful and your lack of fear in taking on seemingly-too-fussy recipes gives me courage to do the same. I’m limited in the recipes I can test for now, but I’m sure I will come here even more once I have my own kitchen. Thank you again!
I tried this recipe last night to serve today with brunch, along with boozy baked french toast. It is delicious, but I don’t have a tube pan and made it in a bundt pan instead…it stuck. That’s okay, I’m just slicing it and serving it on a platter to make up for the horrendous outer appearance. Sliced it looks as delicious as it tastes with the layers of apples and spongy moist coffee cake. It is very yummy!
Of Course, you can use this in a bundt or a tube pan, makes no difference. The hole in the middle of either makes it so the cake batter will cook and not be a globby mess in the center of the cake.
Of course, you need to grease the pan well, with spray or shortening, not oil, as it will run , and I would recommend dusting it with flour as well. It sticks because of the apple, sugar mixture. That is especially important when using a bundt pan, which is why you never see one unless it has a no stick surface. Probably the cake would exit the pan better if its left to cool for quite a while.
I received this recipe 30 some years ago from my Aunt. It was her Grandmothers recipe. It is terrific to see that someone else uses the same. Best apple cake and I have never changed the ingredients. I have made in a tube pan or bundt pan. The only thing I have done differently at times is to mix the apples in the batter instead of layering.
I have the same apple cake recipe from my mother-in-law, who was Irish and German. It’s exact. I used Granny Smith apples with great results. If you use a bundt pan, you have to flip the cake after it comes out of the pan to have the apples on top. I also believe I have heard that it is called a Jewish apple cake because it contains no dairy products and thus can be eaten without committing a sin.
I should say when taking the cake out of a bundt pan, you need to flip it, then flip it again. Also, greasing and flouring the sides and center tube makes removal of the cake a snap.
It is fantastically delicious.
I made this last night using 7 smallish gala apples, half whole wheat flour, and a little less sugar than called for. Baked for about an hour and 10-15 mins, it was delicious and not overcooked or dry.
Sadly, I am out of all-purpose flour at the moment and I need to make a dessert for a family dinner tonight. Could I use cake flour in this recipe and it turn out okay?
Finally got around to making this cake Sunday. So easy and so very delicious. My entire family loved it. I’m thinking the next time I make it I might add a crumb top. Thank you so much for the recipe!
This cake is great. I have made it numerous times over the last year.
I have recently become vegan and want to veganize this. Was wondering what purpose the eggs have in the cake to bind or leaven?
Thanks!
Love love love
Just made this last night.
So easy and wonderfully tasty!
I used 2 large Pacific Rose apples and 2 small ‘I-don’t-know’what-kind’ and baked it for 1hr 15min and it is great!
Added a teaspoon of rhum and cinnamon to your recipe. Excellent results.
Hi, my name is Luiza and I’m eleven.
I am Brazilian and I loved this recipe.
Kisses for the Americans !!
Another great smitten kitchen recipe – thank you so much! I’ve been on the look out for the perfect-oil-based-apple-cake-recipe-ever and think that this one is very worthy of the title. It baked up really nicely in my silicon bundt pan. I admit to dialing down the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup – with no adverse effects to the sweetness in my opinion – the apples/cinnamon/sugar combo keeps it just the right amount of sweet :)
Help! Yesterday I made Mom’s Apple Cake and it is terribly
dry!!!! Very disappointing. I followed the recipe to the
letter and baked it at 350 in oven for one hour and a half.
Too Long???? Used 6 Granny Smith Apples, should I have
used more? Please advise, anybody . . . Marianne
Wow…I made this…it’s perfect. Look no further. I did however, notice the cooking time is off. If you use a 10 inch tube, I’m assuming that the time is still a little long. I cooked it for 65 minutes and it was moist and perfect. I think any longer would have been a dried up mess. Marianne, try it again, less cooking time.
Hi ..I would like to know if I can make this cake without the eggs?
Can I substitute say the same qty of Buttermilk for the 4 eggs?
Thanks
Do you know the name of your mom’s neighbor or the magazine? My mom has been making the same cake since I was a child and has lived in NY. I lost the copy she gave me and took a chance there was one similar on the web. And there it is, exactly. Her recipe card looks like your mom’s! Anyway, just curious! Blessings!
today’s the second time this week I’ve made this cake. I’ve been using Spitzenberg apples, cut the sugar by half, added orange zest, and reduced the baking time to 50 – 55 minutes. Maybe it’s because I’m using less sugar but any more time in the oven and the cake would definitely be dry. It’s an excellent apple cake, my new favorite.
I’m currently baking this, and my apartment smells like fall! Thanks so much for sharing. I can’t wait for it to be done!
i just made this cake a few days ago and it was amazing! My whole family loved it and begged me to make it more often. I made it in a bundt pan and greased it heavily with crisco and it came out perfectly! I used fuji apples too because the store was out of macintosh, and it still turned out so yummy! Thanks soooo much for this recipe!
Rosh Hashana is too early and i’m not ready to switch from peaches to apples.
…thinking that this cake might work great with peaches for a Labor Day BBQ this weekend and wondering whether the recipe needs adjusting for the juicier peaches?
Advice anyone?
The cake looks wonderful and I have one in the oven right now. Strange that a bunch of folks are talking about baking this for LESS time — at 1.5 hours mine is still very undercooked inside… but I’m a little worried that if I turn the oven up the apples on top will burn. Maybe it’s time for time tinfoil?
YUM!!! Just pulled this out of the oven and it looks and smells like the best apple cake that I have ever encountered. I don’t know how it will last two more days until Rosh Hashanah-it definitely won’t be served whole….I added some sugary crumb topping that was leftover from my round sweet Rosh Hashanh challah and the cake looks so pretty and tasty. Can’t wait!! thanks Deb.
OH-and I added the optional walnuts but are they supposed to be mixed into the batter of the cake or layered with the apples? I mixed them straight into the batter and I think it will taste great that way. But just wondering…
How many people does this serve? Thanks!
A ton. :) Seriously, this cake is enormous. I’ve seen 16 slices suggested for other tube cakes but you could probably stretch it because it is so tall.
Hi,
I just multiplied this recipe by 20 and baked it in five full sized hotel pans for a Rosh Hashana Dinner for 250 people.
Looks like its going to be great. Thanks!
I am just about to bake this and am reading over the recipe. One quick question. Do the nuts go in the batter or are the mixed in with the apples? Thanks
This is essentially the same cake I bake every year for Rosh Hashana from the cookbook “California Kosher”. I thought maybe I would look around for a new recipe this year, found this on the web and decided I’d stick by the tried and true.
second year in a row I’ve made this for the Rosh. (Not counting the other times I make it during the year, haha) It’s fantastic!! Shana Tova Deb!
OOPS!!! Just remembered that we don’t eat nuts on Rosh Hashanah! So I just put my cake with walnuts in the freezer to be served on Sukkos and I’m going to quickly whip up another cake before Yom Tov. Not that we don’t have other desserts….but it wouldn’t be Rosh Hashanah without an apple cake.
This is really awesome cake! It came out superb!
This is the 1st time I’ve made a cake like this for the Rosh and it was AMAZING!! And yes, even better the 2nd day. I did use white whole wheat flower and didn’t even bother pealing the apples and it was incredible! Yum!
I just made this cake for Rosh Hashana and it was fabulous. I baked it in a 9”x13” pan and it worked very well. I layered the apples, with the apples as the last layer, so very good. It tastes so much like the cake my grandmother made. My family loved it.
I made it (without eggs) for Rosh Hashana and it was the hit of the dinner. I added an apple butter drizzle to the cake, poked holes and poured it on and it was really fab. Thanks for the recipes, the inspiration and the amazing photographs. Keep ’em coming.
I made this cake last year during apple season and sold it at the farmers market, It was loved by all. I will be making it again starting this Saturday
Amazing cake, best that I have eaten. I made it for 30 yeare (always to rave reviews). Lost the reciepe and have found it again. Thank you
We enjoyed this a great deal at our Erev Yom Kippur dinner tonight! I made it in a bundt pan and it was perfect and beautiful!
Fantastic! I do think that the bottom of the cake is a little more done than the rest, and next time might try it in a 9 X 13 pan, especially if I’m feeding a crowd. In a 9 X 13, alas, it will look much less gorgeous, and I’m thinking more apples might be needed to cover the longer surface. The tube pan makes it so beautifully high and dense for its diameter, that I think the challenge is for the interior of the cake to be done without overbaking the bottom or sides.
For the tube pan I used 6 good-sized Granny Smith apples, and threw in a tbsp of lemon juice into the cut apples, cinnamon and sugar.
This is my go-to apple cake for sure, no need for me to hold onto to the other recipes I have. It is seldom that I make something that ends up looking just like the picture. Thank you, deb!
update: Oh me of little faith! The cake was terrific, and scarfed up last night.
Making it a day or two in advance, as originally suggested, makes the aroma, flavor, and moistness even more pronounced. It was NOT overbaked on the bottom, just dark in color.
My own little addition of some melted apple jelly as a little glaze over the apples on top (after the cake came out of the oven), made the top shiny and even more enticing. Gilding the lily, so to speak.
I just took these beautiful cakes out of their pans…OMG. I baked them in 2 8″ loaf pans and they are gorgeous, domed and appled (no such word….but it fits!). The thing I love most is the chunky apple pieces that cover the top of the cake. That is definitely the thing that tempted me to make this apple cake over others I have looked at. Your photo and description drew me right in…..thanks for sharing a bit of your family history- can’t wait to dive in.
one out of 100 i’ve tried, and I must say my husband and the kids were very pleased! it has become a regular request and more of a necessity at all family events. It has a wonderful apple flavor, and a moist, rich texture. Thankyou so much for the recipie. I was about to give up on the whole apple cake idea.
OH MY – this cake is superb. Definitely one for the family recipe book. Thank you!
could you add bananas to this recipe? and can use brown sugar for the apples instead? the recipe looks good, but too sweat. will i still taste the apple tartness?
I have made this cake twice…wonderful both times!! My family prefers a more tart apple so I use Granny Smiths…I also have used pecans instead of walnuts…Just an amazing cake…
I just put this into the oven! I got a little scared after mixing the dry and wet ingredients before adding the eggs since it seemed a little dry, but then the 4 eggs did the trick! I added the Walnuts to the top of the cake. I’m so excited to try it! I went apple picking yesterday and have 10 lbs of apples to use up… :)
This was fantastic! I chopped some Kraft caramels and added them to the apple mixture and WOW was the cake amazing. The bf proclaimed it the best cake I’ve ever made (and I’ve made quite a few). Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Hello-
I have cut up apples in the freezer- can i use those for this cake?? let me konw ASAP!!!
thanks!!!
p.s. you are great.
I baked this for my neighbor’s potluck. Everybody loved it.
This is my first OIL cake since my husband and I believe in BUTTER!
So I was a little worried about using oil and also adding eggs after mixing wet and dry ingredients (like Kait commented Sep 26). So, I added eggs to wet first then added day ingredients, sorry. But it turned out so tasty! Can I substitute oil for melted butter?
I really enjoy your recipes and pictures.
Thank you.
PS. I forgot to mention that I reduced sugar down to 1 1/4 Cups instead of 2 Cups.
That was perfect. Can’t wait to try another recipe.
This cake is delicious!! I could not find Macintosh Apples at my grocery store so I used three Honey Crisp apples and three Gala apples! Very good, sweet combination!! First cake to be completely eaten at my house in ages … This is my father’s new favorite cake!! Thanks!!
Love it love it Love it! Just made it the other day from my apples from apple picking.
oh my. this is too good! I made two yesterday and I’m afraid that they won’t last long – so delicious!!
I halved the recipe and made two small cakes in 6″ round pans. It came out perfectly and they do indeed rise quite a bit. similar to when i made your rhubarb crumb cake, i was worried when i filled the pans that there wasn’t enough batter but, thinking about the crumb cake, told my self not to worry – it will rise. sure enough! full, fluffy cakes! in the small pans they cooked for 45 mintues but i have a dinky little convection oven so that time may vary with a traditional oven. used rubinette apples (a common variety here in Paris, not sure what they are in english) and rapeseed oil (what i had one hand) – a perfect welcome to October!! thank you so much for all your amazing work on this blog!
I made this and it was absolutely delicious. My whole family enjoyed it so much. Thank you for sharing it.
Hi Deb! I made your mom’s apple cake earlier this week and it tasted amazing. I, too, was surprised and skeptical at the lack of butter, but it worked! The only thing is that it had a hard time sticking together so I ate it with a spoon.
this cake is amazing. i made it in a bundt pan and it came out perfectly after about 1hr 15mn. it rose beautifully, it was moist but airy, and not too sweet (i used lemon juice bc i had no OJ, and <1.5C of sugar)
i used 2/3 of a bag of small mushy apples (no crunch = deeply unappetizing uncooked) – that took forever to cut up, but it was SO worth it. i am sure i will make this again and again.
Hi! This is my first time commenting. I made this cake for my little gal’s actual birthday, the day she was born. We shared it with the midwives before they left, the big sister blew the candle out on behalf of her tiny newborn sister. I just made it again to celebrate that little one’s first year outside of the womb, she was born just weeks after your Jacob. I made it with butter instead of oil, made two 8 inch rounds, iced lightly with brown butter icing (!!!!!!) It was fantastic! I read your blog just about daily and it is my go-to for dependable, inspired and down- right delicious food. Thank you! I’m really looking forward to your cookbook, btw.
i love that fall is here and since every friday is bake good friday, which means yes, i bake every friday for work, apples have been the mai theme for the past couple weeks! i cannot wait to go home and make this!! thanks for another great recipe!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Made it for my family last night, and everyone loved it!
i live in Scotland but my husband is Norwegian – Norway has a long history of delicious apple cakes – but yours beats them all. Since I discovered your web site I have made lots of your recipes and all turned out perfectly – I cant tell you how many friends I have passed on this apple cake recipe to – my kids and grandkids adore it – I sometimes put flaked almonds on the top and they brown nicely when the cake is baking and I drizzle over a little icing sugar made up with water – looks pretty. One question – does this cake freeze well>. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes and a glimpse into your happy life.
Lindsay — It should freeze very well. Glad you’re enjoying the site!
Cake great!!! Having a little trouble. Apples all sink to centre. Yours looks great with them on top. Maybe size of tube pan. What diameter do you use?
Thanks You have made me the Jewish Prince of deserts in Europe.
Delicious cake. Not having a springform pan, I made the cake in two 9-inch cake pans with removable bottoms (essentially two cakes from one recipe). I included 2 layers of batter and apples in each pan. Instead of 1 cup of oil, I used 3/4 cup oil mixed with 1/4 cup melted butter, and pecans instead of walnuts. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe, and the results were terrific. Kept one of the cakes and gave the other to very happy neighbors.
Juat made this recipe & only had apple cider instead of orange juice and made it in a bundt pan. Put apples in the bottom of the pan. This is a wonderful cake. My husband is raving. Taking it to friends after church tomorrow.
I reviewed the guidelines & don’t know what the problem is.
The perfect fall cake. We are devouring it as I type….no need for any ice cream or gelato with this dessert. It stands on its own. I will be making this cake over and over again….definitely a keeper!
Well we made it and it was great! Thanks for the recipe
Well finally made it …..thanks for the recipe….jusst wonderful!!!THANKS ONCE MORE!!!
I am in a harvest show coming up and saw this recipe. I wanted to make this for the show but will be making mini cupcakes instead of the cake. Can you tell me how I should make this using this recip? Should I cook the apples first so their tender and then add them to each mini cupcake?? Help, I bake tomorrow and just saw the time for the cake to cook in the oven and each mini cupcake won’t take long to cook. I was worried about the apples not being tender…..Thanks!!
Thank you so much for this great recipe. My friends & I enjoyed it!
This cake is really nice. I halved it and baked it in a loaf pan, which worked really well.
WOW This cake is so so so so moist!!!! and soooooooooo GOOD Ijust made it and
my Husband almost eat the whole thing lol Thanks Debbie:)
Just wanted to say that I have made this cake about 4 times now using this recipe. You would think that I would have printed it by now but every time I just look it up on google and park the laptop on the counter! I just wanted to post that everytime I make it it is a little bit different…a little more of this, a little less of that, a different pan (I don’t have a bundt pan yet so I have been using glass pyrex of many different sizes). Anyways, it always comes out awesome. I am going to make it again today using local apples from an orchard down the street, mostly cortland and empires but I am sure it will be yummy as usual. Thanks!
I was supposed to make an apple pie for a potluck for tomorrow, but I misread the recipe (definitely not a regular pie!) and was missing three significant ingredients. So I decided to make this cake instead – and halfway through realized I didn’t have eggs! (Which of course caused me to go on a mini-rant with language not appropriate for this website.) So I substituted plain yogurt for the eggs, and lemon juice and maple syrup for the orange juice. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
I am trying this cake as we speak. The batter was really difficult to pour. I hope I didn’t screw it up. Anyway, awesome recipe. I am making it in place of a traditional birthday cake for my sister.
I made this cake a few weeks ago for my friend’s birthday. I made a few minor ingredient swap outs, converted it to be made in a bundt pan, and then I topped the cake with a buttered rum glaze. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
Blogged about it here (with pics): http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/2010/10/apples-apples-apples.html
I tried this cake this past weekend (perfect fall day in New England for apple cake!) and it didn’t bake all the way through! I used a tube pan like the recipe says and while the outside, bottom, and top were cooked perfectly (and deliciously) the inside ring was still raw after 1 hour and 45 minutes. Anyone have any idea what I did wrong? I took it out for fear of overcooking the rest of the cake but clearly I should have left it in longer?
I had a glut of apples from a recent trip to the orchard, and have been trying to think of things to use them up in. I just made this last night and it was terrific! I made it in a Bundt pan (layered with batter, apples, batter, apples, batter) – I was a little afraid it would overflow, but it rose just to the top of the pan. I added a few splashes of rum to the apples – perfect! My husband took some of it to work today and it was devoured, and he got lots of requests for the recipe. Thanks for another great recipe!
Great recipe.. i cooked it, and came out a terrific cake. thanks.
do you think i can swap the orange juice with some concentrated brewed coffee? we have an apple tree in our backyard and we need to use them all up now that it’s fall!
I worked assiduously at ruining this cake and it STILL turned out fabulously delicious. I pre-measured all of my dry ingredients so I could make it quickly in the afternoon and thought I’d also measure the dry ingredients for some equally autumnal Ginger Snaps. You know what happened here, right? I knew it as soon as the gingery/cinnamony/clovey-ness of the gingersnaps wafted up to my nose — FROM the mixing bowl containing my cake batter! I figured “meh, why not?” and dug out the g’snap dry ingred and plomped in the correct dry ingred and made myself the most delicious Apple Cake! It baked for about 90 min. in a tube pan that I’d buttered and floured, cooled over night and came out of the pan easily and beautifully. I’m a baked-fruit convert (and I’ve RE-learned my “be careful before you plunk something into something else, for crying out loud” lesson early in the holiday baking season, to boot! YAY!). Thanks, Deb! (Btw, the gingersnaps fared just as well. Sometimes it pays to forge on ahead boldly — or foolishly.)
Just made this and brought it into work. It got RAVE reviews including saying it was the best cake “everrrr.” Was going to flip it out onto a plate but it seemed stuck on the bottom so i just took the tube part out since it was a springform tube pan. Served it with the tube sticking up on a plate, but it looked ok, and tasted DELICIOUS! :)
I made this cake last night, and it was a huge success. I used Jonagolds (from a recent apple-picking adventure in upstate NY), and since I don’t own a tube pan, I used a bundt pan instead. The only tweak I made was that I mixed the apples in with the batter (instead of layering them) since other commenters had mentioned that layering apples in a bundt pan can cause the top or sides of the cake to burn. It was delicious, and it’s definitely a new fall recipe favorite!
This is a great recipe…. I cut down on the oil, replaced some with unsweetened applesauce and made this recipe as cupcakes (mini size) . To finish it off, I made a salted caramel sauce and drizzled it over the top… YUM!!!!
Love your website, btw. Made this cake tonight, it is cooling as I type. Don’t know what it will taste like, but based on the comments it should be great. Have friends dropping over soon (didn’t know about that until just 15 min ago!) so they will be my guinea pigs!! ha ha.
No seriously, love reading some of the other recipes, will def. have to try them.!!
What would you think about substituting the applesauce for the oil? I’m always looking for ways to increase the health factor in recipes and I have some delicious homemade applesauce I can use. I’d love to try out this cake, but don’t want to mess it up with substitutions.
do you think the recipe would still work if you mix in the apples vs. layering? i didn’t want to take the chance and try since it’s my first attempt at making this recipe?
thanks! my house smells heavenly as it bakes.
As a relative begginner to cooking and baking (been learning for about 3 years, but only cook for myself most of the time, so it’s slow going), I just have to reiterate how amazingly reliable your recipes are and how much I appreciate them! I’ve mastered your Raspberry Buttermilk Cake and Black bottomed cupcakes, and can now add this as a success to my list!! Even with a mix of a round cake pan, a loaf pan and a small casserole dish (only allowed to eat the small one myself, the other two are presents!), it still came out amazingly perfect!! Thank you again, and thank you for sharing pictures of your adorable little one, he makes my biological clock tick, it’s terrible!!
I baked mine on Sunday! Yumms! Thanks for the recipe and the story!
This recipe is super! I tried it after the recipe my aunt gave me failed. This one is better because it has orange juice and because the cinnamon is not mixed in with the batter (the other recipe made a brown cake–this made a nice yellow cake). And as reported, it gets much better after at least a day.
I am not a beginner but in this case I cannot figure out where I made a mistake.
The batter came out too thick, I had to add some apple sause to it. When I try a new recipie for the first time I follow the in ingredients exactly as given. The only change in this case was 1 cup of sugar instead of 2. I do not think this would make a big difference.
We still enjoyed the cake. I would like to make it again.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Deb you have turned me into a Sunday baker and all my co-workers thank you. I biked to the farmers market today for apples after seeing this recipe, unfortunatly no McIntosh apples to be found. So, I bought some Golden Delish instead after seeing your comment. Let me just say that close to one of those apples never made it into the cake, I kept nibbling those cinnamon cubes while making the batter, but there was still plenty left to complete the cake. The house smells so good and I could hardly wait for the cake to cool before tasting it. Tell your mom thanks. This is a wonderful recipe!
Baked it a second time round and it was well received!
Baked it today for the first time. I am not a huge fan of fruit cakes or pies but this is AWESOME! New family recipe for us. We always have so many apples this time of year becuase my mother in law brings us a bushel back on her anual trip to upstate New York. Thanks so much for sharing a family great.
perfectly delicious and feeds a lot of people!
I have stock of apple at home! i thought the kids like to eat apples but its not. And it’s not possible to eat all by me.I remember my mother in law that she baked apple cake. So i tried to bake apple cake. I’ts amazing my apple cake consume very fast. Thanks to Allrecipes.com atleast I have a guidelines for my baking.So the apple was not wasted.And my kids request more apple cakes! its great
I would love to make this cake for a Potluck I’ll be going to on Monday afternoon. Unfortunately, as a poor college student, I do not have access to my own kitchen. Is this recipe one that will keep, perhaps one day in advance? Or would you recommend something else? Thanks!
maya, this will def keep a day ahead.
Lovely! Much appreciated at brunch today after I made it last night. I always want more apple in apple cake and may finally found the right balance here. I did use 3 Tbsp. boiled cider and only 1 Tbsp. orange juice.
Maya — Like Jennifer said, this cake keeps great. Even more than a day, two, three. You can chill it after a day or so.
Oh. My. Goodness. This cake is AMAZING! I cut the recipe down by half and cooked it in a 6inch (wedding cake) tin. It came out of the oven an hour ago and it is half gone! I served it with Stonyfield cream top plain yogurt (hallelujah!) and I cannot thank you enough! It is lovely, lovely lovely:)
Well, I was looking for a new Thanksgiving desert, and happened upon this lovely Apple Cake recipe, I was so excited when I say the picture and how easy to make. So excited I printed out the recipe along with about almost 200 of the comments by accident. Ha Ha, No doubt it will be magnifiuqe. It sure is smelling good. Hope we have will power not to eat it before the big day.
love this cake!!! i halved the recipe and made it in a glass loaf pan and it was incredible. can’t wait to make it in the tube pan, probably this weekend.
This apple cake was a huge hit at our Thanksgiving table this year!! Thank you so much! I followed the directions and out came a delicious and beautiful cake. We had a few pieces with french vanilla ice cream and the rest with a warm runny custard. So yum!
I made this cake last summer to take on a rafting trip with a group of good friends. It was the hit of the trip and disappeared in no time. We ate the leftovers for breakfast. Everyone wanted the recipe! I would like to make a loaf version for giving as gifts to the same friends who enjoyed it on our summer trip, but have a couple of questions: Should I layer the apples and batter in the loaf pans or put a single layer of apples on top? Should I still set the oven at 350? How long should it bake in the loaf pans as opposed to the tube pan? (I baked the tube pan version 2 hours and it was PERFECT!) Thanks!!!!
I’m 48 and my mom’s been making this cake all my life. She, too, calls it “Jewish Apple Cake,” and it is a staple in our family. I have no idea where she got the recipe – she can’t remember, either – but I know there’s no romantic background for us; we’re not Jewish and my Pennsylvania Quaker family’s been here since before the Revolutionary War. Anyway, I make it with the Granny Smiths from my mom’s tree, and no nuts, and I slice the apples rather than chop them – otherwise the recipe is identical. It is soooo gooooood! Everyone – and I mean EVERYONE – loves this cake. I agree it improves overnight, but it’s still luscious right out of the oven. I always make one for our church Christmas bazaar and it sells right away. It looks gorgeous, tastes heavenly and is impossible to screw up, plus it keeps beautifully.
I HAD TO BAKE THE CAKE WELL OVER 2 HOURS BEFORE IT WAS READY. ANY COMMMENTS?? IT WAS FAB, BUT 2+ HOURS?????
Ron – Have you verified the temperature of your oven? That may have been an issue. Plus, it’s not *that* much extra time, since the recipe calls for 1.5 hours or until done. I made it last night, and I think it took an hour and 40 minutes, and I know i’ve had trouble with my oven running cold. You might just want to get an oven thermometer and test out a few different spots in the oven just to be sure you’re not running cold.
This recipe is INCREDIBLE!!! I have baked it at least 6 or 7 times… I want to make some for Christmas, but I want to know how it freezes?
My husband says this is the best thing I’ve ever baked. I disagree. I think your cheesecake-marbled brownies are the best thing I’ve ever baked. :-)
This is pretty fabulous. I made it for Thanksgiving with cranberries and will be making it again today for Christmas! My boyfriend absolutely loves this cake as well as myself. I might try adding blueberries this time. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic cake! I made it a few weeks ago and now I’ve made two more by request. As mentioned, the batter is incredibly thick and doesn’t seem to make enough the first time you try it. But the cake rises quite a bit and completely fills the 10inch tube pan.
One question for the experts. How do you test for doneness? I tried a toothpick but with the gooey apples the toothpick never comes out clean. How can you distinguish between undone cake batter and apple goo when looking at the toothpick? It all looks the same to my aging eyes!
Sorry if this is a dumb question but it’s the one thing I have trouble with when making this. I’ve been bakking the cake at 350F for 1 hour 40 minutes and it seems to work fine. But I’d like to know how to tell doneness in case I make this in a different oven. Thanks!
Wonderful cake–have now made it four times in the past two months and about to make it today for Christmas dinner. Have cut the sugar down a bit and used brown for half and it still comes out amazing. Have used a combo of Macs and Ambrosias–thanks for sharing a great recipe. Hoping to make your apple cheddar scones this week!
Hubby and I just finished two ginormous pieces right out of the oven–delicious!!!! Only problem seemed to be getting it out of the pan. Hubby did it for me while I was on the phone and inverted it–to my horror–but we righted it immediately. I buttered the pan twice to make sure it was covered but it was still really sticky. Any suggestions? I thought to maybe butter and flour the pan next time. Yes, there will definitely be a next time and I’m sure many times to come. :-) Fabulous taste and rustically gorgeous. Thank you Deb for the fantastic recipe.
Eva,
I use a non-stick two piece tube pan. I spray it with non-flour vegetable spray and have not had a problem with the three cakes I have made. The cake pulls away from the sides of the pan during baking and a quick swipe with an offset spatula removes any stuck areas. I then remove the center portion of the pan and set it to cool on a rack. After an hour I gently grasp the sides of the cake, lift and twist slightly to break it free from the bottom. The tricky part (for me) is lifting the cake up off of the center post and onto a plate. The cake is a bit fragile since it is still warm. And the big chunks of apples make perfect fault lines where it can break. I haven’t had one break yet but I always hold my breath as I lift it up and over to the serving plate! Hope this helps….
This was awesome! I used a bundt pan–not a good idea for me–it stuck–and a loaf pan for the extra–that worked better. It is delicious and made a good stand-in for King’s cake! Thank you!
Yum !! I baked this cake for years and loved it. I lost the recipe…. kept trying to remember it—googled apple cake and found your blog. Baked the cake and it is as good as I remembered it. I am a happy girl— found the recipe and a new blog.
Ok baking this now with home grown apples given to me this year by dear friend 12 quarts, using my bundt pan and omitting the walnuts can’t wait to taste it . it won’t be ready til 2:30 am . Carla
Hi, I just made this today for my daughter and her boyfriend. Everyone loved it but I must admit that I almost made a big mistake! I put 5 tablespoons of sugar in the dough. When I had everything in place and was ready to put the last apple mixture on top, I reread the ingredients list and realised I hadn’t noticed the “2 cups of sugar” part, so I took everything out and mixed with the two cups of sugar…. Guess I haven’t baked a cake in a while. Next time I’ll get it right!
thank you for this amazing recipe.i made this cake today.. and it turned out to be really good :-) i would reduce the sugar by a bit next time, was a bit sweet for my taste.. this cake vil definitely be a regular in my house :-)
Hi from a first time reader!
Thanks for the trip back to Grandma Sarah’s kitchen in Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY.
I could reminisce here, but me thinks you’ve heard it all.
Anyway, my wife would love to taste the apple cake. Why not, you say? Simple, she’s a Weight Watcher’s-aholic. She won’t taste NUTHING without having her “numbers.” So, could you give her some idea about calories, carbs, etc? It would be much appreciated.
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Best regards;
Mitch
Then from Brooklyn, now from Wisconsin
I just put this cake in the oven. I’m not very good at sticking to a recipe so hoepfully it turns out! My changes were that I only had 4 apples (1 granny smith, and 3 macintosh). I used 3 tablespoons of brown sugar in place of 3 of the required white sugar. I also added 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce, and a 1/4 cup plain yogurt and about 1/3 cup of ground flaxseed. Fingers crossed.
I just made this last night in a 9 x 13 pan. Turned out much better than when I made the chocolate chip sour cream cake! It is very moist and delicious. I diced my apples much smaller than in the above pictures and I left the skins on for the nutritional value…very good that way. I only used 4 apples as 6 would have overflowed out of my 9 x 13 pan.
Though for my personal tastes, I think it needs a little something more in the spice category. Next time I am going to add some cinnamon and cardamom or a bit of ground cloves into the batter to give it a bit of a boost. I also want to half the oil and sub in applesauce and perhaps decrease the sugar a tad to make it a bit healthier. Overall though, a good cake!
Hi Deb
Was trying to re-create a cake we had in a winery region a few years ago.
I made this cake in a 26cm (11″) springform pan. Substituted Orange Juice and 1/2C of the oil for 1C of greek yougurt. Put some chopped walnuts and sultanas in with the top layer of apples.
Turned out delectable. I stored it in the fridge for 1.5 days before serving (as I live in a tropical climate, and leaving out of the fridge is not an option – ants and mould) and it was still really moist.
Served about 10 people, and still had a half of the cake left. Might add some cream cheese icing next time.
Thanks!
2/13/2011 – I just made this cake and oh what a disappointment. Looked nothing like the photos here, which look awesome and made my mouth water. It still looked fairly nice. It was so bland and very heavy. I Love my desserts and this one just didn’t cut it in my book. I’ve already thrown the recipe out and certainly will never make it again. This was actually more work than the apple cake recipe I already had. Shared some with my daughter and son-n-law, which they too thought wasn’t very good.
made this last week with a few changes. five super ripe gala apples, a cup and a half of sugar, in two loaf pans that took probably an hour and a half to bake.
my mom tried it and said it tasted just like her grandmother’s. thank you for a recipe that brings back such wonderful memories for her.
Hi Deb
Does this recipe use granulated sugar or caster sugar?
Granulated.
Thanks. Made this with caster sugar as I was too impatient to wait for a reply or cake, and had apples on the turn, and it turned out great. Reduced the sugar a little, added a little ground ginger and an extra egg. This gigantic cake was demolished by hungry housemates in a matter of hours. Will try again with different sugars.
I’m trying this in a spring form pan! haha! Working so far…
Spring form – without a tube… worked but just a little soft in the middle… but very delicious!
I just made this in a bundt pan on Saturday. My family said it was the best apple cake they had ever had. And I agree !
It was perfectly moist, held up very well when cut into slices and was delicious the next day as well.
However I used different apples : 2 granny smith, 1 honey crisp and 5 red delicious apples.
And I did put finely chopped walnuts in it as well.
I recommend this recipe to everyone. It’s easy and will delight everyone’s palate !
Bon Appetit !
This recipe is absolutely amazing. It turned out perfect. Thanks for sharing!!
I really set on messing up this cake. I put the batter into the pan but it wasn’t enough for two layers as my pan was wider than it should be. I decided to put batter in one layer and spread all apples on it. Then I realised I put only 1 3/4 c flour instead of 2 3/4 c. So I took apples out and then the batter (which got mixed with some apples in the process), mixed in additional cup of flour and returned it to the pan. After putting in the oven I realised I hadn’t put any eggs!!! I thought ‘oh, well, at least I could eat the apples afterwards, if not the batter’. Anyway, despite everything cake turned out amazing, my mom who usually doesn’t eat sweets just ate two big pieces. Yet another lovely recipes from this blog!
Hello Deb!!!
Just want to say that since I made this cake for the first time, the recipe hasn`t ever failed me!! It`s always sooo delicious!!
I often substitute the orange for tangerines and it`s still amazing! I also add ground cardamom and cloves (a personal choice, I love it:)
Thank you very very much!!!!
Mariya
I was a bit short of apple so used some pear and a quince as well, and it turned out well, but I agree with some of the other cooks who have commented – it has a large amount of sugar which could be reduced. I will try again using some substitution methods to reduce the sugar content.
As always, I followed your well written directions to the letter and this cake was DA BOMB!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you Deb, YOU ROCK!
I love this cake !! I have baked it about 5 times now and WoW !!! perfect every time !!! Thank you for this wonderful apple cake !!! oh and I use a tube pan instead of a bundt pan its better the middle tube acts like a core so it will bake evenly….
Yum !! perfectly delicious and feeds a lot of people!
For some reason, when I first saw this recipe, I assumed it included rum. And now I desperately crave baking this cake, but with rum mixed in somewhere. Do you have any ideas how I could go about that without screwing with the other components? If I used it instead of orange juice, would I have to up the other wet ingredients a bit?
I just want to say first, I LOVE your website and second, this is an awesome cake! I made some adjustments – less sugar, using olive oil, and in the existing containers that I have (loaf pan and pie pan). It’s quite interesting how different shapes give to such different results even with the same batter. The pie pan give results almost like a crumble. I’ve posted the differences here on my blog: http://fromtarotopotato.blogspot.com/2011/04/awesome-apple-cake.html
(yep the title summarize how I feel about this cake!) I am still working improving photo skills as I’m just starting to take food photos with the point-and-shoot that I have.
Also, someone suggest that pears or quince would work too. If I get my hands on quince I’ll definitely give it a try.
This is my favorite cake that my German stepmother makes. Her recipe is almost identical except she uses 3 cups flour and only 2 1/2 tsp baking powder. She is also allergic to citrus and leaves out the OJ and it still comes out perfect.
Thank you for sharing the recipe, now I will have to make one for my children.
Okay, so I just have to give my piece based solely on my first taste of this cake: IT IS AMAZING.
Cinnamon. Apple chunks. Moist cake. What more could you ask for, really.
I made this cake in a bundt pan because that is all that I had on hand, and it turned out great. I made sure that I covered the bottom of the pan with 1/3 of the cake, then layered it apples, cake, apples, and the final layer of cake. To be honest, I was worried when I put the last layer of cake batter on, because there didn’t seem to be enough batter to cover the apples evenly. However, the cake rose quite nicely in the oven and filled in any gaps that there may have been.
Oh, one more thing I did: I covered the cake with tin foil for the last 15-20 minutes (I only baked the cake for about 1hr 20 mins total) because I was scared that it was getting a little too browned on top.
All in all, a fantastic cake. I will definitely be making this again. And again. And again. Mmm.
Oh Deb ….. I love your mom (and this apple cake recipe)
I made this cake last night, and it was heavenly then and this morning! I made it in a 9×13 pan as I didn’t have a tube pan and didn’t use my bunt pan as I wanted to ensure the apples were on the top. However, I had the same problem as others, although I baked it for 1 hour and then checked it every 5-10 mins afterwards until the tester came out clean in the centre, but the bottom of the cake was very brown, and I had to scrape the bottom of some of the pieces to prevent any burnt taste. Is this because of the position of the oven rack? I placed it in the middle-bottom (more middle than bottom). Any ideas or thoughts?
I love all things apple cake and have a fabulous recipe I’ve been using for about 25 years from the local Episcopal ladies cookbook. But your mother’s apple cake is just a bit different and so I tried it. It IS good!… but fell apart when I tried removing it from the pan (so we called it Apple Crumble Cake as we gobbled it up. When you say “grease” the pan – could you be a bit more specific? I Crisco-ed the tube pan. Normally I have greased and floured the pan when I made the Episcopal version – although that does leave that flour-y texture/taste on those outside bites which I’m not overly fond of. The apples give off so much juice! I think you used one of those pans that the bottom comes apart from the sides – I have one – just need to find it. I think that would help. Also cooling it more would probably help. I had a hard time waiting for that first bite. Love your site! Especially your honest humor.
I just made this for a second time last night. I deviated slightly from the original and found something I really like.
I made these into 24 muffins that baked for 22 minutes at 350F. I left the apple skins on and diced the apples pretty small. (You do not notice the skins that way and you get more nutrients.) Mixed the apples and spices (I added 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom) at the end and just barely incorporated them into the batter.
I had no orange juice so I squeezed up 2 blood oranges I had (I could not taste anything different in the cake) and had to substitute a cream of tartar and baking soda combo since I was out of baking powder. I also used light olive oil (no olive taste to it) as my oil of choice. I also substituted in 1/2 cup of white whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup flaxseed meal.
Brought some to work and they disappeared fast! So yummy and good! I would advise letting them set (if you can resist) for a day as they get really moist and delicious!
Since the muffins bake up so much faster and require no greasing of pans (love cupcake liners!) I think I will always stick with my muffin version rather than the tube cake version. Thanks Deb!
Deb, I have to tell you that yours has now become my favorite blog. And I think I must be following a zillion…or greedily trying to that is. The reason I love your blog is that each recipe I have tried has worked. And thats no mean feat given that I live in India and do not have access to a lot of the ingredients. I improvise but clearly the recipes are brilliant! Tried this recipe with a few changes:
1. Mixed in the apple chunks
2. Added walnuts and raisins
3. Cut down the sugar
4. (My fav recommendation) Sprinkled sugar over the cake before baking to get a nice crunchy top
Was YUMMY. Especially when served with cold unsweetened cream. Thanks for another great recipe.
How much sugar did you use? Wondering if it could go down to just a cup.
can fuji apple be uses instead of mcintosh apples
I don’t see why not.
Just made this… sooo wonderful! We all loved it with fresh whipped cream. Thank you for sharing!
Okay, dumb question..is this meant to be a breakfast cake or dessert cake? I know alot of people use them interchangably, I was just curious what you usually make it for. Thanks!
have made this cake 3 times. love it. It seems to get moister after sitting for a day. I have used different kinds of apples each time, doesn’t seem to matter. thanks!
made this cake for the first time yesterday.it was yummy.i used lemon juice in place of oj,1/2 olive 1/2 soybean oil.used the apples that were handy.will make it soon with smaller pieces of apple.
This looks awesome!!! Can this be made in cupcake liners (for individual serving size)? I have a party coming up and putting together a dessert table…thought this would be an awesome addition. Also, can this be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer until party day?
Hi Deb! I just made and published on my blog this absurdly delicious recipe!!! Thanks!!!
The bundt pan works magnificently!! Just put the apples in the bottom. the BESt part about that… is when you invert the bundt… the apples stick to the top. I just scraped the goopey yummy mess out the pan and topped the cake with it. It was a hit. I also made an adjustment. Boil a can of Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk for 3 hours (please keep it covered with water and remove the labels) and you’ll have caramel! Put the can in the ice box overnight and when you take it out. Open it at both ends and out pops something similar to the cranberry sauce you get at Thanksgiving! Chop it into chunks and add to the apples.. No words describe.
Just made this… sooo wonderful! Thank you for sharing! Could you use a pears instead of apples?
Deb,
I halved the recipe and baked in a 9×5 loaf pan which I used for other breads, as another commenter had suggested, and it was a terrible disappointment. All that work and ingredients, and I don’t even think I could take it into work. The bottom and sides were burned, and the inside while cooked though fully baked (over an hour to get it to settle) almost looked raw, not all cake like and nothing like the pictures. I usually do well with your recipes, but never again for this one, and would not recommend 9×5 pans for this to anyone else.
Kathryn
This was so much fun making with my four year old daughter! She was such a big help (: We used our own hand-picked country apples from Grandma’s orchard. We’re feeling our first Fall-like day here in Western PA and could think of nothing more tasty and comforting this evening. This turned out beautifully so I can honestly say, go ahead and include the little ones in on this recipe. My daughter had a blast picking, sifting, and tasting! I’m thinking this will be a new tradition for us. Thanks for sharing! (-:
~Megan~
The ingredient “Vanilla”: is that Vanilla-Sugar or what kind of Vanilla is it? I as a German only know Vanilla-Sugar or Vanilla-Beans. Thank you for helping me.
Dijeh
Here, it is vanilla extract, a liquid. You can use a little bit of fresh vanilla bean, if you have it. Or you can skip it.
I attempted this recipe, but I didn’t have a tube pan so I tried a 9×13, and I’m sad to say, it was a mess. The batter oozed over the edges, and the center was raw. And it was a complete heartbreak, because IT SMELLED SO GOOD. I think if I’d used a tube pan, it would’ve been delicious. I will try this one again when I can afford the equipment.
I finally made this cake today and in a word…. Yummy! I did make a few changes… I substituted 1/2 cup of the oil for 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and baked it in z bundt pan rather then a tube pan, thanks for another great recipe and post!
I’ve been wanting to make this for Rosh Hashanah, so I “previewed” it at a potluck tonight. Even though I had to take it out of the oven before I thought it was done (because I planned poorly re timing of cake vs. timing of picking up kids from school), it turned out wonderfully moist – and those yummy apple chunks! It will definitely go on the holiday menu later this month!
Oh My Goodness!!! Just made this cake last night with my 3 year old daughter….so moist, delicious and the cake is even better the next day. I even made the mistake of putting the eggs in with the sugar, orange juice, vanilla mix. If you are a new baker or otherwise afraid to try this recipe, the only sorrow will come when you first taste it in that you waited so long to try it!!
My only changes were to use something called “baking spice” which containes a mix of cinnamon, cardamom, mace, allspice and anise. I also added double-strenght vanilla instead of the regular because it was all I had on hand.
Thank you so much for such a wonderful and delicious experience that I shared with my daughter and will be able to pass this recipe on to her!!
I baking this one using this recipe right now. Although I substitute the veg oil for stick(1C) of butter and mixed the orange juice w/ the apples so that in would not turn brown but than drained it into the batter before mixing the apples into the batter.I also added nutmeg and cinnamon w/ the apples and into the batter. I lined some of the apples into the bottom of a bunt pan and the rest into the batter. After it was done baking, put the butter wrapper on top of the cake to keep it moist. You can wrap and freeze in up for 2mths which taste way better. I hope this helps.
made this tonight in two loaf pans….tastes amazing! thanks for the recipe!
I just took this out of the oven – smells heavenly!! Cant wait till it cools. Apple season here in CT and was looking for a yummy recipe to try with our fresh picked apples. If it tastes as good as it smells, I dont know if I will be able to share. Bought some b&j’s vanilla ice cream to go with it. forget dinner!!
Absolutely Delish, only change was used raw sugar instead of white, so got to use a little less, it was sooo moist, best apple cake ever, used fresh picked VT macintosh apples, how could you go wrong? Thanks, Deb, this is a keeper for sure~~
this is in the oven right now. I forgot to but in the sugar and couldn’t figure out why the batter was so strange- as I was about to put it into the oven, I remembered….I scraped out the batter, apples and all, AND ADDED THE SUGAR!! Hope it comes out okay. The tube pan is leaking a bit- I think the 30 year old pan is definitely on its last legs…. I have made this before and it was wonderful- hope the improvisation will be just a s good…..
Mom’s apple cake doesn’t say where to add the chopped nuts. I have a similar recipe that calls for 1/2 c. of orange juice, What do you think ? The other ingredients are about the same except mine calls for 3 tsp. of baking soda and 1/2 tsp. of baking powder.
I love your blog. I was curious what you had for apple and honey cakes. I came across this one and it is the same as my mom’s! However, I normally do it in an 11 x 17 and it burns easily. I will try again this week.
I made your mom’s apple cake in a bundt pan, and it was terrific! I was afraid to put the apples in first in case they would burn, so I did it the way your recipe specified, and it was still great. The cake part is much like a pound cake, and I really didn’t taste the OJ at all (for anyone who was wondering if it would be too citrus-y). Thanks for the great recipe!
This is a yummy cake. Is there a reason you cut down on the flour? Just curious. I used a bundt pan and it turned out great! I made it to honor the Jewish new year and my co-workers are raving about it! thank you!
I also wanted to mention that I got an apple pealer, corer, slicer and it does all that at once. It’s really quite amazing! Now I really want to cook with apples, where before the preparation to get to the sliced apple was too tedious and messy.
Hey, I thought Hadassah invented this cake! It’s in a very dog-eared 40 year-old edition of my mom’s Hadassah cookbook- I expect I’ll be seeing it tomorrow- my mom makes it every year and it keeps for a week, easy. Happy New Year!
how long was I suppose to cool this before I took it from the pan? I used a bundt pan and it fell apart when i removed. I removed it as soon as i took it from the oven. So it was a sad time for me.
Followed recipe exactly. After suggested baking time, tester came out wet. It took almost 15 more minutes – still wet but took it out because outside looked & smelled burnt. Any ideas what went wrong?
Your oven might run a bit hot, so lowering the temperature might help next time. Sometimes thinner/lighter cake pans can lead cakes to brown too quickly but in most cases, it’s more of a temperature issue if the cake is raw but too dark.
Mary — The cake is intended for a plain tube pan. I know that some commenters have had success with it in a bundt pan but it’s not something I recommend because it can be hard to get the cake out. Sorry you had a mess! It should come out of a regular tube pan that’s been well-greased after a little cooling without a problem.
what type of orange juice? pulp free?
I LOVE your site. I get all my new recipes from here and canNOT wait for the cookbook!
this is, literally, the first cake i ever made – if you don’t include chocolate cupcakes. I couldn’t find a tube pan anywhere so i bought a 28cm spring form pan and hoped for the best. It turned out amazing! i took it out at 1 hr 20 minutes because the apples started to burn a bit so, even though i tested it & it was fine, i spent the rest of the day worrying about whether or not it was done..my poor boyfriend. It turned out beautifully and fully cooked in the center & everyone loved it. this definitely encouraged me to really start baking more!
Apple season here in Maine and have another one of these in the oven as I have company coming tonight. This is the BEST recipe ever. My only change is a little fresh ground nutmeg with the apples in addition to the cinnamon. Mmmmmm……
I have made this cake many times (it’s my favorite!), and I always make it in a bundt pan because I don’t own a tube pan. I end up making 5 layers instead of the 4 in the recipe – put a small amount of batter in the bottom of the bundt pan, then apples, batter, apples and the rest of the batter (you just build it upside down). The small amount of batter in the bottom seems to hold the apples in a little bit better. It doesn’t always work, and sometimes I just serve it from the pan so that it doesn’t fall apart.
I made this cake last night for the 4th Rosh Hashanah in a row. It always comes out beautifully, though mixing the batter sure does make my arms tired! I make it in a tube pan, and I have an amazing (what feels like a 10-lb.) cake. It really is a gem of a recipe. The only downside this year is RH comes before my annual apple-picking trip, so I had to buy the apples from the market. L’Shana Tova!
I also made this cake on Wednesday night to serve Thursday night for Rosh Hashanah and it turned out to be delish! I found that leaving it over night really released the flavor and moisture in the apples. It was such a hit at my party it looks like I will be making next year. I do not bake a lot and I found this to be fairly easy just peeling and coring the apples took some time. I meant to add the walnuts and I forgot so maybe next time. Overall just a great recipe.
I’ve made this cake a few times. Yesterday, I used Fuji apples, but I think Granny Smaiths work best. I also used blood orange-infused olive oil instead of vegetable, however, the cake was too heavy, and I didn’t care for the orange overtones.
Next time, I will use 1/2 cup apple cider instead of orange juice, and meyer lemon-infused olive oil, also reducing the quantity of oil slightly. I bake it at 375F for 75 min.
So apparently I’m not the first one to stumble across this recipe, but I thought you would like to know that my brother-in-law’s German (truly) mother makes a cake JUST LIKE this and I have been trying to figure out how I might wrestle the recipe out of her. When I first tasted it I couldn’t believe how delicious it was, told her as much, and was greeted with genuine surprise as she went on to explain how simple it is to make. And here it is, in all it’s glory, and I can nearly taste it as if I had just taken the first bite. Thank you for sharing!
This cake is in the oven now and rising beautifully. I wish I could send the smell to everyone! Thanks for this beautiful recipe. Shana Tova!
So I came across this while searching for an apple cake recipe, and had to share my story.
My mother makes this UNBELIEVABLE zucchini bread and has always said the recipe was my great-grandmother’s. So I assumed it came over with her from Poland and was this centuries-old recipe from the old country. WRONG! Greatgrandmother had cut it out of the local newspaper sometime in the 60s or so and had made it ever since. its still the best, though!
This recipe looked awesome! Have family coming over for a birthday today, Octoberfest style and thought this cake would be a perfect compliment to the menu of beer bratwurst, german potato salad and german baked beans. I went with the 9×13 pan as my Angel Food pan does not have a removable bottom. I had to adjust my oven temp down to 325 about 35 minutes into it as I noticed the sides of the cake were already getting dark. Total cooking time 1 hr 25 minutes to get a clean tester. I must have an uneven oven as 2 sides of the cake have a burnt edge. Still smells and looks wonderful, will have to get the proper pan and have my oven adjusted! Can’t wait to taste it tonight!
I made this for Rosh Hashanah and it was a HUGE hit. I substituted demerara sugar for the white, used 2 c. white flour and 3/4 cups whole wheat, and used apple juice instead of OJ, and I cooked it in a round (regular, not tube) dish, probably about 10-11 inches. I also sliced the apples thinly and arranged them nicely on top. It was absolutely delicious, and my sister-in-law asked for the recipe. I’ll definitely be making this again – thanks!!!
ok, so i was suspicious when the batter was no incredibly thick and i wondered about all the sugar (so i cut it by a third of a cup). but this was an amazing recipe and it looked just like your gorgeous photos. i liked the sweetness with a bit less sugar (my taste) and yum vanilla whipped cream or ice cream. a humongous hit. thankssssss
Seriously delicious. I made this twice, once for Rosh Hashanah and the second for a potluck, and both were very well received.
I made it in a spring form pan and it worked wonderfully.
This looks so great and as a non-dairy eater I’m always beyond thrilled to find great recipes that I can eat. Think I’ll make it for my break-fast next week. Love your site.
I just made this last night to use up some of the apples from an apple-picking expedition. AMAZING. One of the best things I’ve ever baked, and it disappeared QUICKLY here at the office.
Since I had a wide variety of apples, I used a mixture of soft/crisp and tart/sweet and it came out perfectly.
Thank you!
About how many cups of apples are needed to equal the 6 apples?
Thanks!
Has anyone ever answered the question of how many cups of apple rather than the number of apples you use as sizes vary so much. I am a lover of Honey Crisp apples which are super delicious and bake beautifully but they are very large. Any suggestions? I hope to make this Saturday and sure would like an idea. Thanks.
So I feel silly asking this, but how do you get it off the base/tube once you take it out of the pan? All of your pictures show it still on the base, but I’d love to take it off to serve. Can i just flip it onto a plate, put another plate on the bottom, and flip it back over? Or am I going to lose all the apples on top if I do that?
Krista — Those apples adhere to the cake. You flip it out, just the way you described. I took these pictures before I brought the cake elsewhere and wanted to do it intact. I’ve totally gotten over that in the years since then, and now routinely bring cakes to parties with slices missing. :)
Lezanne — You can always use one less apple. The cake is very forgiving, however, if your apples are larger.
This is a great recipe-I made it once before and instead of chunks I used my apple corer/peeler/slicer and sliced the apples into very thin slices and layered them. It still came out great and looked really cool when you cut into it. I’m going to make it again this weekend!
My sister and I got on the subway train at grand central and a woman had on her lap a wonderful looking, cinnamon scrumptious smelling apple cake. It was beautiful. I love apple cake and asked her if she’d be willing to give up the recipe and she told me about smitten kitchen and how she was looking for a cake like her grandmother used to make. I read Alot of similar stories here! I was so excited! I can’t wait to go back home to Atl and use the bag of apples I bought in Blue Ridge last week. Thanks for sharing!
LOVE LOVE what I see w/the apple cake!! Thanks for the heads up!!! I’m excited!! ally :)
I made this cake tonight! It came out great. My family loved it.. I used a bundt pan and reversed the order, apples first then batter, apples then batter… It only took 1 hour to bake at 350… Great recipe!!!
I made this cake tonight after apple picking with rome apples. I used a bundt pan and followed the directions exactly, (except I used Baker’s Joy instead if greasing the pan) Once the cake was done I let it rest for abount 20 minutes. Placed a plate over the bundt pan and it flipped right out, turned it over and I must say it was the most beautiful cake I have ever made. Great, easy, delicious. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!
Alex — Baker’s Joy, FTW. Seriously. I don’t think I could possibly love a kitchen product more.
I made this totally fabulous cake in my bundt pan this evening and it was a huge hit. I had a little juice from the cut apples, cinnamon and sugar mixture, so I mixed it with powdered sugar to make a drizzle. Wonderful!
ok. three years from when this was first posted. My house smells so amazing due to this cake. I did the loaf pan and yes, it did take for-ever to bake. Torture! but well worth the wait. I can tell this recipe will be a keeper (like everything else I have tried from your blog- oh btw that apple challah? fantastic!)
Made this cake last night exactly as directed. Certainly tastes great, but it is a little dense inside (IE, not cake-like) and a bit crusty on the outside edges. Do you wip your egg whites? Maybe my baking powder is shot?
About the slightly over-cooked edges….I used two loaf pans and waited until tooth picks came out clean. Next time I’ll be less strict on that and limit cook time to around 90 minutes. (took almost 100 minutes before picks came out clean)
Thanks for any advice!
Jim
I baked this cake last night….and after the hour and forty minutes bake time it required to not be uncooked in the middle, the bottom was burnt to an absolute crisp! I am so bummed. This is my first baking disaster and I’ve been making cakes, pies, cheesecakes, you name it-for a long time! I am wondering if my use of a springform pan was the issue? I do not have a tube insert. Also, I don’t find the cake to be very “big”. It’s about the average size of a cake or cheesecake I would typically make? Wonder if something else went awry in the process?
The tube center does help it bake evenly, because the cake is so large. Next time, a lower temperature and even longer baking might help.
Just reading this comment–when I made 1.5X the recipe, I split it across 3 9″ cake pans. It was done after 40 minutes and quite brown, but in a good way. I’d split it up next time!
Absolutely wonderful. I did follow the recipe exactly. My husband’s lunch will be extra special this week because of this cake.
I couldn’t belive that such simple ingredients tuned into the best apple cake which I’ve ever had.
I followed the recipe except that I cut the recipe in half and baked it in 8″ spring form pan for 10 minutes less because I don’t have a tube pan. It came out very well.
Thank you for sharing your mom’s apple cake.
I’ve made this cake many times for parties, as gifts, etc. It is the best cake EVER and get’s ooohhhs and ahhhs every time i bring it out. I follow the recepe exactly and the only tweek I made was replacing the apples – I use all granny smiths and instead of 6, I put in 7 or 8. The tartness of the granny smith is a wonderfull balance with the sweetness of the cake. I have to add that this cake is a nice addition to pumkin pies and a good replacement for a fruit pie. It’s much more consistent and easy to make.
Hi Deb! I am experimenting with this cake right now! Its in the oven!! I’m using a bundt pan, because thats what I had..and like others, I’m crossing my fingers! I also added orange zest and nutmeg because I love those flavors. I seemed to have a lot of apples so I threw some extra ones on top of the cake..which will wind up on the bottom..I’m wondering if that will help “weigh” the cake down just in case it tries to baloon up. I’ll keep you posted…very excited!
After eyeing this recipe for months…and buying the tube pan in preparation.. I finally made it. wow, it was great. I would suggest to anyone making this to let the cake sit a day before digging in. Makes a world of difference. My husband and I ate the entire cake ourselves over the course of 3 days. I cant wait to make it again. Will use more apples. I also sprinkled brown sugar over the middle and top layers since I had reduced the sugar in the cake recipe.
I’ve made this cake twice now, once in a 9×13, and once in two loaf pans. What a delight. The first time, the apples I used were pretty small, and I wished there was more apple, so the second time I used pretty large apples, and it was perfect and moist and sweet and tangy and oooooo good. Thanks for the recipe! It’s a keeper!
Making the second cake in one week today. My Dad-in-law and husband, two fruit dessert lovers, think this is the best ever. It’s my favorite for apples, too. But your torte de pere is my all time favorite.
I made this one today, in a bundt pan, and lord, it was good! No burnt stuff on the bottom. I served it un-bundt-like (so without turning it upside down), because the top looked so pretty. I had a hard time layering it by the way. I couldn’t cover a layer of apples with a thick layer of batter, you could still see the apple layer a bit when i put over another layer of apples. Didn’t do nothing to the taste do, superdelicious.
Now I’m waiting till it’s tomorrow since everyone’s saying it will be even better .oh my.
I made this cake today and paired it with a butterscotch sauce it was sooo amazing!! thank you for this recipe!
This looks amazing and I’ll be making it soon. However, I won’t be using a cup of oil. I’ll substitute apple sauce (homemade of course) for that.
Hi Deb,
I was just wondering how this is a coffee cake if there is no coffee?
Thanks
Coffee cake is a term used to describe cakes served with coffee, not cakes with coffee in them. Of course, I realize how confusing that can be to someone unfamiliar with this!
BTW love this recipe!!
Hi Deb, this is the first time I’ve posted on your site but I’ve cooked many a recipe and each and every one of them have been fantastic. In fact, your candor, honesty,sophisted palette, tutorials and sense of humor has helped spark my own creativity and boosted my culinary confidence – you’re like having a friend in the kitchen! Thank you so much for doing what you do! I have to run though because your mom’s apple cake is in the oven, it’s almost done and my house smells out of this world. I’m sure it will taste even better!
I’ve never seen a recipe with SO many comments! So I had to try this. I made it just as written, and it is absolutely FABULOUS! Rave reviews from friends: a Chocolate-Only Eater, a Fussy Desserter, and a Gourmet Pastry Baker! Why make apple pie? This is faster and better! Thank you.
Thank you for this DELICIOUS recipe! I made it on a whim yesterday (with my bounty of autumn apples in New England!) and really loved it. I can’t wait to make it again!
LOVE this recipe!!! I do make it in a bundt pan and just put apples in first. So easy to make. I put the walnuts in this time and mixed it in the batter so hope it comes out good!!
I have made this for Thanksgiving, Hanukah and Christmas for my family and in-laws for the past 3 years, they are obsessed with it! I get requests to make it all year, but I only make it when the fall apple harvest is abundant, so its a special fall/ winter treat. This is my secret recipe when trying to compete with my husbands culinary advanced family and I have you and your mother to thank. This is truly the best apple cake recipe I have ever come across. If my Grandmother was here today, I know she would be impressed with this recipe if I made this for her (and she was a hard women to impress). I sometimes add sliced almonds to the recipe depending on who I make it for and it works great. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us!
Can this cake be frozen?
I haven’t frozen this cake before (I don’t have enough freezer to space to freeze much) but don’t see why it wouldn’t freeze well. It also keeps nicely for a few days at room temperature.
okay. i am trying your mother’s recipe, and it had better be the bomb because i don’t want to have to eat the whole thing myself. lol! it sounds scrumptious!!! hubby just lost 28 lbs. so I may end up giving some to the neighbors.
Hi Deb!
Tried this cake today to struggle with a very bad weather in France, and…it worked wonderfully :) Thanks to both You and your mom :)!
Oh, gosh. I used the tube pan like in the photos but for some stupid reason, I started with the apples first, not the batter. I’ll have to do what Mitch did and scrape or… flip the cake. Dunno yet but will advise.
Howdy… made this for the umpteenth (did I spell that right?) time since the original post. Maybe you should post it again for your new readers? It’s apple season and the kids, now eight and twin six, can’t get enough of the preservative free natural goodness. May I also say that the teachers love when I include a slice for them. As always, I am still secretly in love with you.
Just had to test this recipe- made it last night and it turned out delicious! Next I will try in mini cake pans for single serving- I have a feeling they will be as impressive as the standard cake is! Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
My 6 year old and I just made this. It’s in the oven right now! He is so excited to have some. He kept asking if I would put a piece in his lunch tomorrow and I had to keep reminding him that tomorrow is Saturday. Both of my boys love anything apple and I had some old apples that needed to be used up. With all the positive comments I just had to try it.
we lost our house in a wildfire, so…i lost my grandmother’s recipes. every few months I come back to look at the photo of your your mother’s index card. It’s uncanny how the handwriting and yellow card are the same, I mean really the same, as my grandmother’s. what’s even more incredible-the recipe is only the ingredients. all of my grandma’s recipes were just like that. i think she figured if you didn’t know what to do you shouldn’t be making it!!! thank you, really, thank you. btw, as enjoyable as whiskey is in coffee after drop off, summer beer after camp drop off. beer, vodka, lemonade concentrate, crushed mint, crushed ice. its the white man’s michelada!
Very yummy cake! – I used half spelt flour and half regular flour and used brown sugar instead of white – came out very well and is really moist and delicious. Since it is in the oven for so long, everything gets really well caramelized – so tasty! It reminds me of a cake my mom makes that is very similar except she uses her homemade plum jam instead of apples as the filling – mmm comfort!
Hey Deb! I’m out of orange juice – do you think clementine juice or lemon juice would work better?
Thanks!
Clementine juice. I think lemon juice would overwhelm the flavor.
For an earlier question, this cake freezes beautifully. I have made it so many times and as there’s only two of us, I freeze it into quarters so we don’t eat WAY too much at once. I often use a bundt tin as I don’t have a tube pan (but I layer it so the apples are in the middle rather than the top) but it’s just as happy being cooked in two loaf pans. Makes it easy to freeze that way too!
Thanks for this recipe – my favourite cake. :-)
I just finished making this cake and tried a piece – delicious! Thank you for the recipe, Deb.
For those of you who may wonder, I successfully halved this recipe without any difficulties. Instead of orange juice, I used apple cider. And I used honeycrisp apples, which worked beautifully. Baked in an 8×8″ glass pan for 50 minutes at 350F. Good luck!
Made this last night for a couple of friends. Only had three apples so I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a single layer round cake pan. Also used cider instead of orange juice because I didn’t have that either. It was amazing!!!!! Thanks!!!!!
Clementine juice worked out great – thanks for your advice!
tried this cake…came out yummy! thanks for the recipie..
Apples are one of my favorite fall ingredients. Thanks for the great recipe!
I have made this cake 3 times. The first time it came out beautiful just like the picture. The other 2 times it over spilled the bundt pan and it was not are good the apples all went into the cake instead of having a nice layer on the bottom. is it the amount of baking powder? Help.
Just made this for Thanksgiving this year and I’ll I can say is: thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ve found a new favorite cake. I’ve also been eating for breakfast the last few days. SOOO GOOOOOD!
I’ve GOT to try this! Thanks for sharing your recipe. Your grandkids will treasure it as a family heirloom.
I stumbled onto this recipe 3 weeks ago. Decided to make it for dessert when we had company for dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving. Hubby asked what I was making and I said an Apple Cake. He wanted apple pie. Told him he wasn’t getting apple pie but getting apple cake. He ran some errands and came home and exclaimed that the smell was mouthwatering. Now he says forget about the pie; he wants apple cake. BTW I goofed and mixed the eggs together with the liquid ingredients and the cake was still heavenly. And if your tester is not super clean, don’t worry, you are seeing apples from the middle of the cake.
I’m going to try it with pears instead of apples.
I made this recipe using a bundt cake mold, and it worked fine. I followed the instructions as written. It doesn’t look as beautiful as your version in the tube pan, but just as tasty. I also whisked the eggs first and then added the rest of the wet ingredients without a problem. Next time I would try adding some more spices to the apples to give it a more wintery feel–nutmeg, cloves, all spice. Thanks for the awesome recipe! I’m calling it the Jewish Apple Cake to make my husband happy. I think it would make an awesome Chanukah brunch recipe as it calls on lots of oil! :)
did you use the 9 tube pan” as shown in the link to amazon? my mom made pretty much this same cake over thanksgiving and said she had to use a 10″ instead as it was too much batter. did anyone else have this problem?
I have made this cake twice and I love this recipe. Could not find a tube pan, so made it in a heartshaped pan: great results, I added cardemon or allspice as well, wich tastes really good and makes it a ‘winter cake . Just bought a lovely green tree pan (Wilton) for Christmas, made for a large cake. My Christmas cake 2011 will be your applecake with some cranberries and pecannuts as well. Can’t wait to make it!!
Is 2 cups of sugar correct? Sounds like a lot, but I’m willing to give it a go!
Rory — It’s correct. It sounds like a lot but the cake is huge so it will hopefully make sense when you see it.
i am currently baking two loaf cakes to give as holiday gifts. I reduced the sugar to 1 3/4 cups, used apple juice instead of orange and added 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. and used 4 very large apples. I looks and smells wonderful.
My mom and I made this for Xmas. Delicious! We changed only a couple of things- two extra tablespoons of cinnamon, because we are big fans of cinnamon around here, and we swapped half the measurements of super dark brown sugar for the apples. Next time I´d try out the half butter half oil and go with just brown sugar in the apples. But it was pretty darn perfect as a coffee cake, I´d try those little tweaks just for kicks. As huge as it is, there´s only one slice left today. Thanks, Deb! It was delicious. It´s so true that the sum of the parts makes it spectacular, the batter itself was just okay, the final result was GREAT!!
I made it once before and it was great, I made it today again and it is too sweet for my taste. Still very good, though, but I’d dial back the sugar next time.
I take that back, after it’d cooled, it wasn’t that sweet at all. In fact, it tastes great! I did overbake the batter just a tad, but it’s still very good.
We can’t wait to make it! It looks really yummy. Especially the coffee cake and cinnamon. We might leave out the nuts since Laura doesn’t like them. We’ll let everyone know how it turns out!! Thanks!!!!
I was actually looking for a really good baked apple recipe (which I did find online) and came across this site. My mother-in-law used to make a fantastic apple cake however, back in the mid 80’s she misplaced the recipe and so long to apple cake. When she passed on, my wife and I were going through her things and we came across the recipe once again. It was so good eating that cake again. I have made it several times and I was a bit iffy about all the vegetable oil but I knew many carrot cakes use a massive amount. I’m going to try this recipe so as to compare. My mother-in-laws apple cake gets a carmelized like crust to it which makes it so fantastic. This sounds like it has those same features with 2 cups of sugar and a cup of vegetable oil…………..surely isn’t your cardiac or diabetes first choice but you only live once so you have to enjoy! Thanks for posting a family heirloom recipe!
My Jewish Apple Cake recipe is the same except mine calls for 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons sugar. I layer the apples if I’m giving the cake away, but for my family, I stir the apples into the batter without layering. I’m lazy and it tastes the same.
My Jewish Apple Cake recipe is the same except mine calls for 3 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3 tablespoons sugar. I layer the apples if I’m giving the cake away, but for my family, I stir the apples into the batter without layering. I’m lazy and it tastes the same.
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times and actually have used butter in place of the vegetable oil and it turns out great. Great recipe to make on cold days :-)
Hi,
This sounds delicious, however you describe it as a ‘coffee cake’ whereas here, across the pond, that usually means it has coffee in it. Is this another example of two nations divided by one language? Do you mean it’s cake to have with coffee? Thank you
This is an identical recipe to one which I was given 30 years ago. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow, and this is the perfect cake to bake (and eat) when it’s cold and stormy out.
I’m tempted to toss the apples in brown sugar rather than white. Anyone know a reason why not to?
I love this recipe! I have made it now on several occasions and it is always a winner. I have also tried some variations, with bananas and pears it also has a gorgeous taste and never lets me down. thanks for this!
It’s Saturday, it’s snowing, I’m baking this cake and it smells SO GOOD in the house. Thanks to all for your input.
I made this cake today, but when I took it out, it all fell apart. :( Pretty upset, but it turned out yummy! I’m practicing for culinary school. :)
just wondering, do you think you could suggest a glaze to go on top? I suspect it may be overkill, but my daughter is asking for one.
mikal — We’ve never used a glaze but if you’d like one, powdered sugar mixed with apple juice (or lemon juice, or milk) could be used.
Mikal, someone above mentioned a confectioner’s sugar glaze made with orange juice. I lightly whipped some unsweeted cream and garnished it with that. Delicious! Fattening! wonderful!
Another happy customer. Made the cake in a think bundt cake pan, greased it with butter. It came out beautifully, impressed my guests and husband, and most importantly the cake is delicious! I love to cook but I am always hesitant to bake Second recipe from this blog to make it to my favorite recipe folder. Thank you.
I meant ‘thick’ bundt cake pan. sorry for the typo
Hi, I scrolled through and saw a mention of cupcake adaptation for this recipe but I didn’t know if it succeeded or not. Any suggestions to adapt this recipe to regular size (not mini) cupcakes? Thanks! The recipe is GREAT. 2 of us finished this huge cake in 3 days, lol! so much for my diet
Deb,
I just want to let you know, I’ve been silently following, promoting and loving your recipes for a few years. Cooking has really been my passion since I was a young child and now that I’m married and 6 months pregnant, you have really inspired me in a new way. I’ve been struggling with some inexplicable hormonal nonsense and I haven’t had any desire to cook or be cooked for. I bought a bag of local honeycrisp apples yesterday and decided it was time to feel good again. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I’m sure my new husband will love the cake and I will be able to carry this on with me and hopefully my daughter will one day enjoy it as much as I did.
I found this recipe after searching for a simpler version than what I had [the one I had needed wheat flour and TONS of other stuff] and I had a blast making a mess in the kitchen making this. I substituted lemon juice for the oj [but used less than 1/4c] and used self-rising flour instead of baking soda and AP flour. It’s in the oven right now and I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out! :)
PS – Let’s hope this gets me a good grade for the project I’m making it for <3
-Jay
I love this recipe!! Made it 3 times already and it gets better every time.
This recipe was delicious even with all the substitutions. Just in case anyone wants to make it healthier: I substituted all of the all purpose flour with white whole wheat flour, I used 1 ripe banana, 2 tbsp of flaxseed meal mixed well with 6 tbsp of water, and 1 egg (I realized the batter was too dry so added it in at the end). I also did use walnuts as well. It was a little harder to spread because I should probably have cut back on the amount of flour since it was whole wheat and it did take way longer to bake (2 hours), but it was super delicious! Biting into the apple layer that was covered on both sides with the cake was like biting into apple pie. Thanks for the great recipe!!
I just made this cake – I used some integral flour and without the walnuts as I didn’t have any – it turned out so, so, so yummy!!!! The kids are taking some pieces for school… I copied the recipe in my book and for sure I’ll make it many more times….thanks a lot for sharing…
Blessings,
Nádya
I played around with the recipe to make it vegan-friendly and added some rum (couldn’t resist). I substituted the 4 eggs with 1 cup of applesauce (1/4 c per egg), and a little extra baking powder to make sure the cake fluffed up. I also traded the 1 cup of oil for 1 cup of rum, and whew, that did the trick. The result was a strong apple flavor with a slight rum-spiced kick that everyone could eat. Thanks for the recipe!
Just wanted to report that I made this cake as a way to use up some eggs and apples that I had sitting around, and since I didn’t have a tube pan I used a loaf pan. It just came out of the oven and I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to salvage. The edges are brown, but the center is still somewhat undone. I’m sure it will still be delicious, but I should have used our springform — next time!
Hello Deb, everyone,
Do you recommend using baking paper for Mom’s Apple Cake or any cake whatsoever? I just stumbled upon this web-site two days ago by accident when looknig for information about any good corn starch substitute. I like it ver much so far. I haven’t tried the apple cake recipe yet but I’m looking forward to it! So yeah, any comments would be very much appreciated. Thanks; goodbye.
Made it for a BBQ and everyone loved it!
Hi Deb, I tried out your cake with variations, and it turned out great.
I only used 1 cup of brown sugar, and only a half a cup of olive oil. And added 1 soft banana and one orange (both blended in blender with oil and sugar until smooth). The banana and orange created a soft and sweet flavor with fiber instead of white sugar.
I didn’t have any flour, so I used 1 C Coconut Flour, 1/2 C whole Cornmeal, and 1 C pancake mix.
I added a lot more cinnamon, and added some nutmeg.
It turned out tasty and soft.
Thank you.
Oops, I realized why my cake mix was runny (even though it baked okay). I left out a half a cup of flour! Oh well, it still turned out great! I also let the course cornmeal sit in the liquid while I mixed other ingredients, so that it would have time to soften.
I made this for the first time and brought it to work. It was gone within minutes! Everyone praised my baking. Thanks so much for this recipe! It was so easy to make with such simple ingredients too!
Hello , Let me start by saying thank you to Deb and her mom. This cake is absolutely amazing. Today is the second time I made it and it’s just incredible. I use about 8 apples because my family loves a lot of apples in their cake it also kicks up the moisture a notch. Not that this cake needs it because it’s perfect. The first time
I made this cake I cooked it in one of my smaller bread pans and it can out perfect the cooking time was a little bit off though. To my surprise it took almost two hours but that tube in the tube pan really helps it bake faster and more even. This morning I baked it in a bundt pan because unfortunately I can not find my tube pan. It worked just as well. I would defiantly suggest layering it properly. I put a small amount of batter down first then did a layer of apples, batter, apples, batter. We like a lot of layers , and I wanted to ensure that the cake didn’t stick because of the apples. My family loves raisins in there apple cake. So I actually mixed the apples with cinnamon and sugar like Said them added raisins to that mixture and allowed it to sit in the refrigerator while I made the cake batter. It was amazing because everything marinated beautifully and there was this amazing brown , sugary syrup covering the apple and raisin mixture when I took it out. As far as the cooking time in the oven it’s do bar to judge you really just need to know your oven as they all vary. If it’s not done in the middle in 1-1/2 hrs lower your oven temp and allow it to bake a little longer ! The first time I baked this I did add walnuts, it was still amazing but I’m not a big on nuts in my cookies,cakes etc. but everyone else loved it. This cake is so light, moist and perfect for anytime of the year not just fall. It’s a perfect cake to make for a summer desert too with some fresh whipping cream or even cool whip!trust me everyone will love it and you! I have to say my mom has been bragging about my grandfathers apple cake recipe for years , trying to find it so I could make it for her. Upon finding this, she’s hooked she says this is the most amazing apple cake ever which makes me super happy. That’s why I want to thank deb and her mothers for sharing the recipe with the world. We would have never known what we were missing out on. This cake is just amazing and so easy to make. I highly highly recommend trying it and problem making two because it goes so fast , well at least in my house. Thank you again Deb & good luck to everyone else that try’s it because now I’m hooked and this is my go to apple cake recipe :)
Hello,
How much should the 6 apples weigh? I come from the Middle East and I am not sure our apples are of the same size!
Thank you :)
Anywhere from 3 to 5 pounds. However, any size apple will do. This recipe is very flexible/forgiving (the commenter before you used 8).
Hi,Deb!
I love so much your Mom’s apple cake that I’d like to reglog it (giving you the proper credit of course).However, I’ll change a bit to adapt to another recipe.
I hope you do not mind!
In Southern Brazil, we have a Cuca de Macã (Traditional German Apple Cake with Streusel) that it is good but not as moist as your Mom’s. What I intend to do is make the batter of your cake and small dice the apples to fold into batter instead,this way the streusel can sit on the top. I’ll let you know how it turned out and also when it’ll be published in my blog. Thanks so much for this yummy recipe. Kudos to both you and your Mom!
I made this apple cake for a work meeting. It was good, but I must say that the recipe has too much sugar.
I love this cake! I’ve made it several times, particularly when I was dairy free because my baby is allergic to dairy. Today I made it with rhubarb (and more sugar and ginger instead of cinnamon), and I can’t wait for it to come out of the oven!!!!!!!!!
rhubarb was phenomenal!
Delicious!
Can’t belive this is the very same recipe my Aunt used for her “Jewish Apple Cake” as she called it! I swear it has to be over 70yrs. old or more. My kids, grandchildren & friends just love it. It was wonderful seeing it on the internet. Thank you for posting.
Trying this today! Half the recipe in a loaf pan. Excited :-)
I just want to say that this cake is incredible and I have been making it for awhile. My friend from Germany thinks this is the best apple cake he has ever eaten. He is so obsessed about it that instead of a gift for his birthday, he has asked me to come over and teach him how to make it. Thanks for posting another great recipe.
I’m dying over here. We had a camp cookbook, with all of the recipes from the camp Bubbe (z”l) who made the most amazing apple cake in the world , and passed away last year(she should rest in peace). I could not find the camp’s xeroxed cookbook, and turned to the internet in a panic…figuring the recipe had gone to the great beyond with Bubbe. I had hoped to find an approximation of the magic that is Bubbe’s Apple Cake, but this is the same recipe VERBATIM.
Thank you so much for preserving this recipe, and for making me love Bubbe even more!
thnx 4 gvng this recipe.
WOW> I’ve never seen a recipe with this many comments! I used a bundt pan, and shouldn’t have. Duh! I’ll be getting a tube pan for next time. It turned out perfect! I added a pinch of cardamom to my apple/cinnamon. I’m a cardamom addict. I like the idea above of using rhubarb, can’t wait to try it. Thanks for your recipe!
Tomorrow is my son’s 35th birthday. He loves apples. I’m going to make this for him. Thanks for sharing all of your recipes!!!
Well, I ended up making two of these. I overcooked the first one(I fell asleep waiting for the timer to go off) (Note to self, don’t bake a cake that takes 1.5 hours to bake when you’ve put in a 50 hour week of work and you’re starting your baking at 10pm!!) The second one I made in the morning. I had a piece of the one that had been over-cooked and it was still awesome!! I gave the perfect one to my son for his birthday. He told me he loved the cake!! The one I gave him looked exactly like your’s Deb. I’m thinking about making a third one tonight and bringing it into work. I might add more apples and see if that improves an already perfect cake!!
I love your blog!!! Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipes!!!
THANK YOU!! Jewish Apple Cake has been in my family for as long as I know of. But I didn’t ever know where it came from and also have never heard of anyone else knowing or hearing of it before. I LOVE!!! this cake!!!! Thank you for the back ground of this recipe.
Hi Deb,
Thank you for the apple cake! I was searching high and low for something like this. I made it today for my family and it came out great. The kids said that this was “the best apple pie cake ever!” ))
I did some adjustments, i.e. some of us, crazy russians/europeans don’t like their apples with cinnamon (go figure), we like our apples with vanilla instead, so I have mixed apples with vanilla bean paste and maple sugar. I used maple sugar for the cake batter too. I used 6 large granny smith apples and than baked the cake in a 12″x24″ rectangular non-stick pan for 1 hour 10 minutes. I did not have any powdered sugar to finish it so instead I bruleed it with more maple sugar and my little handy torch. Great success! Thank you again and send my “Privet” to the russian side of your family)
Oh, I forgot to mention – I added some pistachios instead of walnuts, just because I did not have any walnuts.
amazing!
I made this for a potluck (test run for Rosh Hashanah.) Everyone loved it. I think it could actually take more apples. For Rosh Hashanah I think I’m going to more apples; and add chopped nuts and a glaze drizzle to the top apple layer.
It was perfect and gorgeous in a bundt pan.
Hi Deb, yet another Debbie. I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and it is a real pleasure, thanks! I was looking for some Rosh Hashana recipes to make and apple cake is a natural. This cake is quite similar to one I got from the NY Times many years ago by Craig Claiborne called Teddy’s apple cake. The batter was thicker (3 c flour)and a huge hit in our family who don’t like fruit much in their cakes. I will try this for the layering aspect (his is folded in) but have found I need to chop the apples quite finely so that they are soft enough in the end product. Although I use Bundt pans frequently, if you leave the apples at the top (bottom) even with greasing and flouring, it CAN stick. And the flouring will leave that less pretty coating on top…I’ll report back when i make it!!
P.S. I really truly looked thru the comments and i saw that monkey girl (154) asked why the card read 3 cups and the recipe 2 3/4??
Hi DebbieF — Check comment #391, where I respond to this question. (And no, I did not expect you to read 756 comments before leaving yours, I know it’s not reasonable, but I do appreciate that you tried to look for an answer! Thank you.)
Will this work if you just mix the apples into the batter instead of layering them?
You have no idea how thrilled I am to have found my Grandmother’s exact recipe!
Every year I bug my Mom in Boca for the recipe! Thank you so much!
I truly enjoy your website & am looking forward to the book release.
I am a private chef in the Bay Area and use most of your baking recipes…especially the muffins for my clients. You represent an upstanding quality site. Thank you!
HR
Shana Tova,
This is going to be on my Rosh Hashanah table….Thank you!
Susan
Awesome cake! Did it in a 9 x 13 pyrex and it`s looking great. I left my go-to recipe at home when we left for our cottage for Rosh Hashanah and I was so bummed. Then I remembered Smitten Kitchen and I knew we would be OK. Can’t wait for the cookbook btw! Shana tova!
This cake tastes delicious. However, I need some advice from more experienced bakers. I had two problems. First problem is the tube pan. I poured the batter into the greased pan, added some apples, then poured in the rest of the batter. By the time I went to put in the remaining apples, the bottom batter had oozed out the bottom of the tube pan and was all over my kitchen counter. It was a big mess, so I took a spatula and scooped it up into a greased bundt pan, mixing the batter and apples together. Then I added the rest of the apples and baked. What should I do differently next time with my tube pan. It’s the kind with a separate bottom. Second problem is sticking. It may be because I used the bundt pan, but a big chunk of the cake stayed in the pan. How long do you let the cake cool before inverting it onto a plate? It’s not just this cake. Every time I’ve tried to make a bundt cake, I have this problem. I spray the heck out of the pan with Baker’s Joy. What am I doing wrong? Thanks so much for your advice and help.
Have you ever made these as “mini” apple cakes in muffin tins? If so, how does the time adjust for baking? Thinking of making them with my kids class. Thanks!
Has anyone ever tried to improvise a tube pan? I was thinking of cutting the top and bottom off of a small can of some kind, greasing it well, and putting it in the middle and then spooning the batter and apples around it. The batter sounds thick enough that it would hold. And then after cooking I could run a very thin knife around the can and lift it out. That would take care of the soggy center problem that people have reported with a springform pan because the heat would get into the center better. And I don’t like bundt pans – the whole thing comes out disturbingly round (no flat side, since the top half is round from rising and the bottom half is round from the contours of the bundt pan). Does this sound ridiculous to try the can in the middle? I could do the 9×13, but I really would prefer to make it round if possible. Thanks!
Used a bundt pan and the batter oozed down through the hole making it impossible to get out, so eating it out of the pan. I think a springform pan may work better. I was surprised that it wasn’t sweet considering a cup of sugar. Would substitute applesauce for some of the oil. Firms up and tastes better a day old!
Made this on Monday (finally cool enough to bake again!), and now eating it for breakfast Friday morning and it still tastes amazing!
this cake is incredible. thank you for sharing.
This recipe is almost exactly like one that I make and I have an almost identical story. This is my mother-in-law’s go-to cake that she is well known for and makes ALL the time. My husband grew up thinking that it was an old family recipe from his father’s side (Germans), some of whom have been here since pre-Revolutionary war. I have been making it for almost 20 years and just learned that my MIL clipped it from a magazine when my husband was small! HA! I like this story even better now that I know you had the same surprise over the same recipe. The difference between our recipes: we make ours in a bundt pan, layering batter and apples 3x (starting with batter and ending with apples) and serve it upside down from how you would normally serve a bundt cake, so apples on top. We use no walnuts and 1/2 C orange juice.
The cake is in the oven now, as we speak. Halved the recipe, sub milk for orange juice (I don’t have oj around in the house), used 9″ round pan and set the timer for 40 minutes. My plan is to top the cake with cream cheese frosting, voila! It’s a birthday cake for a good friend tomorrow. Thank you! I ADORE your blog.
I made this cake for some visiting dignitaries this weekend and substituted a cup of barley flour for one of the AP. I was inspired to try the barley flour after you wrote about it and now use it regularly in pie crusts and cookies.
It worked perfectly in my bundt pan and was really lovely. I added some freshly grated nutmeg to the apples. Next time I think I will substitute bourbon for the OJ.
The dignitaries unfortunately were not too interested in the cake after demolishing the tin of World Peace cookies I served alongside it, but everyone else made the cake disappear almost instantly.
I love your story about the apple cake! My mom recently told me that her incredible rugelch recipe, that I convinced myself had came across the ocean in the early 1900s with my grandparents, was in fact from a new paper!
I figure there are enough comments on this to warrant asking! any suggestions for making this recipe gluten free?
Your Mom’s apple cake recipe is WONDERFUL!!!! I work as a pastry cook at a Chicago restaurant and I made your Apple cake for staff meal dessert to rave reviews. It was so fragrant that even as I prepared the ingredients anyone who passed by commented on the wonderful aroma. I substituted apple cider for the OJ, and baked a 1 1/2 x recipe in a hotel pan. I agree with your assessment that your mom makes the best apple cake. I can’t wait to make a batch for my family at home. Thank you for a fool-proof keeper of a recipe.
Made this the other night in a bundt pan and it took forever to bake and collapsed out of the pan and still wasn’t as done as it should have been–but one taste and I was hooked.
I promptly made up another batch of batter, spread a thin layer on the bottom of one of my 9×13 pyrex dishes, topped it with apples, poured over the rest of the batter and then topped it with more apples that I sliced into thin wedges and tossed with the cinnamon/sugar. Baked it for an hour at 350 and the top got really brown, so I lowered it for another half hour.
The result is a moist, gorgeous cake that the staff at my office are now enjoying. Definitely a keeper–thank you for this recipe. You are a true mensch!
Forgot to add–the collapsed bundt cake is on the counter in my kitchen and my husband and older daughter are scarfing it down as if it was the prettiest cake on the block!
I didn’t read all of the 777 comments before mine to see if anyone else offered up the history of this cake as I know it. My understanding is that it was very popular several decades ago as a dairy free cake (oil instead of butter) back before margarine was an available alternative. And I’ve made it in two loaf pans which work well, plus you can freeze one loaf of it and save it for later. But usually you just want to eat it all, anyways.
I made this last night in a bundt pan. I layered apples on the bottom, filling, apples, filling and it was definitely near pouring over the edge. But the cake popped out great and it TASTED great! I also didn’t have OJ and so used buttermilk. It was really, really good…like a giant bear claw donut! But it was also pretty sweet. I would probably dial the sugar back next time. Thanks, Deb for another awesome recipe!
Just want to report that I made this in a budt pan and it still turned out great. Finished in just over an hour, too!
I baked this twice and it comes out great! I believe the order the ingredients mix into each other is what makes this cake so great. Also, I mix the nuts with the apples and cinnamon and sugar and let them sit together until time comes to incorporate them.
I just ate a piping hot slice of this cake, and I think I’m in heaven. It’s basically a soft, melt-in-your-mouth apple pound cake with a crisp, candied crust. I went the two loaf pans route (buttered and floured, same cooking time), and I substituted two tablespoons lemon juice and two tablespoons cointreau for the orange juice since I didn’t have any on hand. They loaves are gorgeous and delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
So, I googled apple cake recipes, since my mom was jonesing for it, and we don’t like the better homes and garden recipe. This was about the 5th result, and since I love this blog, I baked this cake. IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. Variations- no OJ on hand, so I used bolthouse mango juice, which, to be fair, has oj in it. And I used a 9×9 stoneware pan, and it turned out fine. And no nuts. We are not nut people. Unlike a commenter above, I did not find it overly sweet– I thought it made a nice coffee cake for just that reason.
My mom said, “THIS is what apple cake is supposed to be!”
this is one of my favorite cake recipes, so quick and easy to make. i noticed discrepancies between the recipe on the card in the photo and the recipe you post (specifically flour, 2 3/4 cup vs. 3 cup, i like to go with less flour). i use spelt and cut the sugar in half and it’s amazing. i also sometimes add whole cranberries which is nice, adds a bit of tartness. this time i used grapefruit juice and it was great.
shoshana — The discrepancy is because the original called for sifted flour. 3 cups sifted works out to about 2 3/4 unsifted. I find the process of sifting then measuring very annoying so wrote the recipe the way I prefer it. :)
Just made this. And by just made this I mean, I pulled it from the oven 30 minutes ago and took a small corner and it was delish!
I didn’t read through all the comments, so sorry in advance. How do you store cake after baked and for how long? Baking this cake a couple days before the actual use of it, so I am hoping it is still good. Thanks!
Catie — The cake is even better after a couple days. I keep it at room temperature, tented with plastic.
I bought a tube pan especially to bake this cake for my boyfriend after we went apple picking last weekend. It’s in the oven now and I can’t wait to eat it!!!
This was the perfect recipe for being stuck indoors as Hurricane Sandy bears down…absolutely yummy!!! I don’t have either a tube or bundt pan, so used a ceramic baking dish (approx. 12x8x3, and it rose nearly to the top. (Wish I’d used parchment paper in addition to buttering the dish.) Also, since the apple-cinnamon-sugar concoction was plenty sweet, I only added one cup of sugar to the oil-juice mix and it was delicious! Hoping we’ll be able to test your theory about being even better the next day…it’s kind of hard to stop nibbling!
Just made it today. it smells delicious. How do you remove the entire cake from the tube part of the pan. Do you just serve it as in your picture?
Hi – I made your this cake yesterday and it was delicious! Thank you very much for the recipe. My only question is – do you have a special trick for keeping the apples on the top? My second layer of apples sunk under the batter and so the cake was not quite as gorgeous as yours. I’d love for it to be as fabulous looking as it tastes! thanks again, Sue
Hi Sue — I don’t have a trick. I think sometimes they just stay on top better; actually, most times, they do, so I bet your next one will be less sink-y.
Yum I just made your cake yesterday after having some of it at your cooking demonstration in Napa! It was delicious and I was able to use my brand new SIGNED Smitten Kitchen book to follow the recipe! My family loved it and my husband took the leftovers to work – he said everybody loves him even more now! Thanks for a great recipe!
Came back from office very late today and found 6 old (very old) apples in refrigirator. I got your cake immediate following an idea of making a apple cake jump to my mind. Anyway, thanks a lot for your recipe, I am waiting for that apple cake which is still under baking.
Cooking is probably best relax way for a women working in Qatar.
This is the best fruit cake I have ever made. AMAZING! My German inlaws found it to be the perfect cake for coffee, and my kids scarfed it down in two days. Thank you!
would you recommend any other fruit besides apples to try with this? i have a friend who doesn’t love apples, but i love this cake and would be interested in trying another type of fruit. thanks so much!
Saw this recipe demo’d at your recent book event in Napa, so decided to make it for a work potluck. Since the plate was sucked dry, I had to come home and make another cake for me and my husband to enjoy. I substituted 1/2 of the oil with applesauce, toasted the walnuts, and used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour. Oh So Tasty. Thanks a bunch.
I have to tell you guys that, this was the most amazing comments on a recipes that I have eve read ….it took me quite a wile to read them all, and to be honest I had allot of fun…you guys are just amazing, with all you’r stories, you don’t just share food recipes, you share life stories….thank you all for sharing :)
Just made your apple cake where I found the recipe in your fabulous cookbook. It is to die for!!!!!!! My husband, kids, and I could not stop eating it. Thanks so much for sharing.
I picked up your book at the Toronto event last night, and when my dessert maker friend cancelled on us for tonight’s dinner, I quickly threw this together to help finish our meal. Thanks for helping to save this ex-pat’s US Thanksgiving dinner. :)
I’ve been making a very similar recipe for years: Fresh Apple Cake from Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. She does an apricot jam glaze (basically jam heated with a bit of water) and sliced almonds on top which adds a lot. I’ve tried this cake with pears, slightly under ripe peaches or nectarines, plums, persimmons, fresh strawberries and bananas with great success. Basically any fruit work as long as it isn’t too wet or mushy. I also like to grease & flour the pan to make it come out easier.
For the past three years, ever since I found this recipe I always make this cake after our family goes apple picking. I like to use a variety of different apples when baking this cake. I use 2 Granny Smith, 2 Ambrosia, and 2 Honey Crisp. One thing I will also say is the cake freezes very well and this has become my mother-in-law’s new favorite cake. Although, she does still request a rum cake every now-and-then. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
After getting your cookbook (signed!) I decided that this would be on the Thanksgiving dessert buffet this year. Those poor pies were so neglected after everyone dug into this cake! Thanks for another stunner, Deb (and Deb’s mom)!
I don’t have a tube pan, so I did it in a bundt instead. Other than being scarily close to overflowing, which it thankfully did not, the bundt worked out fine. IT did prompt me to put a tube pan on my Christmas list, though!
I made this in my bundt pan and it turned out great! I was low on some things in the cupboard, so I ended up using a combination of EVOO, coconut oil, and a little butter, and a combination of granulated, brown, and coconut palm sugar, and I put some almond extract in the batter. I buttered the pan with a heavy hand, and I think used more apples than the recipe called for because we had a bag of not-so-crisp apples that needed to get baked up right. I reversed the layers to account for the post-baking flip-out, so apples, batter, apples, batter. The top ended up being a nutty crust on the bottom of the slice, and the cake and apples did take the decorative shape and got super moist. I sprinkled toasted slivered almonds on top, made a cup of tea, and had a nice afternoon snack!
Made an adaption of this with a crumble topping – beautiful recipe to work with!
Hi Deb- We met at a book signing in Seattle and talked about “THE cake”. I made the apple cake again last week (with honey crisps), my friends think I’m a baking genius. Thank you.
I modified this for a Scotch party on Friday: I replaced the orange juice with single malt, and made a caramel sauce/glaze in which I replaced the cream with scotch as well! I also substituted walnut oil for half of the vegetable oil, and included the walnuts. It was very well-received. And eaten.
Just have to tell you that this was a wonderful recipe that I will keep forever! Jewish apple cake is unique and though I appreciate people putting new spins on a traditional base, I also appreciate having what could have been my Nana’s or Bubbe’s recipe. Delicious! Thank you.
I have made this a handful of times in a bundt pan and while it doesn’t have the apples on top, it tastes amazing. I’ve found, though, that I can never fit all 6 apples in the pan if I’m trying to get them in a single layer, so lately I’ve been cutting the apples back to 5.
Last time I made it, I added a brown butter glaze– browned half a stick of butter, added a couple of tablespoons of apple cider, and then whisked in about 3/4 cups of powdered sugar. The cake doesn’t need a glaze, of course, but I am all about any opportunity to consume brown butter.
just made to cake but how to cool
meant to say I just made the cake,but it doesn’t say how long to cool it or when are the walnuts to be added…friend made this last week and it was great so I had to try it..
This is very similar to a recipe that my mother-in-law makes and it’s fantastic. Her’s doesn’t have walnuts in it, but that’s easy enough to just add. In fact, I’ve found that some lemon zest and some other spices like ground cloves, and nutmeg, when added to the batter bring a nice herbaceous note to cake. We call it Bobbi’s Apple Cake….the recipe is on my blog if you want to compare. Cheers!
Well, my cake did not come out of the pan well. I’ve been baking for decades. This was a disappointment.
Hi there, can I make this and put it in the freezer? Need it for a party after Christmas but I have the time to bake it this week. What do you think? Colleen
colleen — I think it would freeze just fine.
Thanks Deb, I’m new to this blog even though I’m of this earth. How did it escape me??? Anyhow, and I hope I’m not repeating a previous “comment” it is up to 815 as of now so anyway, I just baked Mom’s Apple Cake substituting butter for the oil, in a bundt pan and I mixed the walnuts with the apples. Smells delicious and so far so good. The batter is not spilling over, however, I plan to use a tube pan next time I just need to locate it. It’s somewhere. My best to you, Isabel
Ok, it’s day three and the cake is super moist and more delicious than the first. Next time I bake this cake and I will because it is a winner, I will scatter the walnuts rather than mix it in with the apples. Joy!
Was just curious if anyone has frozen this and how it was when thawed? It is in the oven now and smells wonderful!
Hello! I have a question about the recipe…Is the orange juice necessary or can it be substituted with something else? We usually never have oj so I was wondering if there was some other common, more neutral liquid I can use instead.
Hi! I just baked this for Christmas Eve dinner with my parents and it delicious! I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a loaf pan…turned out great! Thanks Deb!
This apple cake is great- I used a bundt pan just greased and floured came out of pan perfect. Served the bundt upside down was a perfect presentation.
Thanks Lynn
Hi, I love this recipe! I used a bundt pan and it worked beautifully. I did not have a few ingredients, so I made a few substitutions: orange liqueur for orange juice and orange-infused olive oil for half of the vegetable oil. Thank you for the recipe! So yummy!
My sister and I just had a smitten kitchen dinner, made moms apple cake and mushroom artichoke Marsala with pasta! We are stuffed and all was delicious
This was the first recipe I made from your cookbook and it is to die for. My hubby, who normally doesn’t want anything other than oatmeal raisin cookies, ate a ridiculous amount of it in one sitting. Not sure if someone else has asked this yet or not (I looked but couldn’t tell) but has anyone tried and had luck substituting unsweetened applesauce for the oil? Thanks!
Was utterly amazed to find this recipe! My wife, Sarah, has been making essentially this “same” Jewish Apple Cake since she was in early Junior High — “growing up” near Phili PA making several at Christmas time to give out 1/2 and whole cakes as gifts… (Her father was a Lutheran pastor with many eagerly awaiting Christmas time… and Sarah’s Apple Cakes which her Dad proudly passed out!) Her baking them has continued in our home for 35 years! (And I’m now in my 3rd “career” as a Lutheran pastor…) Sarah’s cakes have also been a HUGE hit at our church’s booth at the Enon (Ohio) Apple Butter Festival for years. I just (this week) found a bakers dozen of smaller / mini tube pans (ebay) that we intend to try out as a way to make “mini apple cakes” for the festival as well as sending “whole cakes” vs. 1/4 or 1/2 cakes as gifts in coming years. FYI, I ran across two (2) SQUARE tube pans (1 “Comet” & 1 “Wear-Ever”) a number of years ago at the Wright-Patterson AFB ladies’ Thrift Store. (Makes it much easier to cut in 1/2 or 1/4s and box-up (pack) to give out / send /sell vs. semi circle of cake.) ALSO, rather then dicing the apples, Sarah has always sliced the apples and arranged the slices — pinwheel style — 1/2 in center layer and 1/2 on top. AND/ALSO, Sarah’s recipe has never included salt… Don’t know if it was left out intentionally or never in it from it’s being “passed down”, but no one has ever said it “needs a little salt’ LOL Soooooooooo, the many, many copies given out over the years have been “salt free” ;-)
Also, forgot to mention that Sarah’s passed down recipe did not include walnuts. We’ve never made it with nuts of any variety–just the apples (Granny Smith usually).
I am making this now, I have high hopes as it looks very good.
I made this cake following the recipe and then a week later I decided to try it with 1 cup of softened butter instead of the oil – creamed the butter and sugar, added the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and orange juice and then the dry ingredients. Much nicer cake texture and flavor with the butter!!
Lovely. Michelle – about 20 minutes for muffins.
Thank you for this recipe! I used a 9×13 and it worked out fine, and substituted butter for the oil. So easy, so delicious. Can’t stop eating it :)
An excellent recipe that was greeted with rave reviews at last night’s dinner party .
I cooked mine in the only pan available , a round spring sided vaierty .
Thank you .
Halved the recipe, made it in a loaf pan in a fan-assisted oven. A previous commentator talked about how quality of the pan may change baking time and she’s right. Mine was done in under 50 min and I managed to get a little burn at the bottom even though I was watching every 5 min or so. My pans are too thin for my liking. Fortunately it was virtually negligible so no harm done – and despite the fact that I baked it at 3 am (pent up energy from a lazy Saturday), it’s almost all gone by noon Sunday. Brilliant recipe – next time a little more cinnamon to adapt to personal taste, and even more apples, because mine were on the smaller side, but otherwise no inclination to mess with genius.
Dear Deb — thank you so much for this recipe! We have a very similar cake in Belgium (to be found in pâtisseries all over the country), but I couldn’t get hold of a good recipe for it. Your Mum’s recipe seems to do the trick. Great cake!
just made 10 minis of these by x4ing the recipe. I also did most with whole wheat. Amazing recipe, they turned out great (and now I have 9)
Wow, what a cake!!! I have never been a fan of apple cake, always found them dry, but this cake is deliciously moist. So simple to make, so amazingly good. I added a little orange zest, but it doesn’t need it, the cake was better the next day when the flavers melded and the outside became caramelized. The only thing, I had to bake it extra time because it was too wet. Thank you Deb!
A new fan!
Would this work on a 9″ x 13″ pan? I need to feed a crowd and can get more slices this way.
Charlotte — Yes, and it looks like commenters #23, 53, 91, 129, 143, 188, 193, 212, 219, 220, 282, 293, 316, 319,367, 395, 410, 427 (and a dozen more, you can find them with a word-search of the comments) all reference it, for more tips.
Great! Thanks for the tip on word-search. Actually I made this in a dutch oven and it didn’t work. I did not have a tube pan and my bundt pan was missing. All sides burnt because I baked it too long since the middle was still raw. Even then, the cake was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. I still served it in bread pudding form!
I’m excited to try the 9″ x 13″!
I made this cake yesterday and had apple juice on hand instead of orange juice. It came out excellent!! Super moist! The fact that you don’t need a mixer is a plus! This is definitely my new go to recipe! Thanks for sharing :)
Thank you for this recipe! It is just out of the oven, and looks and smells fabulous! The only problem is, I have to wait to taste it until to-morrow, as I made it for entertaining guests. :)
Second time this week I am using another Deb recipe! Onion tart days ago and now my first attempt at this famous cake recipe! The cake has cooled and it took four hands to gently remove it from tube as I did not grease it enough. Once I was able to separate tube from circular form I didn’t know how to lift off the cake from tube without it breaking. SO I had to cut a hole in a paper plate to fit it over the tube and flipped the cake onto paper plate then on to cake platter!! IF there is an easier way to get cake off tube form do share details, otherwise this trick worked just fine! Sadly I have to wait a few hours to try it with other guests! Deb- you are a culinary wonder and my new superhero!
I baked this cake and it was really really delicious. I got tons of compliments. :) Thank you very very much!
This is incredible!!! Usually I “need” chocolate desserts, but this is great. I substituted some oat flour (1 cup oat flour:2 cups white flour), only put in 1 cup of sugar and used butter instead of oil. I also had to use a Bundt pan because that’s all I had (it was fine). And used cinnamon chips, plus chopped almonds and dried cranberries. Served it with greek yogurt, whipped with maple syrup.
It was really wonderful – thanks so much for this recipe!!!
Thank you so much. I have been looking for this recipe for years. my mom always made this and I had lost the recipe. I tried it yesterday and it is fabulous!! I used a bundt pan. It looked so pretty, and tasted delicious. I had no problems taking it out. I kept it in the pan for about 45 minutes and had the pan sitting on a open wire rack.
I will be making this many years to come.
I made this for our “girl’s day” at the local yarn & fiber store here in Edgewood, NM. Once a month on “girl’s day”, we have a pot luck so I made this cake that morning and took it. My word! It got rave reviews. I fully expected to come home with 3/4’s of a cake or so because of the quantity of foods & desserts there. Guess what… I came home with enough for my hubby & I to have a piece each that night after dinner. LOL… It was a very big hit!
Thank you for sharing your mom’s recipe. I’m making it again tonight for a dinner party.
I halved the recipe and baked it in an improvised tube pan: 8″ removable-bottom round cake pan with a ramekin placed in the center. It worked beautifully – no issues with an underbaked center. The cake did sort of take the ramekin with it as it rose, so a little bit of batter ran underneath and formed a thin layer at the bottom of the center hole. That was easily cut out (and snacked on!) with no damage to the overall appearance. Thanks for a great recipe!
p.s., the 8″ cake pan with ramekin “tube” needed to bake for 60 minutes.
this cake turned out beautiful! (i cooked in a springform 12″inch tin) it took forever to stop being still gooey in the center.. it cooked in 2 hours 30 mins, at 175 fan bake, but it made the whole house smell delicious!! i finely sliced my apple pieces at the top of the cake to layer it into a ‘flower’ haha.
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I have just made this cake twice in two weeks having bought your book. I was initially a little disappointed because I slightly over baked it but by day 2 it was magnificent and lasted a week getting better and better. I adjusted for the second attempt and it will become a regular – lovely for breakfast. As it happens I had no oranges or OJ the first time and made it with equivalent amount of marsala and with white spelt flour because I had some – both variations very good. The book is lovely btw.
I love this cake – it looks rustic & beautiful on a stand.
I’ve made it several times before, but my cake always ends up moist up until the last inch or two at the bottom, where it gets dry. I don’t know if it’s the nature of tube cakes or something to do with my oven (though I’ve got an oven thermometer). I also adjusted the baking time to 75 mins, but it’s still a bit dry.
Any tips? I’d like to continue baking it but would love it to be moist all the way through.
Jess — If it feels like the edges are getting too brown or dry before the center sets (this is more common in darker pans), you can try to bake it at 25 degrees less temperature. But it might take even longer.
This looks awesome! I can’t wait to get this into the oven.
THIS IS THE BEST CAKE ever i made one on saturday well the bf was at work and by sunday afternoon there was 2 pieces left, it was so good i will be making it again this week as a per-birthday cake (looking for a great black forest cake for the real birthday cake):)
I’ve made this so many times before but can’t remember if I used a stand mixer or not. Just gave my mother in law your book :-) and she wants to know if it MUST be done by hand. thanks, deb!
Love your book! I swore going into the bookshop I wasn’t going to buy another cookbook. I saw yours and I couldn’t put it down. Every weekend now I have made something from it- the cheese swirls (scoffed!), the chocolate pretzels (devoured) and now I am trying your apple cake.
My worry is, is that is over flowing the bundt tin. This happened me once before when I put too much sugar into a recipe. Your US measures have more flour than sugar, but your metric version has more sugar than flour.
I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’ll have to try it again though as I can see from your recipe forewords how much of a perfectionist you are. I love just reading your recipes and really enjoy the forewords. Thank you for a real gem of a book!
Shane — Thrilled you’re enjoying the book. I’m not sure what you mean by the sugar versus flour. My cups of flour weigh in at about 125 grams, my cups of sugar at 198, which I round to 200 grams. Is there a mistake here I missed?
I have many cookbooks at home including a Jewish cookbook but none had a recipe for the apple cake my mom used to make when I was growing up. This recipe is it. Besides the fact you gave easy and clear instructions and the fact it was delicious, it also brought back tons of good memories from childhood. Thank you for that.
Hi Deb, needless to say the cake was devoured! It is a great cake. I have tried it again since and reduced the sugar by 40 g and increased the flour by 35 g. It has made a more solid cake for me. The first had less structure. It may be to do with conversions. Any other feedback from this side of the pond?
I have tried the pancakes and raspberry scones (no raspberries but used blackberries). Your book is brilliant. Thank you!
Shane
I’m fairly certain my mom used this very same recipe to make her apple cake. It is a family staple and will elicit memories of my mother and my childhood. Now that my mom has passed, my father carries on the tradition.
Hey Deb! I was just wondering, do you use concentrated orange juice or non-concentrated? I’m making this for my French class tomorrow and I’d really appreciate you replying soon <:3 Thanks! (By the way, it looks really good :D ) Also, would Red Delicious apples be too sweet for the recipe, because I couldn't find and Big MacIntosh apples at the store? Thanks!
Zoe — I usually use freshly squeezed. I don’t keep OJ around so it’s easier to just squeeze an orange if I need juice. Enjoy!
Yum! Just made this today with some apples that were about to turn bad. I didn’t have any vegetable oil, so I used 1/2 cup of Coconut Oil and 1/2 cup of Applesauce instead. It’s still moist and has an incredible flavor! Delicious!
This cake is DELICIOUS & has become our home’s favorite since I saw your recipe & started baking it a year ago. Thanks for sharing!!!
I have been wanting to make this, and the other day I had some not-so-good apples. And, it was finally cool enough to turn the oven on for the 1 1/2 hours to bake this cake. Yes, this cake is awesomely yummy, and yes it is huge, but didn’t last long here at my house with 3 man sized boys tearing into it.
I’m 53 and never made a cake before omg tried this last week it was amazing but does cook faster than 1&1/2. Today I tried it again but exchanging coconut extract instaed of vanilla and I’m using choc chips, almonds and cherries instead of apples.
Its in the oven now.
Thank you!!
Hi all,
There was quite a bit of juice left in the bottom of the Apple, sugar and cinnamon bowl. Does that get poured in as well? I left it out this time but not sure if it’s meant to be added…
Thanks, in advance :-)
Agnes — Yep, pour it in.
An all time favourite!
This cake is so moist and so so delicious! Whenever I think of baked apples, I run to this recipe and it is always a success. I use whole wheat flour instead and fresh vanilla beans. My kids love it, and it is the superstar in every gathering.
@Agnus,
I make the apples mix the first thing before I begin with the batter, and I get rid of most of the juice at the bottom. Leaving some with the batter doesn’t hurt at all, instead it gives more flavour and moisture.
Best wishes
I baked this tonight and it completely fell apart after baking – any suggestions? Still tasted delicious, but was more like cake chunks than a cake.
I made this for the 2nd time — super! It fed a crowd for dessert and the next day for breakfast. I used 3 Braeburn and 3 Pink Lady apples. The other time, Granny Smith & Fuji. For the sugar on the apples, used 3 tablespoons white sugar and 2 of packed brown sugar and mixed that with the cinnamon. I may have added a little extra sugar with the granny / fuji mix. I used apricot mango juice I had on hand. Instead of layering the apples, I mixed it all together and baked it in a glass 9 x 13 pan for 55 minutes. Dusted it with a little bit of powdered sugar and served it out of the pan. One other thing I did was measure the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl, whisk it a bit and then sift that together into a larger bowl. Thanks for all, Deb!
Debs, please thank your mom for such a forgiving recipe. I’ve just made it in sleep deprived mum-of-baby-twins state, and doing just about everything wrong and making it in a million little steps because I only get 5 min here or there. And it turned out wonderfully! Thanks so much for sharing x
Do you have the weights for this recipe perhaps? I’m assuming 11 oz. of flour, given your standard measures?
No joke, my mom just emailed a picture of her recipe card for “Jewish Apple Cake”, and it’s IDENTICAL to this. Can’t wait to make it tonight.
Happy New Year, Deb! May yours be as sweet as your wonderful recipes!
Oh boy, I thought I must have flubbed the recipe–the batter was like a pie crust, until I added the eggs. First sigh of relief. Then, seemed like surely, I didn’t have nearly enough batter, and would have an extremely sad, flat pancake cake. It tripled in size! Oh my, it is beautiful. The whole house smells like Rosh HaShana from my childhood. Thank you!
Just made this! So delicious!!
Made this yesterday because I had 3 red delicious apples that were sitting in my refrigerator for a few days. Not much of a sweet tooth person so I decreased the sugar (I usually bake with Splenda but was out of it) and only used a half cup of sugar, 2 cups of flour, and only used 2 eggs. All I had was a layer-sized pan and it came out so goooood! Thanks!
Dear Smitten (you didn’t give your name) Kitchen:
I made this yesterday and it looked just like yours. It was in the oven for at least 90 minutes. After cooling, I found it was way way underdone.
I did not use the clean toothpick test, which was clearly an ERROR.
Lenny
Hi folks. I made this fabulous cake with pears since I had many! I made it in a well-greased silicone Bundt pan upside down and substituted 1/4 cup of spiced pear syrup made from poaching some other pears (I have a tree) for the OJ. I did decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup. I baked it for an hour and 15 min. checking it every 5 minutes after an hour and the toothpick test worked fine for me. I served with a poached whole pear in the center dusted with cinnamon. A huge hit. thanks Deb; my family loved it!
Oh, by upside down I meant that I put half the pears in first, then 1/2 the batter, then the rest of the pears and then the rest of the batter, not that the pan was upside down. :-)
I just made this cake with a LOT of substitutions and changes. Lemme explain.
I’m an avid home baker and generally have many kinds of flour around the house, but earlier this week I actually ran out of AP flour (I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before). Instead of running out to get more, I’ve been taking it as a challenge to experiment with other flours as AP subs in yeast breads, quick breads, and cakes.
For the apple cake I swapped out 1 C. white whole wheat; 1 C. cake flour; 3/4 C. semolina for all the AP in the original recipe (I have a feeling you could just do half white whole wheat/half cake flour and no semolina. I’ve just been obsessed with adding semolina to fall desserts this week). Added a sprinkle of fresh grated nutmeg to flour mix. Also, subbed buttermilk for orange juice (again, trying to use what I already have in the pantry/fridge). Used 1/2 C. apple sauce and 1/2 C. oil (instead of the 1 C. oil), figuring it might punch up an apple flavor. Only used 2 Granny Smith apples diced and mixed in about 1 t. cinnamon and 3 T. sugar because that’s what I had on hand. Used King Arthur Flour’s coffee cake method of putting half the batter into a 9″x13″ pan (like others here, no tube pan handy; only Bundts and they seemed to get mixed results), sprinkling with a mix of 1 C. brown sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, and 1 t. cocoa (for color; can omit), then topping with the other half of batter. Swirled the cinnamon mix in lightly with a knife or spatula. Topped with diced apples (two Granny Smith were plenty for only a top layer since they tend to be large apples anyway).
Baked up just fine! Smells delicious. Will dig in tomorrow…or maybe later tonight. I’d say this is a VERY forgiving recipe.
I should add to my above comment about substitutions that in my oven and in a 9″x13″ pan, the cake took less than an hour to bake. However, with a thicker batter (and different oven) using only AP flour it might take a bit longer. Just guessing. My oven tends to run hot, too.
Has anyone made this as cupcakes or another non tube pan cake? This is one of my favorite cakes but no tube pan at the moment :(.
Mollie — Do you have a bundt? Commenters #275, 305, 361, 530 and 593 all mention making this as cupcakes (but most don’t give great detail about their results).
Hello, I would like to make these into cupcake form. Could you recommend how I should concert this recipe to work successfully as cupcakes.
Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Yoji — I haven’t made these as cupcakes but in the comment before yours I point to all of the commenters that have.
To bundt or not to bundt? I think yes!
Thanks for the recipe Deb – I haven’t tasted it yet, but it looks gorgeous and smells like apple cake heaven.
Based on the comments, I used a bundt pan…but I baked on two stacked sheets, so it did not burn on the top – this tip was from your honey cake. The top was uniform and perfectly brown!
I greased the pan with coconut oil and then put it in the fridge while I was mixing and floured it lightly – the bundt cake came out without any protest on the first try.
I followed the layering advice – did a little less than half the batter, then layered in half the apples (without allowing them to touch the sides of the pan), the rest of the batter, the rest of the apples on top. I tried to ensure all the apples touched the batter so they stuck while baking. True the batter was quite thick, perhaps made thicker by the whole wheat flour, but it worked.
Substitutions – whole wheat flour (no sifting, which was bad of me – ?), 1/2 cup less sugar, lemon juice, a little coconut oil mixed with olive oil, 5 MacIntosh apples.
The tough part is the cooking time. I think I cooked for less than an hour on 350, then covered with foil because the apples were browning and the juice looked somewhat blackened (everything was ok though). Then when the cake had been in the oven for maybe an hour and 15 min, I reduced the heat to 300 and probably cooked total one hour forty minutes in a nonstick, not-dark-metal bundt pan. I would also like to ask how to test for doneness – the top apples make it very moist, so there is some residue when you check…but I wiggled around a bit and it seems firm/done. The real test comes tonight!
I suppose I would have drizzled/layered some additional batter on top if I had it, but there wasn’t any left. Next time I’ll try to save some – but no problems with this at any rate.
Another thing, to keep breads and cakes moist, I tend to cover w/ foil after I remove from the oven and then put a pan or something heavy on top while it’s cooling for an hour or so. This seems to create a lot of condensation/moisture when you check in on it and when completely cool, a nice moist topped bread or cake – especially for the zucchini, banana, or other quick bread. Does this make sense…or is it perhaps not necessary!
Thanks for helping me become a better baker! xo
I halved this recipe for a loaf pan but used 5 Macintosh apples since mine were quite small – I still felt it could have used more apple! Next time. Otherwise it’s a perfect fall cake-for-breakfast recipe!!
I made this Friday night for break the fast on Saturday. I did not have a tube pan with a removable bottom, so I followed some of the guidance from commenters for the 9×13 size pan. I only cooked it for 1 hour, 5 minutes in a 350 oven. The sides were definitely looking cooked, the middle not so much. I hoped that the residiual heat would cook the center while it cooled completely. Unfortunately, it did not. The cake was really undercooked in the middle and overcooked on the edges. The flavor was nice from the pieces that turned out, but in general I was pretty disappointed. I might try it again with the correct pan when I can get to the store and by one.
Delicious cake!! Thanks Deb. For the record, I used a dark bundt (not non-stick) pan, double greased it with butter and baking Pam. Did not change anything in the recipe except bringing the apples down to 4 because they were huge Gala apples. Baked at Convect 350 for 1 hour 10 minutes and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes. It is beautiful and tastes like fall…thanks to your Mom too.
This was sooo yummy! I am exploring world religions with my kids through craft and food and we used this as our Harvest cake. I subbed Almond flour for half the flour and did half brown sugar half regular. My cake did get stuck in the pan though-since I’m no professional would my substitutions have anything to do with that I wonder?
Even stuck in the pan it was sooo good- and will be in our regular rotation and not just holiday research.
I copied your recipe and it was DEVINE! The only thing different I did is that I stewed my apple in butter,orange juice cinnamon,sugar and a pinch of clove. I do this to all my apple receipes . This cake didn’t need frosting,just some powdered sugar because the cake was so rich.
Was searching for a good day 2 cake and found this! Its amazing!
I thirded this recipe (all but the apples – I used 5 instead of 6), subbed in butter for the vegetable oil and it worked great in my bread machine’s cake mode! Definitely one of my favorite finds so far!
Made this last night just subbed 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 stevia, added 1 more apple and it was perfect. Presentation is beautiful.
I baked this cake for a lunch with friends and it was a huge success! Thanks so much! My only problem was that the bottom was a bit dry. I baked it in a springform pan (no tube) for an hour and it was totally baked through. This might have to do with my oven settings. Do you have any suggestions about proper baking settings (how low in the oven to place the cake and where the heat should come from/fan or no fan)?
A great cake! It’s not a super special occasion cake, but really simply good. It would be great for brunch. I used lemonade instead of orange juice and some whole wheat flour but otherwise followed the recipe. Perfect for Fall!
I love this cake but every time I bake it, taking it out of the pan is a disaster!
How do you get it out without destroying it?
Nina — 5T = 5 tablespoons, or about 1/3 cup granulated sugar.
Hi Rikki — The nuts should go in with the apples, oops. The cake is very moist and I guess you could say dense, but without the dryness of most pound cakes. The juices from the apples should keep it fairly ridiculously moist, especially on day 2 if it lasts that long.
Karen — Do you use a tube or a bundt? The tube that is called for is much easier. After that, making sure it’s well-greased help, and making sure it is cool before taking it out. I realize now that the recipe should say this, huh? When were you unmolding it?
Terri — I always toss the juices back in but I know that some people don’t. It really can be either way. And of course some apples really draw out a great big puddle of juices but most do not so it’s not going to hugely affect the final cake. I think I make this cake pretty quickly these days (I’ve made it a lot, needless to say) so the accumulated juices aren’t as significant either. But, again, I usually use them.
Shifra — In general, I recommend the middle rack or centering a rack in your oven. But you know your oven best and cakes may do better higher or lower in your oven. If it’s getting too dark on the outside before the inside it baked, you might want to slightly reduce the temperature next time. If the cake seems dry at the edges on the first day, it almost never will on the second, when the apple juices seep out further. This cake’s texture is ideal on the second day for some.
After a beautiful day of Apple picking with my boy’s First Grade with Mrs. Brown, him and I found and baked the cake last night. All the kids loved it and all the moms got the recipe to try at home (did not add walnuts ).
Thanks to your mom!
I made this cake this afternoon. I made it in a metal 9 x 13 pan and it turned out just fine. The only change I made to the recipe was that I used Jonathan Apples and I swapped the orange juice for apple cider, since that is what I had on hand. Wonderful, yummy cake!
I made this cake yesterday with a few changes & it was delicious. I used coconut oil in place of vegetable, gluten free all purpose flour in place of regular, cinnamon chips in the middle w/the 1st layer of apples & finished with a maple bourbon glaze. It was a disaster getting it out of the pan (I used a bundt pan). Part if it fell apart but I turned it into apple cake in a jar :-) Still it was so so good. I will definitely make this again!
Okay, well… I just put this cake into the oven, but I wasn’t sure what to do with all the juice that the apples produced after I “set them aside.” It seemed like an awful lot (perhaps because I put the apple chunks into acidulated water before I drained them and then tossed them with the cinnamon sugar — maybe I shouldn’t have done that). I was torn, because that’s the only source of cinnamon, but I thought it would make the cake too wet. The recipe, as written, doesn’t address this question.
I tried to strain the apples that I used in the middle layer. But for the top layer, I held the liquid out, thinking that maybe I would use it to make a glaze for the cooled cake. But then I came back to this webpage and I noticed that, in one of the pics, some liquid is visible amongst the apples. So I went back and poured the juice overthe top of the cake after all (it had only been in the oven for 8 min).
So… who else has wondered about the apple juice? (I apologize if this has already been addressed in the 902 comments above, but that’s a LOT of stuff to read through and I have a long To Do list ahead of me (on which the Apple Cake is just the first item)). Would love to hear from Deb or anyone else on this.
I’ll try to remember to come back and report on the results I got with my decision.
Thanks.
Hi Deb,
Thanks for this delicious recipe! I made it for the holidays and everyone loved it, but I have 3 questions:
1) The recipe doesn’t say where to add in the nuts. Is it mixed in with the apples?
2) My cake was pretty dense so I’m wondering if I messed up w/ the flour- measure first and then sift, or sift first and then measure?
3) How dense is the cake supposed to be? Mine was more like a pound cake…. is that right?
Thanks again, Rikki
Following up to my earlier comment (09-28-13), the cake doesn’t seem to have suffered any because I added the apple juices to the top of the cake.
I just made the cake and it came out beautifully. I made it in the blossom Nordic ware bundt pan using the direction you gave. I let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes and when I inverted it the apples stayed on the bottom and the patterned design stayed intact. Really pretty. I found that 6 apples is way too much if you are using a bundt. 4-5 would work better. Also after about 60 min in the oven I had to cover it with foil…the top was getting burnt. All in all, it is a keeper.
I would love to bake this, but am not sure what the 5 T Sugar stands for?
…Thanks for sharing your recipe and story! :)
this sounds delicious!! When it comes to freezing this cake, how long do you think it would keep for if I triple wrap and/or vacuum seal? I have been buying crates of fruit at the farmers market and trying to think of different ways to enjoy through the winter. Thanks for being YOU!
I am making this cake now in a springform pan. Will let you know how it turns out & how long it takes.
So… The springform pan made me have to bake it about 10 minutes longer to get the middle set. The cake was yummy, but burned on the bottom (that I had lined with parchment paper). Cutting off the burned part makes a pretty great cake, but next time I make it I will definitely purchase a tube pan first, as this would have gotten it cooked more evenly and efficiently.
I just made this last night– it was the perfect dessert after a dinner of ham and white beans, and it was also a great quick breakfast. My daughter said “This would be even better with chocolate chips instead of apples.” I think we’ll try your mom’s chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake next!
I think I would mix the walnuts with the apples.
Thanks deb, I didn’t put in the juices- I strained it out, I guess that was the issue.
What about sifting the flour- before or after the measuring?
Rikki — After.
Ok-movie night tomorrow again. Genre picked by the hubs: Film Noir. Film picked by moi: The Stranger. Snack theme also by me: something Germanish. The dessert: Mom’s apple cake. It is SO on. The spiced caramel popcorn and Wall Street was a hit. Let’s see how this goes! Thanks for always being such a great inspiration, Deb!
Turned out great. I used apple cider instead of OJ because I didnt have any OJ in the house
I made this last night for brunch this morning, fabulous!! I mixed the walnuts in with the batter which I liked. Thanks for another recipe that I’ll make over and over!!
I have just made your Mom’s apple cake and it is wonderfull thank you so much for sharing this especially that i came home with 14 kilos of apples from a family day out picking apples in an orchard and didn’t know where to start
a million thanks from the south of france
My co-worker’s wife brought this in today…OMG IT WAS DELICIOUS! I will not only be making it, but sharing it on my blog (and crediting you of course).
Will this freeze well? I’m planning on making a gluten-free version and so we don’t eat it all at once, we wrap individual pieces and freeze them. I’m just wondering if it will hold it’s flavor and texture. Thanks. :)
Lisa — The cake should keep just fine.
Thanks, Deb. I made it a second time on a lower temperature and also used an extra apple. I didn’t use a tube pan so I think I needed the extra juice from the apples since there was more surface area.
I’m still confused about oven settings though. My oven does not have a setting for heat just coming from the bottom without a fan. There’s an option for heat to come from both the top and bottom, or from the bottom with a fan. Which is correct for baking a cake?
Also, any suggestions for a non-dairy cake recipe? Something good for a dessert, but not fruity. I get stuck with making non-dairy frosting since I avoid margarine. Thanks so much for all the help :)
I made this cake twice, once with macs and the next time with cortland apples. I liked the way it tasted with the Cortlands better. I also used pecans instead of walnuts. This cake is fantastic and tastes better each day it lasts.
Hi Shifra — I’m not familiar with different heat sources/oven types as I’ve only had the dinky type I have now. Have you baked other cakes in yours successfully? This here is a dairy-free cake. Were you looking for more?
Hi Deb
I heard you on Woman’s hour; very inspiring, I made the cake today with apples from our own tree but, it took 2 and a half hours to bake at 160 deg in a fan assisted oven!!! An hour longer than the recipe!? Perhaps the apples were too many (1.5kg) and too juicy; the 26cm spring tin I used was almost flowing over!! The joke is I am English, living in Germany and I didn’t know what a Bundt tin was!!! Where I live (Bavaria) we call them Gulgelhupf tins. In that, it would have definitely baked faster but, would have been much harder to get out. Tastes great!
OMG, this cake is WONDERFUL! I folded the apples into the batter and baked in a 9×13″ pan (took a little over 50 minutes in my oven). My husband and I have been rationing this cake for several days now, and it seems to taste better every day. So it can definitely be baked in advance and stored in the fridge (I may do that for Thanksgiving…). Thanks so much for sharing your mom’s recipe. FWIW, I used half Gala and half Granny Smith, and we thought the sweet/tart combo was perfect.
interesting… I have been using the very same recipe given to me by my Mom’s mom who is pennsylvania dutch and my copy is handwritten in pencil dated 1947 or 49.. hard to make out the last #… anyways its exactly the same.. I use a 9″ springform pan instead of the tube pan as listed on the card….
@jeff. May I ask you at what temperature and how long do you bake?
I’m thrilled to see a dairy-free option here. I’ve had the cake in a tube pan in the oven for over 1 1/2 hours and it looks nowhere near done. I hope to make it again, but am wondering if I could raise the temperature so it won’t take so long.
Thanks!
This is the best apple cake I’ve ever eaten! I’ve made it twice in the last 3 months just because it is so delicious! Thank you!
I baked this cake an extra 25 minutes and it still wasn’t done in the middle. (In a tube pan… I see in the comments a lot of other pans were used.) I’m a veteran baker and doubt I made any measuring error, and am guessing that the apples I used might have been too big. Would have liked a weight measurement for the apples, like “5 pounds” versus just “6 apples,” since apple sizes can vary so much. Or something along the lines of “6 apples chopped into 1/2-inch cubes, totaling about 5 cups” would have helped. There’s an awful lot of cake left, and the edges taste great but the middle is gluey and underdone.
Hi! This was good. I used a bundt pan. I would suggest buttering and then flouring the pan, pouring in a thin layer of batter, followed by the apples. I put the apples in first and they did stick a little bit, but not too bad! I thought there was a lot of sugar in the cake when I was making it, but it wasn’t too sweet at all. I took my cake out of the oven after 1 hour and twenty minutes and it came out perfectly.
Here is a photo of the cake!: http://tinyurl.com/omoop85
I’ve been trying to stop using excess oils, so I actually used a cup of unsweetened applesauce with just a tablespoon of veg. oil instead. Not only did it cut out some fat, but it also made the cake a bit less dense towards the bottom of the pan! I also used Galas instead of Macintoshes, which made the cake a bit tangier. I loved this recipe – it was awesome! :D
An Italian co-worker gave me this recipe years ago and I lost in in my many moves around the country. I just found it on your site today and it is in the oven as I type.
One of the few cakes that I have never had a problem making.
I knew it as an Italian apple Cake, no matter what it is called it is wonderful.
made this.. everybody loved it. This is the best cake i’ve made.
Thank you SO much for this recipe which we got this September on Woman’s Hour in the UK. It has to be the best cake ever (Great Choice from the Smitten Kitchen, Woman’s Hour) and I’ve already made and scoffed it three times. I bought a Bundt tin for it, but it always sticks. I have now ordered a silicone Bundt, but realise that I should have bought a tube tin. I have read through half of the 936 comments hoping that someone will tell me how to line a wavy Bundt tin, as all the buttering in the world won’t do it! No hope. I am going to buy a tube. Like many, I have halved the sugar and it’s great. I have so many apples that I add extra ones, generally a mixture of Bramley and Roundway Magnum Bonum (an old Wiltshire half-russet apple). Also, I have now learnt to do the apples, sugar and cinnamon last, so that there is no time for them to form a syrup. I have to read this blog every day. The only cookery blog I have ever read, or will ever read. Thank you again so much for everything, Deb.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I made this yesterday and it was incredible.
I just made this again last night for my husband’s secretary’s birthday. With that delicious smell in the house, I just had to make another to keep at home. But this time I was a bit tired, and I didn’t have some key ingredients, like apples! And I’m so glad … I substituted very ripe pears for the apples, cut them into tiny chunks and just incorporated them into the batter. I replaced the vegetable oil with 1/2 butter, 1/2 olive oil. I baked it in a bundt pan, and it looked prettier (uniform, with no burnt marks on the outside like usual). YUM. Even better than my favorite pear bread recipe, and it goes just as well with morning coffee as it does as a dessert. :)
Hi Deb,
I have never baked a cake in a tube pan. After it cools, I understand pulling the tube part with the cake away from the round part of the pan. Is the cake served while still in the tube part of the pan? Or is it supposed to be inverted onto a serving plate? Any tips on inverting the cake onto a platter without it breaking apart – seems a little scary to me? The first picture in the post shows it still in the tube pan so I assume that’s how it’s served? Thinking about bringing this with me to a Thanksgiving dinner I’m going to and want to do the right thing! Many thanks!
Hi Donna — We usally make this in a one-piece tube pan, not the chiffon/angel food cake-type, although that’s what we had the day I photographed this. It’s inverted onto a rack, then flipped back right-side-up onto a serving platter, either way.
This is one of my favorite cake recipes. I’ve made it many times with apples and a few times with mangoes, slightly reducing the cinnamon. In addition to a tube pan, it’s equally as good in a single layer in a sheet pan, though it doesn’t look quite as pretty. Over the last couple of years this has become a standard in my cake rotation. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
This looks exactly like my Mothers Apple cake. I am making it today. The only difference was the oil. My Mother used melted butter. The combination of apples butter and cinamon and sugar never fails. My Mom’s recipes were lost when we cleaned out her house after she passed away. I have her original Boston Cooking School cookbook and she wrote some recipes in that but I was never able to find her apple cake recipe. She called it german apple cake so I hope this is it or close. We always had it for snacks after school.I still have her treasured tube pan and it still works great. She passed last year and I miss her like crazy.
I was looking for an apple cake to share with co-workers. This was fabulous. I used Stayman apples since they were on-hand. I had 3 requests to make the cake. I had borrowed the pan from someone. Now I need to go buy one. This will go to Thanksgiving Dinner with the family. It is a keeper for sure. Thank you for making it available to me. Happy Cooking!
There are almost ALWAYS tube pans at the various thrift shops I pop into. And never for more than $3.
this is the best cake, Made it several times. thanks! everyone loves it
I know this as Jewish apple cake even though I am of Russian descent. My grandmother used to make this all the time. I have found that many Russian recipes are similar to Jewish recipes. Perhaps they shared recipes :) ?? Anyway, a tube pan should be used, the cake needs to be cooked evenly. With the moisture from the apples it is difficult to heat the batter properly if there is no hole in the middle of the pan to heat it. I don’t know if a bundt pan could be used, I suppose, so but I have never used one. This is a great cake to make, everyone loves it. If you want to make a square apple cake I suggest you try Ukrainian Apple Cake (Yabluchnyk). Just search for it online. This has the cake on the bottom and the sliced apples on top. Another recipe favorite of mine.
I love your site. You have said you go to Martha for baking first, I come to you, then her. I find you more reliable.
I have made this cake many times, sometimes for the flavoring agent I add orange blossom water and then use half whole wheat flour. These simple changes make the cake seem very “exotic”, so depending on who will be eating I make the choice accordingly.
Once again, thanks for such a wonderful site. You have helped introduce my family to some wonderful new tastes.
V ery similar to my Mom’s German Apple cake. I have one n the oven right now. It smells wonderful! I tweaked the recipe just a bit and added lemon rind and orange rind. I also used melted butter not oil . I would like to try rhe same recipe with chopped cranberries.
Dearest Deb, I have just baked this cake and it is waiting to be cut. It looks delicious and I hope my grandson remembers me for this forever! I simply LUV your blogsite, your recipes and the way you present and write. Great going and keep it up. Count me as your fan!
I made some “semi-healthy” modifications:
Whole wheat flour for half of the flour portion: 1 1/2 c. white flour, 1 1/4 c. whole wheat
Instead of oil, I used 1/2 cup melted butter and 1/2 c applesauce
Added the zest of 1 orange into the apple/sugar mixture, and used fresh squeeze orange juice in the batter.
Great recipe!
After FIVE years, I finally made this. That’s right, I have been following smitten at least that long and it took me 5 years to make this cake. FOR SHAME! (On me, of course.)
So, I really loved it. But my husband declared it his favorite cake I have ever made. And let me tell you, I have made at least 25 cakes since being married. All preapproved with amazing reviews and great results. Many from smitten.
I made this last month when apple picking and I also made the deep dish apple pie from the book. Um, best apple pie, ever. Thanks Deb!
I have been looking for this exact recipe for YEARS. My Nana made this cake all the time for me and I’ve been trying all the different apple cakes I could find. I finally thought, with a bunch of apples that needed to be used, “I’ll bet there’s an amazing recipe at Smitten Kitchen”. I read the post and the light dawned. She loved magazine recipes and the cup of oil and 1/4 of OJ rang all sorts of childhood memory bells and whistles. The cake looked right in the pictures, and it felt right as I was making it. I’m so excited. Thank you!
Delicious. Made it in a bundt pan as some of your other readers mentioned, and I greased it really well first so it came out reasonably well. I also added a recipe of your butterscotch drizzled on top – highly recommended if you want to kick it up a notch!
thank you for sharing this receipt. It came out perfect, I did run out of apples so I used half apples and half winter pears. I am glad to report it is picture perfect and so yummy.
baked it, and loved it!!! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
I used brown sugar and safflower oil, since that was all I had… but I don’t think it affected the recipe in any way… will definitely make it again!! Thank you!!
I made this cake yesterday and it turned out beautifully! Only problem is, it’s really, really sweet. Too sweet for my taste and I would like to reduce the amount of sugar next time I make it. Has anyone tried that? Will it affect the texture of the cake if I do?
Elizabeth — You should be able to reduce the sugar a bit without a problem.
I was looking for something to do with all the apples my daughter gave me and when I saw this recipe, I had to try it. The cake turned out beautifully and everyone we shard it with raved about it This cake will serve a lot of people. It is very dense and moist and weighs five pounds. I will definitely make this again. It is now one of my all time favorites.
This is a wonderful cake, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve made it. Lately I’ve replaced the cinnamon with Baking Spice that consists of Saigon and Indonesian cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, allspice and ginger. It adds a slightly different dimension to the cake. But cinnamon or baking spice this is a great cake.
Thanks for another great recipe. I made this today and it looks exactly like the picture. I can only imagine how good it’s going to be. I’ve been looking for a good Jewish apple cake for holiday dinners for a long time, and it looks like I found it.
I made this cake yesterday and had some for breakfast today. It was really delicious and my boyfriend really loved it too! The only thing I’d change for next time is to reduce the sugar by almost half. The cake was much too sweet for my liking, but still amazing nonetheless. I also used granny smith apples because they are a bit more tart, which I personally prefer to sweeter apples like galas. Thank you for the recipe!
I put almost 1 cup of sugar and it was still way too much. I put 5 spoons of sugar on the apples though. Next time I will put 3 spoons of sugar on the apples and less than 1 cup of sugar in the batter. Then it might work. I cannot imagine eating this with 2 cups of sugar in it, my taste must be real different than yours…Other than this, it works great.
I made this cake for my 13 year old to take to his Math Counts class. He and his friends take this class very early in the morning and we parents trick them into going each week by baking yummy cakes for “breakfast”. This cake was the one I chose this week because of the name. I have made 5 different recipes for apple cake and this was by far the best. it had incredible apple flavor, lots of apples, very moist but not heavy, and big enough to feed all 12 kids in the class. A real winner! I will add this recipe to my “favorites” recipe index file. Thanks~
I have made this recipe many times and this year it seems to do nothing but flop. I use very small (2x4ish) loaf pans, buttered with a parchment lining. I don’t even look at them for at least an hour and I’ve been getting either bubbling over or a shrinking under the cinnamon/sugar topping. It’s really frustrating and I am not sure why this is happening. I love baking when it goes well, but my Jewish Apple Cakes are not gift worthy (though still quite tasty).
Made this for the second time today and it came out terrific again! I think the secret is the tablespoon of baking powder. I will make it again and again and again……
The first time I made this cake everyone said it was good, but wayyyy too sweet. So this time, I cut the sugar and used scant 1 1/2 cups, and one teaspoon with the apples. I cut back on the cinnamon to scant two teaspoons, and grated in some nutmeg. I zested the orange and a lemon just for some more punch, and used Northern Spy apples. In addition to the walnuts, I threw in 1/2 cup of dried cranberries (next time I’ll use a full cup).
It was fantastic!
This is going to be my signature cake :) Thanks Deb.
Nancy
We just made this cake today for the first time.
Everybody in the family loved it!
My Mom should eat cakes without sugar, so I was wondering we could transform this recipe to make it good for her too (I don’t think replacing the sugar with a substitute would be enough). Any ideas?
Happy New Year, Deb!
I have made so many of your recipes, and they always turn out perfectly. You have rekindled my love of cooking. I asked for, and received, your cookbook for Christmas, and I’ve already made four of the recipes. I look forward to making each and every one. You write with such grace and humor, and I just want to tell you how grateful I am that you are out there in the world, sharing your knowledge.
I made this cake yesterday for our New Year’s Eve dessert. I followed it exactly, and it baked up perfectly. I didn’t notice until I was ready to cook, that it requires a tube pan. Since I don’t own one of those, and I didn’t want to wait for one to come in the mail before I could make this cake, I followed the recommendations of previous readers, and used a bundt pan. I greased it with Baker’s Joy, and put a small layer of batter in first, then a layer of apples, and so on. The cake rose slightly above the bundt pan, but it did not overflow, and once it cooled, the cake released flawlessly from the pan. My oven baked it in about one hour and 20 minutes. Though I do prefer the look of your cake with the apples on top, the shape of the bundt pan and the dusting of confectioner’s sugar helped to make up for the missing aesthetic of your version.
This cake will now be a part of our New Year’s tradition. Many thanks to you and your mom for sharing with all of us.
Fondly,
Jennifer F
I normally don’t do any comments, but i just made this today and it is simply awesome. Thank you from Bangkok!
I want to make this apple cake in two loaf pans then frost with burnt sugar icing when cooled.
Okay, I just HAD to know how it turns out with a tube pan, so I ordered one. The very same afternoon that it arrived in the mail, I made the cake again. This time, it did need the full hour and a half to bake through, and it looked gorgeous. Unfortunately, as I was pulling it out of the oven, the slick non-stick surface proved to be a little too slick for my oven mitts, and the pan slipped from my hands and fell, toppling over and spilling the cake across the kitchen floor. As much as I love my dog, and as much as I love this cake, I did not fancy eating apple cake a la dog hair, so I had to scrap it. My kids were just as heart broken as I was, especially since the house had been smelling so good and making us all crazy with anticipation. :-/ Oh well, I’ll just have to make it again!
Cheers!
Jennifer F
Deb, may I suggest that you create a new section for your archives: recipes that will warm up your house, ie, requiring long baking time, long simmering time… on this -10 degree day I made your mom’s apple cake (1.5 hours of oven time!) and the lasagna bolognese (4+ hours of stove top time, 40 minutes of oven time) and had my kitchen thoroughly warm and cozy by the end of the day. thank you ever so much!
Christi-Lynn — What a fantastic idea. I have a soup coming next week that I simmered for so long, all of the windows steamed in the apartment!
I absolutely looooooove this recipe and bookmarked it a year ago. I’m about to bake this thing for the 30th time tonight.
Ps-started using fresh squeezed OJ, rather than canned juice and it turns it up a notch!
Hi Deb,
This is by far the best apple cake I have ever come across. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Today is my third time making this apple cake.
Received your cookbook for my 31st birthday from my mom. Best reading EVER! It’s stacked under my Joy of Cooking in the kitchen.
When I had the bug to bake recently, I went back to this apple cake recipe, ran to BB&B for a tube pan, and started peeling my apples. Every single morsel was snarfed up by me, my husband and that shared hunk I (oh so generously) gave to my mom. I have to say that the caramelized edges around the pan were my fav. So amazingly delish and I can’t wait to make this (any hopefully many of your book recipes) again!
I made this cake last week and it turned out to be a keeper – moist and fragrant. I did reduce the sugar to one cup and it turned out fine. Also used a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper and managed to layer it. It took about 1 hr and 20 minutes before it was done.
I can’t find anybody else in the comments who’s done this, but I’ve made this recipe twice now in a large cast-iron skillet. Fantastic!
I just wanted to say “Thank You” for an amazing recipe! I made this cake last night and it looked exactly like the pictures you took! The smells coming through my kitchen were divine! I was not sure if if I had to add the syrup that was made from the apple/sugar mixture…but i did anyway when i put the last bit on the top of the batter! The end result was a sticky topping with bits of apple playing peek-a-boo! I had to bake my cake for about 12 mins extra. The cake tasted delicious… cinnamon and apple with a subtle hint of orange. I am so glad that I found this site!! Looking forward to trying more recipes!!!
Hey Deb,
Love your site and your amazing recipes! Do you think we can marry the apple cake with your banana bread? Love your input. =D
Priscilla — (Sorry, I got very far behind on comments this last week!) I do think it’s possible but fear it might be a little sweet. It might be easiest to just chop up an apple relatively small and toss it into the banana bread batter. Bake it as a loaf, see how you like it, and then if it’s what you were going for, double it in a tube pan. Hope that helps.
thank you, Deb. Seriously. Everything I make of yours, I swear, is touched by an angel. This cake was no exception.
Hi there!
I made this a few months ago, and it was delicious! It COMPLETELY stuck to the pan, but now taking a look at your pictures online (I made it from the book–LOVE the book!), I just noticed that I made it in a Bundt pan instead of a tube pan, which almost certainly made it much harder to extract! I am making it again tomorrow for an office potluck, with a TUBE pan this time, and looking forward to being able to eat it like a normal person eats cake and not having to eat it with a spoon out of the pan (which we did last time–and loved every bite of it, by the way). Unless…do normal people eat cake with a spoon right out of the pan? Hm.
Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that when I want to make something good for company or a special occasion and don’t have time to do a practice run, I know that I can just flip through your book or search your blog and be sure that whatever I make is going to turn out wonderfully! Everything I have made from your recipes has been a hit. Thanks!
I am going to order a tube pan for this. I read the recipe/notes/comments twice and I’m not sure what size to get. I found recipes with the same amounts of flour and sugar calling for a 10″ pan. Lloyds lists two sizes of 10″ pans: 3.75″ high/14 cup or 4.25″ high/16 cup. Thank you.
Any suggestions if the apples on top brown too quickly?
Terri — Mine often do but the cake is so sweet and tender, they taste good in the end. Nevertheless, you can cover the pan with foil if the apples brown too fast, and just remove the foil for the last 5 minutes.
very good!!!!
Thanks to your recipes, I am no longer afraid of baking ! The cake turned out beautifully. It was a little difficult to layer the batter because of it’s consistency, little too thick… am I doing something wrong?
Rachael — Glad you enjoyed it. Thick batters are fine. You can just use a spatula or spoon to spread them into a flat layer before adding the other ingredients.
This is the most requested cake in my home. My husband without fail will request this for his birthday. This is his favorite hands down, and mine too. I wish he would request some other gorgeous confections on your website, nope! He wants this one. hah. :) Thanks for such an amazing win win recipe!
I also forgot to mention, I have been making this cake since 2009. His mom who is the queen of apple pie, LOVES this cake. :) Just thought that was worth mentioning. :) Thanks again from the bottom of my heart. :)
This is definitely one of the better looking apple cake recipes I’ve come across (reminds me very much of one my grandmother used to make) and I can’t wait to give it a shot this coming weekend. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe must be invincible! I thought I would try whipping the egg whites and folding them into the batter lastly. Once I had assembled the cake with the layers of apple I realised the whipped whites were still in the kitchenaid(!). No wonder I thought the batter was a bit odd! I dumped the batter, apple layers and all in a bowl and folded the egg whites in. Then back in the cake tin. The cake was perfect- light but moist and lots of apple. Yummo :)
Hi Deb! I tried to look through all the questions but didn’t find an answer to mine. I’d like to frankenstein this into a two layer cake for my Mom’s birthday this weekend and then maybe make a cream cheese frosting (with cinnamon?) to go over it. Do you think that it would bake all right in two 9″ round pans? Just wondering because of the size of the cake and other readers’ having trouble baking it all the way through in some improvised pans…
I have a recipe for German Apple Cake that was handed down to me by my mother who clipped it out of the newspaper sometime in the late 70’s or early 80′! We lost the recipe for about 15 years and then found it and have been making it ever since. My recipe also calls for orange juice and the batter is very thick. The juice from the apples makes it moist. I always pour a layer of batter on top of the last layer of apples to cover them and then pour the cinnamon/juice from the chopped apples on top of it. This makes the top of the cake dark brown and crunchy. My recipe also calls for a thick mixture of butter/powdered sugar and water drizzled over the warm cake. The thick liquid frosting quickly melts over the cake and then dries out adding sweetness with a slight hint of butter to the crunchy cake crust. It is so much better than powered sugar! I have pre-printed copies of the recipe to hand out because people ask for it every time. It’s the best cake I’ve ever tasted.
Tip: To get the cake out of the tube pan I always let the cake cook first for about 15 minutes. Then take a sharp knife and cut around the sides and underneath the cake to separate it from the pan. (You have to pull the tube out of the pan to cut the bottom) Then do the same around the center of the cake (the tube). Once the cake has been loosened, place a large plate (not too heavy) on top of the metal tube and flip the cake over. It should fall off directly onto the plate. The cake will be upside down, so place another plate over top of it and flip the cake over again. I use the base of my plastic cake server so I can cover it.
Would this work using whole wheat flour and an artificial sugar? I am diabetic.
Made this tonight amd my mom loved it! And she was not too crazy when she saw me making it. Made it in a loaf pan and baked it for an hour. Placed apples on the bottom. Great recipe! Thanks!
Phil — Comments #452, 479, 593, 638, 727, 797, 835, 868, 882, 888, 896, 948, and 951 reference using whole wheat flour as a whole or part in this recipe. I don’t see any comments from people who use Splenda or the like. I might try to make a half or quarter of this recipe in a smaller pan or as muffins with a sugar substitute to see if it works before making the whole cake without sugar. That said, I think this is a structurally very sound and flexible cake and it handles substitutions fairly well.
I prefer to weigh my flour ingredients…..I noticed in one of your comments that you typically weigh your flour at 125 g per cup. Is that correct?
carla — Yes. I use 125 grams, although I know a lot of people use 130. Either will work here.
Interesting about this recipe. Does not say when to put in the walnuts. I am assuming with the dry ingredients.
Just interested before I try the recipe. Why does one recipe call for 2 3/4 cups of flour and the other 3 cups. I always have trouble making a cake batter that does not come out dry. that is usually why I don’t make them. But this sounds too good.
Karen — The other is 3 cups sifted, which works out to 2 3/4 cups when not sifted. I find it very irksome to sift, then measure, ingredients.
Dear Deb, I have been a lurker for years and bought your book in the pre-sale. Love it! Because of you many of my friends think I am a wonderful cook! At any rate, I have an apple tree and thought this would be the perfect thing to make for my book club. But the amount of apples flummoxes me. My largest apple (about 3″ diameter) weighs 4.5 ounces. You are saying six apples will weigh at least 2.5 lbs. I weighed out 11 of my apples and they still don’t come to 2.5 lbs. I am wondering if you could provide a volume of apple pieces (volume of apples after peeling coring chopping?
Hi Jeanette — I can make note of the volume next time I make this (soon!). However, definitely no need to fret. This is one of those old, flexible recipes that will not fail you and don’t have just a single way that it works. Any 6 apples you choose, regardless of size, will work here.
Deb, I would like to make this as gluten free Rosh Hashonna cake. Any suggestions on which flour to use or modifications? Have never baked anything gluten free before but will have several g-f guests. Thanks so much!
I loved this cake. I made three small changes in the recipe: I used brandy rather than vanilla, brown sugar instead of white and reduced the amount of sugar mixed with apples (not the sugar in the cake batter) to about 1 tablespoon. I don’t usually like apply cake, but this was great.
Hi Diane — I haven’t made this gluten-free, but it looks like commenters #392 and 902 mention doing so with a gf flour mix. Hope that helps.
I tried this cake & was extremely disappointed. I’m an experienced cook and followed the directions precisely. The 1.5 hour baking time was WAY too long. I baked it for 85 minutes and the cake was very dry & it even burned slightly. I have a similar apple cake recipe that calls for a 1-hour baking time. Also, the moisture from the apples doesn’t get evenly distributed because the apples are in just 2 layers rather than mixed throughout.
This was by far the BEST apple cake I’ve ever baked in my life – and I’ve baked quite a few! I watched my husband’s eyes literally roll back in his head at the first bite. He actually lurked over my shoulder as I was writing this review and chimed in, “It WAS the best!” LOL
The only change I made, purely out of necessity, was to use a variety of apple called ‘Early Red’ because it was too early in the season up here in Maine to get Macs. The cake was super moist and incredibly flavorful. I can’t imagine a single thing to improve upon.
Thanks to you and your mom for a fabulous recipe. I’ll definitely be making this one again and again!
I loved this recipe – took it to a party over the weekend & it was a HUGE hit.
Forgive me if you already addressed this issue, but A) what’s it taste like if you do 1/2 butter & 1/2 oil? and B) can you address the differences in the recipe card & the recipe you write?
I used Gravenstein apples & they were terrific, and next time I’ll be using newtown pippins.
Browsing your site for Apple recipes and came across this delicious and easy looking cake. I am a great fan of oil cakes. The weird order commented on earlier is interesting. I have read that one consideration when making cakes with oil rather than butter is how and when you add eggs. Butter is an emulsion and as such distributes through the cake and stays there during baking. Oil on the other hand needs to be emulsified to prevent it “running out”. For this reason most cake recipes using oil that I have used mix the eggs directly into the oil and liquid mix before adding the dry ingredients. Who thought my geeky chemistry knowledge would come in useful making cakes! Hope this is useful and not repetitive (have only skimmed the other comment). Love this site.
Hi deb! I was revisiting this recipe in advance of rosh hashana and after comparing it to the one in your cookbook I noticed that the only difference is the latter has 2 additional cups of sugar. Any reason why? Either way I’m really looking forward to making this! Happy new year! xx
Hi, I made this and it was quite good. My question is I made it in a bundt pan and when you plop it out the apples are on the bottom…is that correct…thanks
It looked so pretty when I took it out and I hated for the apples to be on the bottom…
Hello, my daughter is allergic to oranges. What do you recommend substituting for the orange juice? Thanks, I can’t wait to bake this!
Hi Deb! Just wanted to let you know I made this for a neighborhood get together a couple days ago and it was amazing! Not one piece left at the end of the party. I think this might make a reappearance at Thanksgiving too instead of the traditional pie! Thanks!
Hi Deb…Shana Tova. Thank you for sharing your story and recipe. Both my maternal grandmothers came from “the old country” yet recipes for cookies and biscotti’s was what was bestowed upon me. My mother is, was, not a baker… I am baking your cake as I type this too you.. The kitchen is filled with the smell of warm apples and cinnamon. I did not have orange juice in the house so I substituted 1/4 cup white wine. Also did not have a tube pan so made in a spring form pan. That’s how much I know about cake baking… hee hee. Can’t wait to serve to my family for Rosh Hashona
Thanks Lesley
Shana Tovah, from one Deb to another. I am new to your site, but I am enjoying it enormously. I have tried any number of challah recipes over the years, and finally … yours has the crumb and moisture I have been seeking. I made a beautiful round woven challah (another website treasure), and between your recipe and the weaving technique it is both beautiful and delicious. BTW, I know it’s good because the recipe was enough for two loaves. I baked one to test, and will bake the other for dinner on Erev Rosh Hashanah.
I’ve been making this cake for years, too. I LOVE it. Exact same recipe. My mother makes it and her recipe card and thus the one she made for me called it “Margie’s Jewish Apple Cake.” I asked her who Margie was, thinking it must be an old Jewish woman. Nope! It’s Irish Catholic Aunt Margie, my mother’s sister. Just a recipe Margie gave her! Apparently Margie or someone she knows read the same magazine… I am happy to hear this account and see this wonderful cake here! And please, people, don’t ice it. It has the most amazing “crust” with apple pieces sticking up. That’s the best part.
Made this cake last evening to serve at my family’s Rosh Hashana dinner…and was totally disappointed at the taste…it tasted oily and in all good faith, cannot serve it. I’ve been baking for at least 60 years, and so much wanted to try a new recipe…lesson learned.
Just baked this for our holiday dinner. Terrific cake. I didn’t realize I was low on sugar so I ended up using one cup white sugar and one cup light brown sugar. I used Honey Crisp apples which gave a great taste and texture. I also used an air bake cookie sheet under my cake tube and that kept the bottom from getting over cooked. I think the people who had a cake that was underdone probably used too much liquid from the apple mixture. I scooped the apples out with a slotted spoon and my cake turned out like your pictures.
I know people have been hung for less than competing with your Mom’s apple cake but my Mom’s does! Use 4 cups of flour, 4 tsp baking powder, the grated rid of an orange and enough OJ to make a pourable batter–keep everything else the same. Then instead of mixing the apples with cinnamon and sugar, use seedless raspberry jam with the cinnamon. I layer it in a 9×13 pan.
Want to make it even better?? Substitute the little Italian plums when they are in season.
L’Shana Tovah to all!
Also made this for Rosh Hashanah!I am thinking for Thanksgiving I may give the half applesauce half oil a try – we’re having it tonight so no idea on taste – the last time I made it it was amazing. Had to sub Jonathan’s for McIntosh and cut the bake time down by 10 minutes (I’m making the notes here to myself as much as to the public, as I mark cookbooks up with notes).
Deb, thank you. There are no words aside from “thank you”. The cake is superb. I served it last night for Rosh Hashanah and I wish you could have seen the reaction.
I made this for Rosh Hashanah and I agree that it is even better on day 2 and still delish on day 3. I used a Heritage Bundt pan (10 – 15 cup) and it took about 1 hr. I wasn’t sure if I should include all the juice from the apples, so I used a slotted spoon and didn’t use the juice. And unfortunately I was impatient and probably turned it out when not completely cold, so that might be why it cracked. I also turned it out onto a glass plate with a rim, so it had to travel about an inch before hitting the plate, so that might have contributed to the cracking. It was still a hit, because my mom-in-law requested one for breaking the fast. This time I’ll be patient and use a different cake plate – I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, please let me know if I should include the apple “juice” or not! Thanks. And thank you Deb for sharing. I know how much work goes into blogging (I’m on the fence about quitting my blog completely) so I REALLY appreciate the time and effort that obviously comes straight from your heart. I’m a new fan. :)
I have just made this cake for the sixth or seventh time and love it. it also keeps amazingly well. I stir in all the juice from the apples and I have sometimes used Marsala instead of orange juice – both are good but it doesn’t make as much difference as you might think given the dominant apple and cinnamon taste.
In my oven it is also done in one hour fifteen so worth checking.
Wow Deb, just wow!! This is a beautiful recipe that survived my compulsive tinkering admirably! I used olive oil, half whole wheat flour and a small handful of almond meal. 1/2 cup raw sugar and 1/2 cup honey, extra cinnamon and vanilla. Blended apples & walnuts throughout and baked in a well buttered and almond-floured bundt for a little over an hour. Thoroughly cooled, it unmolded perfectly and the top was so carmelized and gorgeous that I served top-side-up. With honey-yogurt glaze. Surrounded by walnut halves. It disappeared in an instant at coffee hour before I got to taste it. So I made another batch and baked in mini springform pans with a thick layer of creme fraiche and sugared apple slices on top. Now I’m thinking a mixture of apples and pears with ginger might be good…see, I can’t stop! Thank you for such a flexible and inspiring recipe- it will become a favorite at my cafe!
Hello it looks delicious has anyone made in a plain cake tin and can it be frozen I have a 7 hour trip and want to take.
Any help would be great
Cheers
Rosie
Wow, this is fabulous. I am sharing this receipe with a lot of people! Here is how it turned out: http://instagram.com/p/tlp5iGTGC3/?modal=true
This is my go-to fall cake – I love love love it and was back on the page today because I was sending yet another person the recipe. I noticed some commentary on the cup of oil and I scanned the comments to see if someone else has said this already, if they have and I missed, my apologies. I make this cake as written except that I substitute 1/2 the oil with apple sauce. I’ve never made it with the whole cup of oil but the half oil/half apple sauce variation is delish!
This is the BEST apple cake I’ve ever made. Baked it last night and brought it to my office this morning–we love it! It’s sort of like an apple pie in a cake. Lots of moist cake filled with soft cinnamon apples. Definitely a keeper recipe. Everything I’ve ever made from your blog has been awesome and I enjoy your writing style. Thanks and keep it coming!
Hi—
I’m making the cake presently and unfortunately used the wrong pan, spring form 9-inch – running over. I know the cake will be delicious, just wish I could salvage as for special event. I’ll know better next time.
I followed K’s lead (comment 847) and made a half-recipe in an improvised tube pan using a small glass jar weighted with some coins centered in an 8″ round cake pan. The cake rose right to the top, a perfect fit. Done at 55 minutes. Can’t wait to see tomorrow if it’s really better the second day :) So glad I finally tried this recipe!
FAB-U-LOUS Cake!!! I made it yesterday morning for a brunch today – followed the recipe to the “T” except for the walnuts. I thought I was supposed to stir the walnuts into the batter at the end before the layering began. They were diced fine and added a nice texture. My tube pan did not have a removable bottom – I, too inverted it onto a plate (covered with wax paper – and then turned it onto a larger cake plate. The cake came out in one piece. the apples on the top were not loose. I think that was because I poured the sugar / cinnamon syrup from the bottom of the apple bowl on top and it crisped / stuck the apples together. There were little patches of crisp almost caramelized bits of dough on the bottom… prized bits. Everyone loved it and it tasted like autumn. THANK YOU, Deb. I will be making it again in two weeks for my Woman’s Weekend and will transport it in the tube pan. This summer I made your peach pie recipe with bourbon whipped cream – THREE times. It was my summer go to dessert. I can’t wait to peruse your book for my winter dessert. Thanks for all!
I made this Sunday night in a thick classic Bundt pan. I usually have to increase the time on your baked goods so I increased the oven temp a bit (I thought that might compensate for the pan thickness also). Like most of the others using a bundt pan mine was done early, around an hour. I thought the cake was fine and worth trying again–but then this morning I thought it was amazing. It really is better on day two. My son loved it, especially since he got to have cake for breakfast two days in a row. I froze some pieces for school snack later this fall.
This cake is soooo delicious! Its just me in the house, so I halved the recipe, put it in a loaf pan, and baked it for about an hour and 15 minutes. It does truly get better the next day, and freezes well!
Give it a try, you won’t be sorry.
Could orange juice be substituted with buttermilk? I have some left over from a different cake recipe.
Kathryn — I think it would work just fine here.
I’ve made this recipe twice in the last two weeks with excellent results. I did make a bunch of changes the second time to make it a bit healthier, and it was still delicious!
Subbed about 1/3 WW flour (1.75c AP + 1c white WW)
Reduced sugar in batter from 2c to about 1 1/3c; also halved sugar on apples to about 2.5T (it was PLENTY sweet still!)
Subbed out 1/3c oil w/ apple sauce (of remaining 2/3c oil, used 1/3c canola + 1/3c with coconut oil)
Divided the batter in thirds, so the second 1/2 of apples were also covered in batter – made in bundt pan, so the “top” was the bottom (when I made this before and prepped as per recipe – apples on top got very brown/some burned).
Cooked in bundt pan (instead of tube pan) for 1hr, 15 min – cooked perfectly.
My mom has been asking me to bake an apple cake with the apples growing in our backyard. This cake is beyond delicious! I made it as is, except I used 1 cup of sugar, not 2. I also baked it in a bundt pan for 1 hour and it came out beautifully, slid right out onto a plate which I inverted so the apples were on top. I think the trick was I buttered the heck out of the Bundt pan. Thanks Deb!
Deb–
There must be a whole generation of Jewish mothers that must have read the same magazine or food section of the newspaper many years ago. For years, we have made a “Jewish style” apple cake that is a virtual clone of your Mom’s recipe (it uses 1/4 cup more flour, 1 teaspoon less cinnamon, but otherwise, everything is the exact same ingredients and amounts). I thought of you when we made the cake for break fast this year. I bought a new bundt pan from Williams-Sonoma from NordicWare that is in the “gold-touch” non-stick finish. In the past, we tried making in our old bundt pan and had problems with the cake sticking despite dusting with flour and butter prior to use. We have used a tube pan and had good success with this, but the new pan worked so perfectly (with the prior treatment of all the inside with “baking spray” (the combination of oil and flour in a spray) that it was amazing! The bake time is the same. One thing I want to try the next time we make this cake is to mix the apples into the batter, rather than the 2 additions of apples to the batter. Have you tried this, and if so, with what results?
Happy New Year
Steve
Hi Deb. Well, as Rosh Hashanah approaches, it’s apple cake time. It made me think of your blog post and I realized that I never followed up my 10/15/14 comment. I tried mixing the apples throughout the batter, and it does not work as well as the regular way because it changes the consistency of the cake.
As far as all the questions about the type of pan to use–here again is my take. When I first started making the apple cake, I used a tube pan (aka angel food cake pan). A tube pan works great for this cake. Then I started using an old bundt pan, and the cooking of the cake was fine but getting the cake out of the pan was sometime challenging. The new “gold tone” bundt pan used with “cake” spray (oil and flour spray) makes it foolproof.
Shana tovah.
Steve
Thank you — thank you for following up! (I remember your last comment and love this.) I recently re-read every comment on this page at once (okay, it took a couple sittings — good problems to have) and a few alternative pan sizes that came up over and over again are: 2 loaf pans, a 9×9, a 10-inch springform (some have said 9- and/or 11-inch too) and I know my BFF makes this in one layer in a 9×13. So, lots of options.
(I reread all the comments for this article, btw, which was fun to write.)
Deb–
Thanks for the reply. I also have read all the comments for “Mom’s apple cake” and I applaud all the work that you do to create and maintain the blog. The site is great and so is the cookbook.
One of the things that make this recipe so captivating is it’s ability to pass from generation to generation. Both my 28 year old son and my 25 year old daughter make this cake and shared the recipe with their friends. While we might ponder what original source the recipe might have had, we can be sure that future bakers will continue to please their families by making “Mom’s apple cake.”
All the best.
Steve
This is one of my favorite cakes, which I promise you I never thought I’d say about an apple cake when there are chocolate cakes in the world. My husband and I have made this while staying at friend’s houses as a dessert/coffee cake/thank you for having us treat and it’s a huge hit. Mostly I wanted to chime in that I just made them as cupcakes for the first time with success as others have mentioned — baked at 350 for about 25 minutes. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Thank you for a great recipe. I used 2 loaf pans the first time I made it because I did not have a tube pan. It tasted great, but had too many corners. I now have a tube pan and will be making this again really soon.
I found this recipe in your cookbook, but upon looking it was also here! Since I don’t have a tube pan, I halved the recipe and made it in a loaf pan. Baking time was still about 1.5hrs. The cake came out beautifully with a parchment sling in the pan. I also was out of OJ, so I used apple cider. The cake was delicious and I was delighted how apple-y it was.
Made this today…it is a fabulous cake. My apple loving husband is beside himself with joy, says it reminds him of his Russian bubbie’s coffee cake. I do not have a tube pan couldn’t find one locally,(not even at William Sonoma!) so I used a bundt pan. It worked fine…I flipped it out onto a plate, then flipped it again so the apples were on top…looks beautiful, tastes even better.
De-frickin’-vine!!! It turned out exactly like the pics…I am so impressed with myself right now, since I made cider caramel sauce a few days ago and thought what else could I use this for other than the baked apples i had made. So, so glad I landed here today…Thank you Deb from empty plate…and the hubby will send his too…once he has had his supper.
Easy, delicious, and a huge hit with everyone who tasted it!
I used melted butter in place of oil (always) and added some nutmeg & cloves to the cinnamon sugar seasoning for the apples.
Next time I will use two loaf pans instead of a tube pan so that I can make french toast out of it for family brunch. :)
Hi, just signed up ,love the apple cake recipe and I have a question like alot of others about the size of tube pan,I have read only about half the reviews,there’s so so many as I tried to find the exact measurements for the tube you had used but unfortunately couldn’t find the answer yet. Hope you can help.Thanks so much.I look forward to going through all your recipes!!!!
I’ve made this cake about 5 times already. It is amazing. I’ve made it in three different types of pans because I don’t have a tube pan. It is rough getting out of a Bundt, so I switched to pyrex. I am now baking it in a rectangular pan for a pot luck (may help with smaller portions). This cake screams ‘fall.’ Thanks to you (and your Mom!) for it.
Success! My bundt pan version looks amazing, no problem removing from the pan. All my questions answered in previous posts. Looking forward to delicious breakfast since today’s NYT article about late night eating negatively affecting health means no midnight tasting. Thanks for your recipes!
Made this yesterday, subbed pineapple juice, all I had on hand, and Cortland apples, sliced almonds, baked in a 9×13 pan, 55 minutes, perfect, delicious, served with whipped cream, rave reviews…once again, can tweak with great results, thanks, Deb….
Is it possible to store the apple cake in the refrigerator on the second day and re-heat the cake? Or is it alright to eat the cake cold from the refrigerator?
Do you also include the juice from the apples into the cake batter? Thanks.
May i halve the recipe? And baked it in a 9 inch standard cake tin?
Gracelyn — I haven’t halved it, but most of the people who have commented here that they have seem to agree that a 9-inch works. I toss in any accumulated apple juices, so long as they don’t seem excessive. You can store this cake in the fridge, but it’s as good as anything at room temperature for a couple days. I usually leave it out.
Thank you very much for your reply! :) A fan of your website and food.
I LOVE this cake and having been making it at least once a month for the last few months. It’s like an apple pie but in cake form. I use a scalloped edge flute cake pan, pile the apples high on top and it makes for a beautiful cake. It’s just divine. Thanks, Deb and Deb’s mom. :) !!
i read somewhere that jewish cakes were made with oil as opposed to butter so that they would be kosher for either milk or meat meals. This recipe is a lot like my mothers; she used granny smith apples chopped small, and walnuts, and the batter was basically a toll house cookie recipe without the chocolate, and then you mixed it all and pressed it into an oiled and floured tube pan. Oh, and she used ONLY nutmeg in it. The cake was moist and rich and we used no icing or frosting, only whipped cream on it.
Don’t usually comment, but I just had to say thank you to you and your mother for this wonderful cake. This Thanksgiving, after we had concluded via test-run that, yes, STILL none of us are crazy about pumpkin pie, I suggested we try this cake (well, the version in your cookbook). What a success! Actually, I’m not sure I can say that for the rest of my family, because I literally ate 3/4 of the cake single-handedly over the course of the week…it makes a great breakfast with a cup of coffee! Although I’m sure you and your mother know that already ;)
Thank you always for your lovely recipes, posts, and stories, and happy holidays to all those near and dear!
What type of “vegetable oil” do you use in this recipe? Is there one type or brand that you generally recommend for a recipe that calls for vegetable oil? (I prefer non-GMO) Thanks!
Jennifer — I am sure my mother growing up used mostly corn oil. I use safflower or sunflower these days as my neutral oils.
Great recipe and impossible to get it wrong! I misunderstood the dosages and than and reduced the amounts of sugar and flour to make my wife happy. Still, it came out great: tasty and juicy!!!
Will be making this cake for the second time today! Made it last week as an experiment and it was a great success. Love the fresh cooked apples in the cake. I made it without walnuts. I also used only 4 apples and 1.5 cups of sugar. Turned out fabulous, the whole family loved it!
I’m living in a high altitude part of China. Made this cake last night for a Christmas dinner. Had to cook it for almost 3 hrs because of the altitude…but it came out fantastic! I’m an amateur baker…so thank you for making me look like a better cook than I really am!
I was asked to bring a dessert to a party where the hosts were serving meat, and searched frantically for something parve. I’m a girl who loves her butter; what can I say? This cake saved me. It’s huge, and it was a small dinner party, but the hosts ended up with only enough left over for breakfast this morning.
I substituted apple juice for orange juice and used a silicon bundt pan, where I did the dough-apple-dough-apple-dough layers as suggested by a previous poster. It worked great!
Deb, I trust your taste(buds), and I know when something is posted here that it will turn out well, so I’d love to see more parve desserts on here! Recipes from kosher sites have given me very mixed results and vegan sites’ recipes tend to have strange replacement ingredients (syrups and ground seeds and processed substitutes) that are nearly impossible to find where I live in Europe.
Happy 2015! I hope it’s a healthy and happy one for you and your family :)
I make your recipe in a Bundt pan. I put in the layer of apples, then batter, then apples then batter. Perfect!! Everything else in the recipe is the same.
Is the “now-defunct magazine” Bon Appetit? A nearly identical recipe appeared there in 1999, also attributed to the author’s mother.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Bundt-Cake-102692
Probably something similar has been kicking around even longer.
I followed the advice of one Epicurious commenter and used 1/2 cup oil (sunflower) and 1 melted stick of unsalted butter instead of a full cup of oil.
I used 3 different kinds of apple and one pear; this recipe uses slightly fewer apples than Deb’s above, probably because none are on top and the cake might never finish baking with so much moisture inside.
Also reduced the amount of sugar, using about half maple sugar to mix with the chopped apples. Reduced the cinnamon slightly and added a little nutmeg. I toasted 1/2 cup of walnuts and stirred them into the fruit before layering so that the cake layers would remain smoothly cakey.
The order of layers is batter-apples-batter-apples-batter. There are thus no apples on top. That would really be pushing it for getting them out neatly. I wouldn’t try that with a Bundt, although the Bon Appetit one works fine with one.
Just made one in a large (12-cup) Bundt, first thoroughly buttered and then heavily sprinkled with untoasted wheat germ from the health food store to facilitate cake removal. Cake came out fine.
Over this after it had cooled enough to invert I poured an apple cider-orange juice-Calvados-cream glaze from the Chunky Apple Cake in the Silver Palate Cookbook, making only half the glaze recipe, which is plenty.
P.S. One reader commenting on the Epicurious recipe said its origin was Jean Hewitt’s The New York Times New England Heritage Cookbook, c. 1991. This looks comparable:
http://www.hammertown.com/2010/09/this-weeks-recipe-vickis-favorite-apple-cake/
Wow, this is amazing. I always love to have something like this. I am going to cook it tomorrow. Thanks much!
Made this today and it turned out great!! I didn’t have a tube pan so I used a 9 x 13 baking pan, I also sub the oil for un-salted butter and reduced the sugar to 1 cup. When i filled the pan i started with a layer of batter then half the apples then the rest of the batter and finally the other half of the apples, it has risen perfectly and encapsulated all the apples below and above the batter. My oven is 60 degrees out and it baked beautifully, it took 1 hour to be fully baked and lightly golden on top. Will be making again, its a very user friendly recipe to the novice baker and next time i will be letting my ten year old daughter take the reins.
Also to any one who’s not sure about how or what to use to mix the batter together, I used a ballon hand whisk to mix in the wet ingredients to the dry ones and then the eggs, bit of elbow grease needed as the batter thickens up nicely with each
addition of egg.
Hi Deb, we have almost the same exact story about this cake! I published a blog with my mom’s version of the recipe today and linked to your page. I also “borrowed” one of your photos – bc my cake kept being eaten before I got one – and I also linked your entire blog. If there is any problem about the photo, please let me know. Best! Terry
Thanks Deb for the recipe. It was a big hit but I ended up with one question. When you add the apples do you also use the sugary juice that accumulates as they sit in the sugar? I wondered if the liquid would make baking tricky so I held off but wondered if the cake would have been even more flavourful. In any case, I’ll definitely make it again.Thank you again, Leslie
Leslie — I usually pour it in, but I think you’ll be fine either way.
Can I use a 9″ spring form pan?
I am very curious, can you use Applesauce as a replacement for the oil. I was thinking a cup is a lot so I was thinking of doing half a cup of butter and half a cup of applesauce. Would that work?
I’ve made this recipe twice…it’s absolutely wonderful. I add some cinnamon to the cake part of the batter and I use a mixture of all kinds of apples. I made it twice for a relative who was ailing in a rehab hospital where the food was really bad and she so much appreciated it.
This is my go-to recipe…can’t wait to make it again.
This recipe was among those contributed to the “Taste of South Carolina” cookbook, 1984. It is called Jewish Apple Cake, I would guess, because it uses oil instead of butter with the eggs. Those observant to the faith’s dietary restrictions do not mix protein (meat, poultry or eggs) with dairy in the same meal or recipe. The cookbook was given to me as a bride, and it was one of the first desserts I made from it.
Just made it. It’s absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Hugs from Brazil.
I love this cake as a go-to! I make this all the time for guests, and depending on the season i change up the fruit (a big hit was pineapples & blueberries). For cupcakes, I have also substituted maple syrup for the sugar (I used 1 1/3 cup maple syrup), and added homemade candied bacon into some buttercream icing…and it was deliciously Canadian:)
I love this cake. I make this all the time for guests, and depending on the season.
Love this recipe! I make it in 2 loaf pans and it only bakes for about an hour. My neighbor’s eyes light up when he sees me coming with it! He eats it for breakfast!
I made this wonderful cake yesterday and could not wait to eat it. My husband peeled and chopped the apples, granny smiths. This cake is so delicious and i cannot wait to make it again. I used a 10 inch round deep pan and it was perfect. I think we used about 6 med. size apples cubed. Put the batter over the top and it spread all over the top of the cake. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi Deb, I live in the Philippines but am in the US now to look after my stepdad after major surgery. He is barely eating and I need to fatten him up…made him this cake the other day after showing my Mom your site. He loves it and is merrily working his way through the cake. 3 days now and it is as moist as ever. Thank you for this wonderful keeper of a recipe.
This cake has so many rave reviews but I’m surprised no one has mentioned the bake time. I am baking this cake as I type. It’s been in the oven for 1hr 50 min. and still not brown. Should I be worried I’ve done something wrong or is 1 1/2 hours approximate. Thanks
Oh, and I love that people are still posting about this cake 8 years later, I cannot wait to try it!!
Hello friends,
I am happy to share with you my experience with this apple cake – I just cut it and it looks great.(I don’t have the cable to transfer the picture, but I am amazed.) I made 1/2 dose, put 1 tsp of baking soda, and the juice of 1/2 lemmon in the (oil+sugar+OJ+vanilla), and used gala apples. I have made at least 5 different apple cake recipes, and I can say that the recipe is great.)
I baked the cake on 350 for 40 min, and left it in the oven for 5 more minutes after I turned it off. The instructions in the recipe are great- I added the eggs at the end 1 by 1. I have never done it that way before but turns out there might be a reason for that. I highly recommend that you try the recipe- it is not difficult at all. Thanks for sharing and happy fall cooking!
I just want to add that I put the baking soda in the flour, instead of baking powder. The lemon juice in the OJ. That way the acid neutralizes the soda when combined. When you mix the wet and dry mixtures-mix slowly, there is no need of mixer- just mix well until well combined.
Good luck again!
I’ve looked through the comments, though I won’t claim to have read every one. Two questions, and at least one is stupid, sorry. Do you mix this cake by hand or in a mixer? I’m assuming hand, but you know what happens when you assume…
Second question: I’ve always heard you should never, ever grease an angel food cake pan, that you’ll ruin it. Should I buy a different tube pan for this cake or, with a good washing, will my current pan be good as new after I defile it with grease? Thank you Deb for your patience and your wisdom. Love your site.
Mom24 — You can mix it by hand or mixer. I have never heard that about an angel food cake pan but I also never make angel food cake. Wouldn’t the grease wash off? Perhaps someone else has input on this. Don’t let it keep you from this cake, though. :)
It’s supposedly because the angel food needs to “climb” the walls to rise?
I seem to have had the same problem as many people here – the sides of my cake (baked in a bundt pan) burned (although not the bottom or top) – but I don’t see a solution. I covered it with foil at about the 60 minute mark. In addition, I had trouble getting it out of the pan – I see you say above that a plain tube pan works better than a bundt – but other tips are appreciated. It smells wonderful and will hopefully taste that way too (I froze it for Rosh Hashanah) but as far as looks go, I had to call it a caketastrophe. Any tips? Thanks and Shana tova!
Even in Australia — Generally, when the sides of a cake bake before the center, a lower temperature can help even things out. Definitely a plain tube is easier; I’ve done demos at stores that made this in a bundt — apples at the bottom, so it reversed beautifully — but haven’t pulled it off at home.
Hello friends,
I posted my feedback a few days ago, today I am going to make the cake again. My husband doesn’t eat cakes, but he liked this cake very much. Last night he cut from the cake 3 times….always for a last time:). The cake recipe is very accurate.
For every one who hesitates – It is very easy to make. I made it all by hand. don’t worry about mixer. I mixed it with a spoon.
Baking – at 350, if some people have problem-like burning outside, and raw inside, it means the temperature is too high, but don’t give up, it is definitely worth to try it. I will share this recipe with my friends and my mother in law:) too.
I will make it again today. I put less sugar, to tell you the truth, and my husband didn’t complain, because he always says that it’s not sweet enough.(For 1/2 a dose I put 2/3 c. of sugar). Less calories.
I wish you all success in this recipe and happy fall!
This is similar to my mom’s applesauce cake–although that uses 2 cups of oil!!! It is delicious, but the two cups of sugar (like yours) and two cups of oil always kill me. I’m going to try this with one cup of sugar, because I’m eating less sugar and it still can’t be BAD, right?
Sometimes the best recipes come like that! All my family’s favorite cookie recipes come from a 1970s booklet published by a Houston TX power company.
Love this recipe. I just made this today with a few substitutions that worked out great: I halved the recipe, although still used 4 apples vs. the full recipe 6. I used Fuji apples. Substituted maple syrup for the vanilla extract and substituted no-sugar apple sauce for 100% of the oil. I reduced the sugar by half (so just a half cup of sugar for the half-recipe.) I also used a small square cake pan as I don’t have a tube or bundt pan. It came out great! Plenty sweet, moist, held together fine. With no oil and half the sugar it made it a bit healthier version, less dessert-y and more breakfast-y flavor. Really great!
Hi Deb,
I would love to make this cake for Rosh Hashanah. Looks delicious! What would you substitute for the eggs in this type of cake for someone with an egg allergy?
Thanks!
To add to the abundance of names–my Jewish mother-in-law gave me the recipe for this delicious dessert, which I make every Rosh HaShanah, but she calls it “Polish Apple Cake”!
Made it today for Rosh Hashanah – looks delish, can’t wait to taste it!
Thanks for sharing!!!
This is exact same recipe of my mother’s and we made it when we were kids, best just the way it is – orange juice makes the cake part special I think.
I just found this tecipe today and I currently have this in the oven. I have it on 325 (because my brisket is also cooking). I’m thinking I should cook it just a bit longer? I also made with Granny Smith because I bought those the other day. L’shanah Tovah to you and yours!
Deb, too — Most important is that it’s baked through. It will likely need more time at 325 but will otherwise bake up just fine.
I just saw this post and was reading some of the comments asking about using a bunt pan… been using a very similar recipe for years – and making it a bunt pan.
layering 1/3 of the batter in the bottom of the pan, followed by apples, then batter and ending with the apples – tricky part is getting the cake out – but it works well if the pan has been prepped with spray oil and then a dusting of flour
Hope I am not jinxing myself as I have one in the oven as I type :)
PS I love your site! L’Shanah Tovah!
link to the recipe I have been using http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/jewish-apple-cake/12958/
This got rave reviews at our Rosh Hashanah dinner. I made it in a bundt pan (very well sprayed) and just mixed the apples and batter together before pouring it into the pan. Our oven was at exactly 350 and it was done in 50 mins or so. Released with no problem and looked really pretty dusted w powdered sugar. My search for the perfect apple cake is over!
This was the perfect cake for our Rosh Hashanah dinner! Delicious and such a hit with everyone! I did make a couple of modifications to lessen the sugar and oil content a bit. I substituted half the oil with unsweetened applesauce (1/2 cup oil; 1/2 cup applesauce). And, lowered the sugar to 1 1/2 cups. You would never know! Fabulous! And, looks beautiful on the table dusted with some powdered sugar before serving. The cake needed to cook longer, by about 15 minutes over the stated time. I kept checking at 5 minute intervals after an hour and a half to be sure it didn’t overbake. This recipe’s a keeper – thanks for posting!
Our apple trees all decided to bear more fruit than we can eat. It’s Rosh Hashanah and what’s better than celebrating with an apple cake? I made this cake for a work meeting where no one knew anything about the Jewish New Year. However, after they finished eating this cake, they were all converts. LOL They loved the cake, it was phenomenal. Since I never have orange juice or milk around, I substituted the liquid by diluting 1/4 of maple syrup with water. I also used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup oil. No problems and fell out of the tube pan perfectly.
Unfortunately, I developed an allergy to tree nuts when I was a pre-teen.
I would love to make this for my mom and her sister. Do you think it would bake all right using a couple of loaf pans instead of a tube/bundt pan? That way, I could put the walnuts in their cake and leave my cake walnut free. Then everybody wins! :)
Laura — 95% of the time we make this, we actually skip the nuts. You won’t miss them.
I made this tonight. Best apple cake I ever had!! I added pecans instead of walnuts in with the apples.
Hi, I just bought a new oven and I had some extra apples so I tested it with your cake – I have made it several time to take in to work – just for – and this time I sent half of it in to school with my husband. Sure enough, I have just had an email… “Jo wants the recipe”. It’s a delicious cake and always a pleaser! (and it seems my new oven is a great cooker too). So thanks from New Zealand :)
I made this last night, unfortunately I started it after 9:30 pm and after about an hour I checked it and thought “ok great, this only needs like 10-15 more minutes” and then I proceeded to fall asleep on the couch for half an hour. I blame pregnancy fatigue. (I know what you’re thinking, why not use a timer silly??)Regardless of the bottom being a little over-done, it is still delicious and I look forward to making it again! I will start it earlier in the day, of course! Thanks again for another great recipe, Deb!!
I never leave comments but this was SO GOOD! Made for Rosh Hashanah, was a huge hit and told my mom I found “the” apple cake recipe from now on. I’m thinking of making it again for Yom Kippur. I made the recipe as written (forgot the powdered sugar on top!), used Cortland apples recommended at my farmers market. Some were pretty large so I ended up not using one but it had lots of apples and was flavorful and moist. Thank you!
Rats. The cake looked gorgeous in the oven. It tested done. But when I went to turn it out of the tube pan, it fell apart completely. And I mean COMPLETLY. I now have a huge bowl of cake pieces, the largest of which are maybe 2″ across. Something went seriously haywire, but darned if I know what or where. It is clear on inspection that the cake batter never adhered to the apples, and so had no internal structure, or at least not enough structure to stay together long enough to be turned out of the pan. If I were ever to try this again, I’d probably bake it in a 9×13 and serve directly from the pan.
Not sure if anyone has said this yet but I have made in a 9×13 and I love the way it comes out. It served as squares rather than slices, and it’s easier to bake (takes less time). BEST APPLE CAKE EVER! Thank you Deb for your amazing recipes.
This is my mother’s apple cake too! She always made it in a bundt pan with all the apple between the layers of batter. She passed the recipe on to me about 35 years ago and it has always been a family favorite. My mom is 100 years old and every time the family gets together we have this cake! It’s Gramma’s, now Great Gramma’s apple cake. She has dubbed it “The Queen of Cakes”.
This cake is the bomb. I did not have a tube pan and was on the fence about buying one. I read the comments on making the cake in a bundt pan–but seems tricky (layering the apples so they won’t stick in a bundt etc). I ended up buying a two part tube pan just so I could make this cake, which pained me (I am not a fan of angel food so was not sure the pan would get much use in the future). However, totally worth buying the pan! This cake is huge, it would have overflowed the sides of the bundt for sure–not sure how that would work unless one halved the recipe (as some have mentioned who baked in a bundt). And the apples on top really make for a beautiful presentation. The cake turns out absolutely perfectly in a tube pan, and I know I will use this pan again if only to bake this cake. It is a delicious, beautiful cake, easy to make and looks impressive–so a nice one to serve to friends. The only thing I might change when I make it again is to slightly reduce the amount of sugar.
I just received a tube cake pan from Amazon this afternoon, along with a knife sharpener, in order to bake this cake tonight after work. I plan to bring to school tomorrow to share with some students…And when I check the recipe I see that it was just refreshed.
The tweet linking to this page is only seventeen minutes old. Weird.
I will take this as a very auspicious sign that tomorrow will be a wonderful day of delicious cake and adoration from the kids…
I made this cake last week in a 9×13 and it was fabulous but not as pretty as the tube pan pics in post. Thanks for the updates; now I’m thinking I have to get rid of my bundt pan and buy a tube pan!
Just want to share that I made this cake last week with plums instead apples and added poppy seeds (inspired by the plum poppy seed muffins in the SK cookbook). FANTASTIC. (made a 1/2 recipe in a loaf pan, 1.5 lbs of italian plums, 2 TBSP of poppy seeds, next time I’ll use 3 TBSP). Deb, SK is my go-to site for cooking ideas – thanks!
Hi Deb! Your mom’s cake has become one of m’y family’s favorite. Since you’ve just updated this recipe, I thought I might dare to ask : suppose you would use walnuts, when would you throw them in?
Hi Deb! Question. About how much volume (cups) is 5 apples? All apples are different, and people peel/core differently, so different quantities would ensue. Does it matter that much? Thanks!
Made this with my boyfriend tonight. Fantastic. He says its the best thing we’ve ever made :-P
I didn’t have a tube pan and I’m not in a stage of life where I’m ready to buy one lol so I divided the recipe between two loaf pans and they both turned out smaller but perfect (took only about 10 minutes off cooking time). Now I have one apple cake loaf for us and one to share (for neighbors or maybe to a party Friday). Best way to keep it for a few days? Freeze or room temp? Opinions on that welcome.
Thanks for this beautiful and easy recipe!
This is my go-to favorite apple cake too, and my recipe is also called “Jewish Apple Cake”. I tend to dial back the cinnamon a little, and use orange juice concentrate, because I love what it does to the whole cake! So happy this cake is making a come-back!
i tried checking comments first, but didn’t come across the answer – in the “apples” section, it lists 5 T sugar, but the instructions call for adding 1 T sugar to the apple chunks. is the remaining 4 T sugar to be sprinkled over top before baking?
Thanks!
Kalle
I made this cake for Rosh Hashanah, and it was as good as you said. When I inserted a toothpick after the recommended baking time, it came out clean, but when I cut the cake, the middle seemed uncooked. I put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes, but it never really got totally baked in the middle. Although it tasted delicious, I was a bit concerned that the eggs were still raw. What would you recommend? (And a belated shana tovah to you!)
This cake is ah-mazing! I made it for my daughter’s preschool dinner last night (and forgot to turn it right-side-up before serving–oops). It is so so so beyond good, and will replace the “apple brownies” recipe that I usually make this time of year. I think it’s the moistest cake I’ve ever made. This will be a repeat (like, tomorrow!)!
I have tried many apple cakes, but “this takes the cake!” My 96 yr old mom actually said it almost tasted like the cake her mother used to make…can’t get any higher complement than that. I am throwing out all the other apple cake recipes. My oven always takes longer to bake, and I kept this cake in maybe 15 minutes longer, just waited till the cake tester came out clean. It was still nice and moist. I added the nuts; it was a real winner.
@kalle
I think it is a mistake in the recent update. If you look at a cached page of the previous version that was up, it said “Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.”
kalle — Frank is right. I ALWAYS make a typo when I update things. Now fixed. You toss the apples with the 5T sugar and 1T cinnamon.
I am so nervous! This is in the oven now…in a 9×2 push pan with a mason jar in the middle. I’m afraid it’s going to rise too much. Will keep you posted. It sure smells amazing! I’ll be buying a tube pan asap!
I have this recipe, got it from a co-worker years ago, and it’s called a Jewish Apple Cake. Great cake and soooooo moist!
Hi Deb, Made this cake yesterday; it’s truly sublime. I decided to add walnuts since I had some on hand, and noticed that it doesn’t say where to add them in the recipe (just in the ingredients). I added some to each chopped apple layer which turned out delicious. But when I looked back, the nuts are included in the cake batter portion. In the end it probably doesn’t matter, but where should they go according to your mom’s recipe??
Thanks!
Made this cake this week – what can I say? The recipe is perfect. Following it led to a stunning, delicious apple cake.
What to do when you wake at 3am… This pile of lusciouness is in the oven now. Cannot wait for morning coffee!
I am not German but in live in Germany so I baked this cake yesteday celebrating “Germany Reunification Day” and it turned out amazing, just as expected! We only have two pieces left, even my daughter, who doesn’t usually eat apples, liked it! Thank you to your mother and you for sharing this recipe.
We don’t get Macintoshes where I live. Are any apples okay, or are some types preferable to others!
Sharon — Use any kind you can get, or like to bake with.
My kids chose this as their Friday afternoon baking project, and it is absolutely delicious! They went to bed this evening dreaming of more cake for Saturday breakfast. Thanks for a great recipe.
I have made this cake for years. Just a couple of things that I have found over the years – if you are making it in a bundt pan, you have to let it cool for at least 30 minutes before it will come out clean. Loaf pans work great, especially if you are shipping care packages to college. The number of apples really doesn’t matter, I base it off of about 4 – 5 cups of fruit. I have substituted rhubarb, plums, pears and any fruit that holds its shape after baking to all good results. I prefer to mix the apples into the batter, it makes some of the cake brown, but spreads the cinnamon taste more evenly and the cake doesn’t slide apart on the apple layer when serving. Cupcakes work fine, but the top crust will separate after a day or so. My favorite way to serve it is with a dusting of powdered sugar on the top, filling the well with whipped cream is also very showy to present, but makes it hard to keep leftovers.
Awesome! I used coconut oil and subbed in about half whole wheat flour. I halved the entire recipe and used an 8inch square pan. It’s completely perfect in every way. Happy Fall!
As my 6-year-old daughter ate the final (sob!) slice this morning for breakfast (for the 3rd day in a row) she sighed “This is the best cake ever….”
If people are word-searching the comments, here goes: I think this cake really prefers its recommended pan, and does not split well into 2 9×5 loaf pans. I don’t quite know why. But I’ve made it a few times, follow the recipe to the letter, make sure the apple chunks are the right size, etc., and loaves consistently come out squat, very browned and crusty on the bottom (even in a light-colored pan) and damp and barely-cooked on the top. It’s a delicious cake and worth the trip to Goodwill to pick up a tube pan. Using an 8 x 4 loaf pan and/or folding the apples in to the batter might fix the issues I’ve had, who knows. Wanted to throw that caution out there though.
I made this with coconut oil and in a bundt pan. Turned out great! Thank you for the recipe.
Imagine my surprise when my friend showed me this recipe from your site. I’ve been making the identical cake for years, but I have no idea where the recipe came from. I don’t even remember where “I” got it! The only thing I do differently is that I thinly slice the apples instead of chop them, and I use raisins instead of nuts. I adore it! It’s interesting that it came from a magazine article.I’ve been making a brownie recipe for years that my mother swears she got from a magazine interview with Katherine Hepburn.
I made this yesterday, using a large bundt pan, and it worked great. I just mixed the top layer of apples in with the batter a bit, so there was a cake base once the cake had been flipped out of the pan. Next time I might just mix it all together and pour it in.
I also used nice red apples and left the peels on (I am opposed to peeling apples for a dish I’m just serving to my husband and kids) and the peels added a pretty pink color to the whole cake.
A great, super-easy, super tasty cake!
What is your technique for coring the apples? Your photo at the top of the recipe shows that you get lots more apple than I do. The cake is fabulous. Thanks for this recipe.
Alice — I like to use a melon baller. It’s a little weird, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. It feels too efficient.
re: “will it work in a bundt pan?” query from about 7 years ago – i only found out there was a difference between a bundt pan and a tube pan when reading the comments here, which was well after i made this in a bundt pan and it turned out fantastic!
Delicious! I’m going to try it in a bunt pan next time, and there will definitely be a next time! I think that might caramelize those top apples. I’ll let you know! Thank you for a great recipe.
For those who use “control f” to find out if you can substitute some of the apples with poached quince, use browned butter for some of the oil, and use a 9×13 inch pan… I did all of these things and it was delicious. I guess it doesn’t have quite the same gorgeous appley top, but with quince and brown butter, who is complaining?
I cut the sugar down a tad to make up for the poached in sugar syrup nature of the quince. Next time I would consider adding the cinnamon to the flour instead of to the quince/apple mix. Pre-cooked quince meant it didn’t cling quite as much.
I know you said it keeps a few days or longer in the fridge. I wanted to make this for Thanksgiving and but because of travel, would need to make it the Saturday before. Do you think I could store it in the fridge or should I freeze and defrost it?
Jordana — While it will keep for that number of days, I might go ahead and freeze it until Tuesday, then let it defrost in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.
I made this cake a couple of weeks ago, fall was in the air so I searched and came across your moms recipe and this is such a delicious recipe! I had an over abundance of yellow delicious apples this year and had to come up with some other ideas. This recipe is a keeper and will make it over and over again! Thank you for sharing your family recipe!
FINALLY made this last night. For the control+F’ers among us: I used 4 tablespoons of sugar instead of 5 on the apples and 1 1/4 C sugar in the cake. My tablespoon of cinnamon in the apples was very heaping. Also, no orange juice, so I filled a quarter cup measure maybe 3/4 with lemon juice and topped it off with almond milk. As with everything I bake, I used white whole wheat flour in place of all purpose. I also reduced the dishes by one bowl and mixed all the dry ingredients together, then made a well for the wet, whisked them in there and then mixed everything together. My batter was too thick to “pour” as directed, but spatulas work quite well for transferring as well as mixing. I probably baked it for an additional…10 minutes maybe? beyond the suggested 90.
oh, and I did not peel the apples. Yum!
I swear I’m not writing this review because of the 3 glasses of honey whiskey I just consumed while making this receipt. This cake is amazing! de-stinkin-lish to be exact. I also made a beef stew receipt ( from another site ) which was probably good only because of the whiskey ( hehehe ) but this cake was delish! I will say I added white/ brown sugar and walnuts ( 1/4 cup each) as a top layer on the apples before I placed it in the over. This just gave it a little extra sweetness. YUM!! This is will my thanksgiving dessert special :)
Made this last night exactly at written and it’s fabulous! And thanks to this post, I entitled myself to buy Deb’s exact tube pan…and an 8 cup pyrex!
This is an amazing cake. So moist and delicious. And I love that it is dairy free since I am allergic and typically have to alter recipes, which doesn’t always work well.
I did this in a bunt pan since I didn’t have a tube pan. I put the apples in first and it came out great. So pretty with decorative bunt design. Thanks so much for posting this. It’s my go to dessert for company and always a huge hit.
I made this cake 2 weeks ahead of time for Thanksgiving and froze it. As you suggested I took it out of the freezer and put it into the fridge 2 days before Thanksgiving to defrost. It was PERFECT for Thanksgiving. Whatever didnt get eaten that night got finished for breakfast. I have never received so many compliments. It tastes more and more moist each day! I also used apple cider and a bundt pan (putting the apples in the middle). It was perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe and freezing suggestion Deb! I promised my family that I will be making this for every Thanksgiving going forward.
This is a special one for me. Baked many times on any occasions and my wife and 2 kids and close friends like this. Thanks for sharing. I will introduce this to my siblings & friends way back in my dear country, the Philippines
the best apple cake recipe everwhenever i want to bake apple cake/muffins i always visit here，never once failed！definitely a recipe for keep，thank you ❤️
Hi Deb, can I have you thoughts on making the dough and assemble the cake the day before it is baked? I have a birthday party coming up and believe my oven will be on overdrive the day before the party!!!
Olive — Just make the cake a day or two early; it keeps spectacularly. I don’t like to mix batters with leavener early; the leavener is only active for so long.
This apple cake looks amazing and would be perfect for our Inheritance Recipes link-up as well.
I made this today using vegan ingredients. I used flax egg in place of the egg. I used gala apples that were kind of small so I used eight to total about 3.5 cups. I used evaporated can juice over granulated white sugar and reduced it to 1.5 cups as I layered the middle loosely with brown sugar.
It is amazing. We topped it off with coconut whip cream. Next time I am going to make some caramel and drizzle the top.
My 6 year old just requested this cake for breakfast tomorrow. So I’m headed to the kitchen to make it for the 648th time!! It might be our favorite recipe on your site. And in your cookbook!! Thanks for always sharing recipes that work. And are delicious!!
I hate to be the one to ask about substitutions- especially 8 years after the original post (and I have to admit to not reading all the comments where this may have already been asked), but I’m vegan who is new to baking and this looks sooo good. Do you think I could use flax “eggs” for regular eggs? If this didn’t take 1.5 hours to bake, I would just try it myself, but it seems like a big time investment is there is an answer for me out there.
I love apples and my mom!
Nicki
Nicki — Check Rachel, two comments above yours. She mentions using a flax egg with success.
I just made the FABULOUS cake. It’s my new favorite. My pan is a bit smaller so I made 7 muffins with the leftover dough. Delicious!
I’ve been baking this cake for at least five years, and over those years I’ve made a few changes. I substitute 1 cup of white whole wheat flour for 1 cup of white. I use brown and white sugars in equal amounts, and I mix the apples into the batter instead of layering. Today I cut the recipe in half, used lemon juice instead of orange, and am baking it in a muffin tin. Always fabulous! Thanks Deb for the great blog, recipes, and inspiration.
Long time Smitten reader (and cooker/baker!). It’s embarrassing how much I cook from Smitten in fact. Anyways….
I made this in a bundt pan with a maple brown butter glaze, and got rave reviews.
But I wanted to change it up a bit – I had forwarded the Smitten newsletter to a friend (mushroom crepe cake!) and she replied saying how amazing this cake looked, so it was an obvious choice for her birthday.
I baked this in two 8 inch rounds (and had enough leftover for a 6 inch cake to “taste test”). Because I was stacking, I mixed the apple into the batter instead of putting on top. I used a brown butter bourbon cream cheese icing to top it off. I bake a lot of birthday cakes, and this is now in the top 3 all time list (alongside the hazelnut crepe cake from book and the pb chocolate cake). It was so good, it got a slow cap at the restaurant. I just wish there was leftovers…
Working at a hunting outfitter in Montana (as an undercover vegetarian) and made this cake with a roasted pork loin.
I’ve never seen happier cowboys!!
Mom’s chocolate chip sour cream cake on the menu for the morning, and your website (and book) permanently open fixtures in this kitchen :)
Made this cake in 9X13 pan, turned out very well!
Deb, you are amazing.
I made this cake for maybe the third or fourth time today. It’s a winner! A couple pro tips: more apples=more delicious bites, and don’t forget to give the pan a couple good taps on the counter before putting it into the oven so that the batter really surrounds the apple chunks.
I love love love this cake! It is one of my family’s favourites as well. I always use more apples than stated inthe recipe and I love the cake with walnuts, which I add when spreading the apple. In my oven one hour is enough to bake this cake.
Your apple cake recipe is a good match for my favorite matcha green tea, so I will definitely be giving it a go. Thanks also for the tip about what to do when a cake is browning too fast… I’m not the best cook so love hearing these little tips that are easy and can really help. Thanks so much :)
Hey, I love your recipes, but for this one I think it would be great to note in the instructions the size of the tin, particularly how deep it needs to be – I just made this in an inadequate tin and now I have half a cake’s worth of batter and apples all over the bottom of my oven :(
Back to the cake board for me!
Noooo! I’m so sorry. Wait, what size was your pan? Are there more shallow tube pans I don’t know about?
Yesterday I made your mom’s apple cake for my fella’s birthday party. The guests oohd and aahd, we are enjoying another piece today with ice cream. You are right, it’s the best.
This sounds delicious . I can’t wait to try it. Thanks you for sharing!
Our cooking apple tree is depositing apples on the ground so my husband and I picked as many as we could at the weekend. I came across this recipe and have just made it for a picnic we are having in 2 days’ time. There was too much mix (I ended up with 1kg of chopped apples which I thought might be too much but which was actually fine!) for my bundt tin so I put the leftover batter in another tin with the rest of the apples. That meant I had a spare cake to test before serving it to my guests – and it is delicious! Next time, I won’t fill the tin as full as I did because it overflowed (on the other hand the oven did need clean….) but this is one I will return to as it was SO easy to do.
Deb, I made this last year, and loved it. I’m trying to get a head start on the Jewish Holidays. Can this cake be frozen? Love everything about your site. Thanks.
Yes, this freezes very well.
Made with all white whole wheat flour, reduced sugar by half a cup, and subbed bourbon for orange juice, delicious!
Hi DEb,
With Rosh Hashana coming up how about converting your Mums apple cake to metric measurements, so your fans in Australia can have this wonderful cake as dessert?
All done!
I have made this cake many times and we love it! It is perfect to give away to friends as gifts or a thank you. But every time we do, I have to make one for us too because it is so good! It is so hard to smell it baking in the oven and give it away!
Love this recipe. Second time I’ve made it and the toothpick is not coming out clean. I keep adding 3 more minutes; like, 3 times already! Now it’s back in for another 5 min. I don’t want it overdone or dry. Help!!!
Keep adding until it comes out batter-free. Crumbs or even smudges of cake are fine.
I didn’t have a tube pan so I just halved the recipe and made it in a springform pan. It turned out wonderfully, and as she said, it was even better on the second day when I served it for a brunch I hosted.
I know you said it does great made ahead, my question is, how far ahead? How would it do if I made it Friday and served it Sunday evening with leftovers for Monday? Asking too much? Thanks!
I have the same question! Has anybody served this on day 2?
Love the sound of this recipe. Want to try a no egg version. Any suggestions on which egg replacer to try – flax egg, chia egg or Vinegar? Happy to test it out but wondering if you or anyone you know has tried this recipe with no eggs before?
Try aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas). All the sources I’ve read say it’s by far the best egg replacement.
Hello! Did you ever make the no egg version? My little is severely allergic to milk & eggs. Would love to know how it turned out!
I painted multiple times with flax seed eggs and it comes out fine
I am such a big fan of the apple charlotka from your smitten kitchen I am scared to move on. Still I feel I must. If no macintosh apples will honey crisp do?
No need at all to use Macintosh — use anything you’ve got or like to bake with, or a mix of apples.
This looks wonderful. Can it be frozen? If so, what’s the best way to serve it?
Yes, it freezes well. Give it a few days in the fridge to defrost, or at least one full one at room temperature.
Can I make this in a normal round or square cake pan? If so, what changes do I need to make? Thanks so much.
Can I use a round pan if I don’t have a tube pan or a blunt pan?
I haven’t done it but other people have used a 9-inch with 3-inch sides springform with success. A 10-inch is probably safer.
9″round springform was perfect size, even with extra apples, but cooking time was way off. By the time the middle cooked the edges were dark and dry. Maybe a temp change would help (lower?).
Otherwise this cake was delish and moist, will definitely get a tube pan and make again!
How would it work with gluten free flour? I used to make this all the time but now I’m gf and want to adapt…
Do you have a weight or size for the amount of apple? Or doesn’t it really matter?
Doesn’t matter. Can’t go wrong with medium, though.
Hello! What would be the tablespoon or gram equivalent of 1 cup of oil? Thanks in advance.
google is your friend ;) different sources say 200-220 g, but the recipe seems to be forgiving so you should be fine either way.
1 cup of oil is 16 tablespoons, always, and for weight, the range Lu notes below is accurate. (Thank you, Lu.)
A cup of oil weighs 226 grams . I’ve used this measurement for years with success. That’s about 14g/tablespoon. :)
Thank-you, thank-you! My neighbor, a little Irish lady, made this. She took the recipe to her grave…. And yes, she called it Jewish Apple Cake. Irish Apple Cakes just don’t stand up to this.
This looks so good. And I have a harvest potluck to attend tomorrow. Serendipity, right?
I don’t have a tube pan and as amazing as it looks presented in that big round shape I’m going to try two loaf pans cause I’m not sure I’ll use a tube pan that much. For anyone else considering a different size pan, the Joy of Baking has pan equivalent sizes. A 9″ inch tube pan like the one Deb linked holds 12 cups. One
8 1/2″ x 4″ loaf pan holds 6 cups. You can see other pan sizes and how to measure a pan here: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
(hope linking that is okay)
Just made this and the smell as it baked nearly drove me out of my mind. I know I should have let it cool….but the scorched mouth and tongue were totally worth it. Delicious.
Just made this with apples from a friends tree yesterday. What a treat, this recipe will be a new favorite. I added walnuts, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom to the apple mixture, and used diluted lemon juice because I had no OJ, with no adverse effects. My grandmother had a very similar apple cake recipe that I’ve lost track of, so this was wonderful to stumble upon.
I’m now dreaming of making this with different fruit/nut/chocolate mixtures…
Dear S,
Several years after you posted your comment, I’ve just found it. Are you still making this cake? How much nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom do you add?
Thank you!
Naomi
Deb, if I’m going to swap in light brown sugar instead of white, do you think I need to spread it out to dry before using it? I was thinking no, but I’d whip the egg whites to give a little additional lift to counter the additional heaviness and moisture…thanks!
No, it shouldn’t be an issue. Just keep in mind that the cake will be much more beige inside.
Thanks — I used light brown, and it turned out fine!
Also, for what it’s worth, I used half white-whole-wheat flour and THAT turned out fine too. And I added some powdered ginger and clove.
This recipe seems to be very forgiving of people tinkering with it. :-)
I don’t have orange juice can I just omit it without a big change in results?
Don’t omit; use water or apple juice.
This looks amazing. Would it work in a bundt pan? Would you do apples-batter, apples-batter? Or is there a chance they would burn at the bottom? Thinking of a way to avoid purchasing more trays and pans:p can’t find space for all of them:)
Several people have made it in a bundt as you say with success. Make sure you grease it really well.
I made this cake today for the first time. I also didn’t have the right pan, so I used a square glass dish to bake it in. The 9×9 size fit the cake nicely. I would recommend checking the cake at an hour to avoid burnt bottom and edges. Mine might have burnt because I used a different pan? Or because I used a bit of flour once I greased it with butter? Either way, I left it in for about 70 minutes and it is burnt on the bottom and around the sides….or at least very dark and very crispy.
I would also recommend using more apples! I might add another whole apple or two next time!
I made this yesterday. I halved the recipe and baked in a 20 cm round tin for around 45 minutes or so. Also, I used those incredibly sour green apples and a few crab apples (even more sour) that we had growing on the apple tree. This cake was wonderful and the apples baked down beautifully and turned super sweet. Plus it is most definitely better the next day. Especially if that next day is a grey, rainy Monday in the North of England.
I’m making this to travel Saturday but eat Monday. What do you think about me making it Thursday and freezing it so that it slowly thaws out by Monday?
If I wait 24 hours before serving the cake should I keep it in the pan the entire time or unmold it as soon as it is cooled?
We cool it in the pan. You can leave it there.
Deb I’ve been making this for RH since u first posted it. Everyone, even the kids, love it
Hi! I’d love to make this Saturday for Rosh Hashanah. Could you make this with a springform pan if you only have a bundt pan (and no tube pan)?
I haven’t made it in a springform but a bunch of people commented that they have, see here, here, here and here. One said 9-inch but others said 11- and 12- so maybe bigger is best. I know a 9×13 also works as well as 2 loaf pans.
Just made this for the first time. I pretty heavily modified, because I am terrible at obeying directions:
whole wheat flour sub
I had like 13 tiny/small apples which I chopped and probably were about 3-4 cups full. They were multiple varietals along the lines of pink ladies, braeburn etc (and slightly old, almost a month?) i wasnt eating them because they got a little soft. From Waldren Island! (unnecessary detail!)
olive oil was my oil of choice
1 and 1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon which was probably slightly less than 1/4 cup
I used one of those cake pans where the side cylinder is clamped shut and then you can release it, lined with parchment.
IT IS STILL ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Kind of snacky, less desserty but still totally passable as dessert (particularly in my family of non sweet, non chocolate lovers) Bless this cake.
Thank you!
I am so happy I tried this recipe on Saturday morning.
I made a few modifications (mainly to make it gluten free, huzzah!), which I will attempt to recount here, but mostly I just wanted to say a big thanks, Deb, for mentioning this on your baked alaska post because it was a more perfect recipe than I even knew I was looking for.
I mixed the apples with cinnamon and maple syrup.
For the flour, I used a crazy long mix of all things gf, including white rice flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, sorghum flour, almond meal, flax seed meal, fine cornmeal, and xanthan gum.
Instead of the oil, I browned 4 or so tablespoons of butter, and then melted a few tablespoons of coconut oil as well.
Instead of the sugar, I used 80ish-100ish grams of maple syrup, the same of honey, and then maybe 50ish grams of raw sugar.
I squeezed in about half a lemon rather than the oj, and then used 3 eggs (cause that’s what I had…). It seemed pretty thick at the end, definitely more spreadable than pourable, so I added a few glugs of milk, which honestly didn’t do a whole lot at that point.
I also used a springform tube pan which worked awesome.
I served it (this makes it sound fancy, like it was for guests. I would totally make this for guests. This time, though, my husband and I pretty much ate the entire thing, with a crumb here and there falling into my toddler’s mouth) with yogurt whipped cream (it was our breakfast, after all…).
It was one of the best cakes. I may attempt it again today. Thanks again.
Love this recipe!! And you’re right, it gets better after sitting for awhile! What do you think about mixing in some squeezed, shredded zucchini? Any idea how much I could legitimately add/sub for apples? Thanks!
Just prepared this for dairy lunch Monday after Rosh Hashonnah services. Subbed cranberry juice and combination of white and brown sugar for apple & nut topping. “Snuck” a piece from the bottom and it tastes really good. Thanks Deb!
Curious, couple years ago in Budapest, I tasted a Hungarian yeast dough pastry with cheese filling – Cheese Pockets or literally translated as Cheese Purses in Hungarian. Any interest in re-creating that? It was like a flaky, coffee cake yeast dough with a not-too-sweet farmers cheese type filling. Thanks Deb! My daughters and I love your blog!! L’Shana Tovah!
Sounds delicious to me! I love cheese pastries and danishes.
Yessss! In Austria it’s called ‘Topfengolatsche’ and it’s divine! I always have a little trouble working the soft dough, so I could use a smitten finetuned recipe :) I add a little lemon zest to the cheese, and it’s also great with blueberries inside.
Try adding a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dark raisins that have been soaked overnight in brandy. Mix them in with the apples. Delicious addition!
Just wondering how to make this without sugar? Any thoughts on stevia or Splenda?
I made this cake yesterday, and it is delicious! I scaled the recipe up to 1.5x, so that I could make a full cake to bring to work, and 1/2 cake in a loaf pan for at home. I made a few minor changes: I used 50:50 butter:oil, I used golden/light brown sugar instead of white to toss with the apples for a more caramelly flavour, I reduced the sugar in the batter from 600g (remember, for scaled up recipe) to 500g, of which 100g was light brown sugar. I didn’t want the cake to be too sweet, as I wanted to drizzle a glaze over it. I baked the full cake in a non-stick bundt pan that was well buttered and floured, and made a glaze to top it when cool the next day. Glaze: 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 cups icing sugar, sifted, 1 tsp vanilla, 3 Tbsp of cream, 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon. Thank you so much for the recipe, it will be made again for sure. And yes, it really does taste even better the next day.
Can you give an approximate number of cups of chopped apples this would take? I’d love to use some of my miscellaneousy sized apples.
This cake has become my go-to dessert since it comes out perfect every time. I usually halve the recipe and bake it in a loaf tin. I also like substituting buttermilk (or milk + a splash of vinegar) for the orange juice and adding a little nutmeg to the batter- delicious!
Deb, Making it today for Rosh Hashana supper tomorrow night. I have my g’mother’s recipe, but yours looks easier. Can’t wait to taste it.
Hi, Deb,
I am just getting ready to make this beautiful cake. I’m assuming that you mix the wet and dry ingredients with a mixer, not by hand. Is that right?
No, I mix it by hand. No need to use a machine.
I’ve made this delicious cake several times, and each time I’ve found that I’ve had to bake it for much longer than the recipe indicates, as long as 2 1/2 hours! The first time, I was sure I must have measured something incorrectly, but now that’s it’s happened several times, I figure it’s something else- apple size? Egg/orange juice temperature? Something about my tube pan? It’s not my oven temp, because I’ve measured that and it’s accurate. Anybody else run into this issue? Sometimes I fear it will never fully bake in the middle before the edges get overdone.
Yes, me, just now! Baked for two hours and five minutes and I’m still not sure if it’s done (still cooling). In the end I took it out because more time didn’t seem to be making much difference. I just wonder if I’m mistaking uncooked batter for apples?
How did your cake turn out, Amanda? Was it all done? I also often don’t see much of a difference in doneness between 2 hours and 2 hours 15 minutes, so I usually keep this cake in the oven until the 2 hour 30 minute mark, when the risk of overdone edges overcomes my fear of the underbaked middle, and it has always turned out well. But I’m fairly slavish about following recipes so it’s like an ongoing itch that my experience with baking time is so different from Deb’s, or apparently from most of these other commenters, too!
Hi Dana – it was absolutely delicious, and I’m pretty sure that it was done, but as I thought, I was just getting bits of apple on my tester. It’s so hard to tell with fruity cakes though, isn’t it? The fruit makes it so moist, which is awesome, but it also makes it tough to register doneness. Also, the outside of my cake turned out to be quite dark, but still yummy. I’ll definitely make it again, but will probably bake for less time next time. I’m a recipe slave as well :-)
I had the same issue. I needed to bake it for about 2 1/2 hours until the tester finally came out clean. I had to cover the top in the middle of baking because the apples were getting too done. After I removed it from the tube pan, I found some of the apples around the outside were a little too dark. I’m hoping it’s completely done on the inside – will see when we cut into it tonight!
I made a bunch of switches because i’m a college student with a tiny kitchen and didn’t want to buy ANYTHING i didn’t already have! So, I halved the recipe and put in a loaf pan. Then I used part white whole wheat flour, flax eggs instead of eggs, a weird mix of olive, coconut oils and applesauce, a tropical Naked juice blend instead of OJ, and a mix of coconut and regular sugar (reduced). I also used random apples that I stole from the dining hall. My little apartment has never smelled so good and i literally cannot wait for this to come out of the oven. Deb, you have inspired me so much with all your recipes and Ive been waiting to make this one forever! L’Shana Tova to you and your family :)
Agreed on the pan size for halving the recipe — definitely good in a loaf pan. I think that among the 6-9 cup capacity options, its width mimics the tube pan’s “diameter”/cross-dimension best.
So so delicious! The family are in love with it too! I’ll take some of the other commenters’ suggestions and try going up on the amount of apples next time. I also wonder if a touch of almond might be good. Darn, I’ll have to make it some more.
If you use walnuts, when do you put them in?
Right with the apples or you can stir them into the batter. I’ll update it to mention this!
upvoting this action! Had the same question
Another addition—two tablespoons of boiled cider instead of OJ (available at King Arthur Flour and around New England) really takes the apple flavor over the top. Don’t tell my grandma that I Yankee-fied Jewish Apple Cake. It’s apple cider boiled down until it’s a thick syrup–no other ingredients on the label. The syrup would also be amazing in your carrot cake loaf (apple cider flavor without all the liquid of a cup of cider), cider donuts, apple crisps…I use it all the time. I know you try to avoid hard-to-find ingredients, so maybe you could write a tip on how to make it at home? I’ve tried but was underwhelmed by the results.
When you substitute 2 T of boiled cider for 1/4 cup of OJ, does it effect the consistency of the batter? I Love King Arthur Flour boiled cider, and have it in my refrigerator all the time. Thanks.
I made this last weekend.. Very easy and yes prepping the apples took the most time. I substituted 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup homemade applesauce. I had 1/4 cup walnuts in frig and added them as well. We like nuts so it added a nice bit of crunch. This cake is divine and gets better as days pass, but it only lasted 4 days! Very delicious!
Made the plum cake weeks before too and that was gorgeous as well.
Thank you!
I did something a little crazy if anyone else wants to make this as a layer cake–I multiplied times 1.5, split across 3 9″ pans (I wouldn’t go smaller than 9″, they almost rose to the top!), and layered with brown sugar cream cheese frosting from the peach cupcake recipe. Highly recommended! I didn’t do two layers of apple in each 9″ cake; instead, I just put 1/3 of all the apples on top of each layer, then pressed down gently so some would get baked in and some would stay on top. 1/3 of the juices also went on top of each cake after the apples, since there was a lot of juice in the bottom of the bowl. I’d even say you wouldn’t need to multiply by 1.5 for 3 layers, but it did sure make a grand cake!
I would like to make this for tonight Rosh Hashanah, but I do not have any orange juice on hand. Do you think it would taste ok with Apple cider? Has anyone tried this? Thank you!
Yes look at Erikas comment a few above yours – she used boiled cider But either way I think it would work fine?
I made this in a fluted bundt pan today and it turned out perfectly. I scoured comments before attempting and was a little worried but really it was fine. I poured around half the batter in first and put most of the apples on top before the remaining batter and a few apples.
What is the best way to get this out of the pan??
Assuming you’re using a tube, wait until it is cool, run a knife around and invert it onto a rack, then flip it right side-up again onto a cake plate.
I had a lot of problems with over-baking. I’m speculating a couple of things went wrong. First of all, someone cancelled the timer and though I reset it and I thought I was pretty close, it definitely was over-baked so I’m guessing that I was not. But, I still think it was pretty close, so I’m wondering if part of the problem is that my tube pan is very dark, next time I will do a couple of things differently (there will be a next time, even over-baked it’s obvious that it’s a good cake). My family is not crazy about baked apples, so I will cut the apples in half and only put them in the middle of the cake, not at the top. I also think I’ll reduce the oven temperature 25° to compensate for the dark pan. Thirdly, obviously, I’ll watch my baking time extremely closely. Thanks for the recipe!
Whoops! I forgot to mention it also stuck like crazy even though I thought I had prepared the pan well. I’ll pay extra close attention next time and hope for better results.
I made this today for a staff meeting at work and it was DELICIOUS! I made it in a bundt pan and instead of orange juice, I used apple cider (it was all I had on hand). Mine took exactly the 1.5 hours and came out of the pan flawlessly. Thanks for the recipe!
I halved this recipe and baked it in a loaf pan. I mixed the apples in as some others have and the cake turned out delicious. My comment, though, is that it took at least as long as the whole cake would have, to bake it. I was surprised and started checking at 45 minutes, and kept checking every ten minutes, but it really took longer than I thought it would. I lined the loaf pan with parchment to make sure it would come out of the pan successfully, and it turned out perfect. Great cake that was shared with friends and enjoyed by all.
I’d love te make this. I tend to lower sugar amounts in cake recipes and it served me well thusfar, since most cakes are too sweet for my taste. How about this one, could it do with 250 or 300 grams? Or is it only mildly sweet with 400 grams?
I’ve made it with 300g and it was delicious. We don’t eat a ton of sweets so that amount was perfect for us while still tasting like cake
Oh Deb. Deb, Deb, Deb. This recipe is such a winner. I made it years ago, and I’ve just made it twice in one week. It is amazing. You are the only baker that I dare to try recipes from that must be right from the first go. How do you do that? How do you make your recipes so that I can make them on the other end of the world and have them succeed every time?
Only thing was it didn’t fit in my 22cm bundt pan. For those lacking room, make sure you put all the apples in, even if it is at the expense of the batter. But make the cake. And then make it again and again and again, because it is delicious!
Can this cake be good frozen and just thawed when needed?
I’m having trouble finding a tube pan and mine is warped so it leaks. Wanted to make this tonight for tomorrow’s dinner. Any other kind of pan I can use? Springform? Bundt?
People have made this successfully in bundts (reversing the layering so the apples end up on top) and in 9-inch springforms, but I haven’t tried either.
This is far and away the best apple cake I have ever made! I’ve made it twice, and each time it gets raves. I’m making it again tomorrow for Break Fast, and I’m sure it will be fabulous once again. It IS terrific the day AFTER it is baked, so don’t be shy about making it a day or two in advance. Thanks, Deb, for another winner!
It’s in the oven, and the aroma is glorious! I modified it a touch, adding the zest of half an orange and some allspice to the apples. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm!
Deb,
This cake is everything you said it would be and more. Delightful taste, texture, and simple to make. I didn’t use the nuts either and I love the way it gets pudding-y the next day. Thanks for perfecting all these recipes before posting! Thanks for all your hard work. I’ll be making this again next weekend for my sister’s luncheon!
Made your Mom’s Apple Cake for the New Year. Such a big hit that my soon-to-be 12-year-old grandson wants me to make it for him as his birthday cake. Since his birthday falls on Thanksgiving Day this year, it will be a new Thanksgiving dessert. I have been looking for the perfect apple cake for years, and this is it.
6 apples are called for, but could we break that down into weight or volume? Apples vary greatly in size!
Thanks so much.
Go for medium. My mother never measures or weighs. If yours are very small, you can add a 7th.
This is the second time I have made this in a bundt pan and both times its breaks apart coming out of the pan. I’ve used non-stick spray/flour and butter/flour and it’s still impossible to get out of the bundt in one piece. Still tastes delicious, but not as pretty to serve. Next time maybe i’ll try in a springform as I don’t have a tube pan.
I also had trouble with the cake sticking to the bundt pan. I let the cake cool in the pan as per the directions but I’m wondering if it might be better to take it out warm and let it cool on a rack. That’s how I usually cool my bundt cakes. I buttered the heck out of the pan, too. Cake tasted wonderful and my friends at work ate it up even thought it didn’t look so pretty. I will make it again!
I use a two piece tube pan – works fine. I did get a tip from the lady at the cooking supply store (where I purchased): dab a bit of batter along the lip to seal the two parts of the pan. It helps so less drips out. I still had a tiny drip on the bottom of my oven but it want too much.
Cake recipe is perfect!! Love this cake.
Just made this! It’s now cooling in the tin. I might do a salted caramel sauce to serve with it later. I’m loving the smell of my house at the moment.
I halved the recipe for a 6″ tube pan. It baked in 50 mins. (At least I hope it’s fully cooked – did the usual tests, knife/tester came out clean, cake bounced back, etc – it just seems very moist, and I’m hoping that’s the nature of a cake that has fresh apple chunks going through it. I’ll report back once I cut into it.)
Made this for the first time for Rosh Hashanah and it turned out fabulous and looked professional. I was hosting a brunch several days later, so I put the leftover cake in the freezer for a few days. For the brunch I sliced it and put it on a small platter, but it was prone to falling apart. Now the leftovers are on my counter and when I need a little sweet fix, I’m having cake chunks. Still moist and delicious! Short term freezing was successful, but pre-slicing was not. I’m sure I will make this again next year, but when I serve the leftovers I won’t pre-slice again. This recipe is a winner!
I made this cake last night for dinner tomorrow (heeding the encouragement to do it in advance). After reading the comments, I halved the recipe, substituted bourbon for orange juice, and added nutmeg, ginger powder, and cardamom to the apples. I used melted butter instead of oil. I had to take an extended break in the middle of assembling the ingredients, and discovered that the melted butter had congealed a bit, so I just stirred it actively and combined it with the other wet ingredients. Not sure if this was the reason, but I ended up with batter that I didn’t so much pour as spread, since it was more viscous than I’d expected, and there was also a bit less of it, so I didn’t use quite all the apple chunks I’d prepared. I baked it in a springform pan for 54 minutes (trial and error — started checking at 36 minutes), adding foil around the edges at around 40 minutes, unmolded as soon as I got it out of the oven, and turned out the cake after it had cooled considerably. It retained its shape and smelled great. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will taste wonderful as well!
Making this cake for the first time today to bring to my ladies weekend! Recipe does not specify when/how to add the sugar? I’m guessing it goes in with the rest of the dry ingredients, so here goes! Hoping you can edit the recipe regarding the addition of the sugar as well as the walnuts, as another reader asked. For us nervous bakers. 😉
5 tbsp sugar goes with the apples — then 2 cups with the wet ingredients (butter/oil, OJ/bourbon ;), vanilla, and eggs).
Our favorite apple cake!! I live in Germany and often make it to bring to parties, and I always am asked for the recipe. Looking forward to making it this weekend with apples from the obsthof down the road. Thanks for all the inspiration!
I just found this recipe online and it looked so pretty I had to try it. It was a big hit. I used my bundt pan since I don’t own a tube pan. I followed the recipe and didn’t put the apples in first. I just flipped it out of the pan onto a plate and then put another plate on top and inverted it back to the apple side. It looks pretty and the flavor was really good. I’m now making it for a second time to make it a little healthier by cutting back on the sugar a little bit, using 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt and using 4 egg whites plus 2 eggs to cut back on sugar, fat and cholesterol.
This cake is absolutely amazing! The only issue I had was that the outside and the bottom of the cake burned. Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening? I have heard of putting a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the oven, but I thought you might have a helpful suggestion. Love your recipes!
I just made this and mine came out dark on the bottom too. It’s pretty dry, so I’m hoping it will moisten up as it sits.
I think my problem was my pan. I used a light bundt pan. And I don’t think my apples were very juicy. I had almost no juice in the bowl with my chopped apples. I has a piece this morning and it did moisten up. I’m going to try again with different apples and pan. It’s really good!
In a dessert like Moms Apple Cake can a good substitute for safflower or sunflower oil be Avacado Oil?? And if I use Olive oil will that change the taste noticeably??? Looking forward to making this…looks delish!!
Olive oil has a more pronounced flavor, if you don’t mind it in cakes, you won’t mind it here.
Thanks for the guideline on the olive oil. if used in Moms apple cake. Have you ever used Avocado oil in a cake recipe? How does that effect the taste./ (I am unable to use Canola oil as they think it is a problem for me when used for cooking(heating it ) The avocado oil is working fine in salads and other cold recipes but I don’t know much at all about baking and I’d like your cake recipe to turn out well. Grateful for any info you can share.
I haven’t ever used it.
Hi Deb,
Planning on making this next for my daughter’s preschool special snack @ the JCC :) on Wed next week. How early can I make it/how long will it stay good?
Days, easily, longer if you freeze it but give it a lot of time to defrost because it’s so huge/dense.
If I make it two days in advance, do I refrigerate it or simply leave it on the counter covered with plastic?
I only loosely cover it but yes, it will keep just fine.
This turned out perfectly!
We had a friendly bake off competition our at work – Guess who won! I did.. I mean you did (tee hee hee). I baked your mom’s Jewish apple cake as directed. It was delish…..and won bragging rights. The tip to wrap the cake in foil was very helpful in keeping it moist and fresh. The recipe is a keeper. Thank you Deb.
Brooklyn Girl in Texas
Can I do t as cupcakes? If so do I need to adjust anything other than baking time?
I haven’t but many people here have, with success. Just less baking tiem.
I made this cake for my mother’s birthday using two 9” round cake pans. I wanted the cake to look presentable and was afraid to use my bundt pan after reading some of the reviews (I don’t have a tube pan). The batter is very thick and difficult to spread across the the pans, but it evens out in the oven. Even though I used two pans it still took two hours to bake at 350 degrees. The cakes were beautiful, super moist and my mom was very happy. Also, I love your recipes, Deb!
Hi there! This looks amazing. can’t wait to try it. I was just wondering if the oven temp is in Celsius or Fahrenheit? Many thanks!
Fahrenheit. Celsius — 175 degrees — now added.
I finally made Mom’s Apple Cake! Have had my eye on that recipe for years! I made it last night, tasted it this morning. Yummo. I kept a largish piece and sent the rest with my husband to give to his parents. It is harvest time on the farm and my Mother In Law feeds about 10 hungry men every day. Hoping this will help her out. I know they will love it!
Thanks for another great recipe!
I have made this twice. First in a springform with a tube insert for easy removal. I also did the substitution for half the oil with applesauce like some had suggested. Made it last night as muffins… just had to try. Also used the 1/2 c applesauce and 1/2 c coconut oil. My husband requests raisins so I used 5 apples and about 1/2 c ( didn’t measure) golden raisins. When I looked for the oj… gone … so I added 1/4 c Baileys n Cream. I only had 2 of the large parchment paper cupcake liners. I layered it as for the cake the smaller cupcakes were too full and overflowed, the larger ones were perfect. We did find that the overflowed cake tops were chewy and crunchy and oh so good. Took them to work to rave reviews even tho these were the ugly babies. The baileys addition was so good that it may be a permanent change. This made 18 and if using all small I would stretch that to 24.
Has anyone tried making a 1/2 recipe of this cake? I absolutely love this cake; but frankly it’s a very large cake for two people. Could I just halve the ingredients and layer it in the same tube pan; expecting a thinner result? How about baking time?
Yes — I halved the recipe and baked in a springform pan. I started checking after ~ 36 minutes — I think I ended up baking for ~54 minutes or so.
Thank you, Sandhya! It will go in the oven later!
Mom’s Apple Cake is in the oven. Again. The second in as many weeks, after having been on my “to-bake” list for longer than I want to admit. The first I made exact to the recipe, including the dismissed walnuts. I took it to share on a beautiful fall day sailing on the California delta. There were only four of us, but we easily made quick work of half of the bundt, which I placed apple side up on the plate for maximum WOW factor. It was perfect! Exactly as I hoped and imagined ~ crispy on the outside and perfectly moist and cinnamony on the inside. Today’s version has two small changes ~ I dusted the pan with a mixture of flour, cinnamon and sugar, and I substituted 3/4 of the AP flour with WW flour. If we can resist the temptation of the warm, sweet smell filling the house, my plan is to freeze this to share during the Chanukah/ Christmas season. Thanks, Deb!
This delicious recipe and every other one I have tried from Smitten Kitchen turned out great !
I baked this in a fluted silicone bundt cake pan successfully (I put my silicone bakeware on a cookie sheet when I bake to keep the cake from cracking) :) I layered apples, batter, apples, batter; so that the apples would be on top when the cake was inverted. My cake rose as it was baking and made a weird bump where the centre of the bundt ring is higher in the middle than the edges. I suppose if this is a concern then you could always level it by cutting it off before unmoulding your cake. You also have to very carefully unmould the cake by completely inverting the silicone pan; the layers of apples make it a little sketchier structurally so take your time! I’d love to dig into it right now, but it’s for a birthday dinner this evening… I’m eagerly waiting for dessert!
This apple cake is virtually identical to a recipe that has been passed down through my family. My father’s Polish catholic godmother always made it and called it a Jewish Apple Cake. It is my father’s favorite cake so my stepmother and I tweaked and tested the ingredients to come up with a high altitude version that comes out perfectly in Vail Colorado at 8000 ft. I never understood the derivation of the name but I once made it for some Israeli friends when I was living overseas and they were delighted that I had baked a Jewish apple cake. I was told that since it is made with vegetable oil (rather than butter), it is acceptable to serve it after a meat meal under the Jewish dietary laws. In addition it is often a holiday treat as cooking with oil at Hanukkah symbolizes the miracle of the drop of sacred oil that burned for 8 days rather than one.
Instead of using 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, I used the same amount Masala Sugar, which is like a sweet version of Masala spice mix. It gives it more depth and complexity than only cinnamon, without being overpowering spice-wise. I had half of the cake in the freezer and when I thawed it today, I felt I had to share my tweak here. I am not into superlatives calling something the best of its kind so I’ll just say the cake with Masala Sugar is sublime.
I love your recipes and tips. I am currently waffling between making this or your apple pie slab. I have made this in the past, successfully, and am leaning toward baking this tonight for thanksgiving festivities. Thanks for all you do to inspire us home cooks in our tiny kitchens! Happy thanksgiving.
If there are other pies at the table, go for this. It’s such a treat and the leftovers are great. If you dessert array is more cakes, then apple slab.
Thank you again for another amazing recipe! I made this Wednesday night for the Thanksgiving feast. It was way easier than I had expected. I used a mix of Macintosh, Braeburn & Pink Lady apples and the smell was heavenly.
When I checked the done-ness with the tester after 1 & 1/2 hours, I found there were still some doughy bits at the top, so I turned the oven down to 300 and gave it another 20 minutes and that took care of it.
I feel the cake was underappreciated on Thanksgiving day. Everyone commented on how pretty it was but I guess most people (not me!) like pies, so I got to take home half a cake. This morning I grabbed a giant piece to have with my coffee and it is even better today. The best cake I’ve ever had in fact.
You or someone else mentioned how it gets a little custardy inside on the second day. OMG. It tastes buttery but there’s not even butter in it. Magical. Better than pound cake and pound cake has always been my favorite thing with coffee. This cake is going to become a tradition in my family as well!
Okay, now I really feel stupid. I have made this apple cake twice and receive rave reviews from everyone whose tried it. However, I just realized I’ve been making it backwards. I start the layering with apples on the bottom, then batter, apples and end with batter – assuming the small end of the cake was the top. Kind of an upside down version.
Still works.
Can this recipe be made as muffins? Has anyone tried this? I understand the cook time will be less if so.
Just for future reference, the third time I made this cake to take to our Holiday Potluck at work, I used large Fuji apples. Hm. It took an extra 20 minutes to fully cook. Next time, and I’m sure there will be many more, I’ll use normal sized apples. This cake is/was marvelous; so many people liked it that I had to rescue the final slice to take home to my husband.
Have you tried this in any other type of pan? Love your recipes!
Other people have told me it does well in 1 9×13-inch (i.e. one layer of apple) as well as two loaf pans.
I have been unable to find mcintosh apples in my areas of late. Can you suggest another type of apple to use in the recipe. I have made this cake twice and love it. Thanks and Merry Christmas
Sarah
I liked everything I saw, called my weekend Hostess an volunteered to use several of these ideas………….I love the middle eastern influence. Thank you……….
This cake is in the oven right now. I’ll let you know how it comes out. Thanks for the easy-to-follow instructions.
Didn’t work for me: the cake part cooked up like a brick. What I thought was a layer of cooked apples at the bottom was actually a layer of the cake itself and the top portion was all soggy from apples and some cake. The only thing I could think of was I used apples that were very large and of an assorted variety. I’m eating my baking disaster as penance: at least it came out a little edible. Will give it another go.
I made the cake to take to a Hanukkah party, and it turned out beautiful and delicious. I didn’t have much to take home, but the small piece I had the next day did have an even moister texture. I’ll make this again for sure. Thanks, Mom, for the great recipe.
I loved this! I used the rest of the bag of red delicious apples because that was what I had on hand. I didn’t peel them, turned out great. Didn’t have sugar, but had that truvia baking sugar that’s half sugar…great again. No OJ, so i used margarita mix…Just fine. Turned out delicious! Thanks
OMG! I just came across this randomly. My Gram used to make this exact recipe for as long as I can remember! Every Sunday! We call it 3-2-1 cake or Gram’s Cake. She did it with apples or blueberries or left over bananas. What ever we had… and the batter! I always sat and watched her make it with great anticipation. She ALWAYS had to leave me the spoon AND bowl! I make it now, most times only half the batter makes ot to the pan. It’s a GREAT and versitile cake. Most of my best memories are associated with this cake.
Had this cake at a friend’s today. Best ever apple cake!!!!!
Have you tried to make this as a Passover cake. I’m working on Streit’s recipe.
I’ve baked this cake and the apples many times; every time I bake it, it comes out better than the prior time. Love this recipe and it’s easy to follow.
Hey Deb,
Anyway to make this a Passover Cake?
Amazingly in this many comments, nobody has. I suppose it’s worth a try with matzo cake meal, but I am a little nervous there won’t be enough to separate the apples and it could be chewy or dense. I don’t think it would taste bad, however.
When are the walnuts added? Love everything here! Recipes, writing etc! Thanks for being you!
You can add them with the apples. I’m sorry it’s missing — we never use them.
I made this in a non-stick bundt and had no trouble getting it out. Per the advice of an earlier commenter, I turned it over onto a rack after only a brief cooling period, so that may have helped. Delicious cake, perfect for a crowd.
Is using browned butter or duck eggs going to improve or ruin this? Love the original and was going to make it for a leaving do for a workmate. Was thinking experimentation for this purpose was risky but I do like to try and optimise.
Browned butter, no. Duck eggs, I have no experience and I don’t think it’s come up yet. If you’ve swapped them in other recipes, you’ll probably be fine here. This cake is forgiving. It’s also even better on the 2nd and 3rd days, especially with butter, so get a lead on it if you can.
This cake is amazing! So tasty and beautiful. Can’t wait to make this around fall and enjoy with some apple cider. Waiting the extra day to eat it is a definite must. It’s well worth the wait. All my coworkers loved it.
I just made this cake from your cookbook in a 10′ tube pan. I followed the directions but the cake overflowed in the oven. Overtime I put a cake tester in the cake , it came out moist. So I finally took it out after 1 hour 40 minutes. HELP
Did the tube pan look like this? I wonder if it was more shallow or had a bigger center, if that could have been the problem…
Deb, I came across your mother’s apple cake (or should I say My mother’s apple cake) in your book. Everything you say about it is true… It’s a crowd pleaser. And my mother got hers the same way yours did, which is funny since she was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. It’s definitely a classic. In fact, during Hurricane Sandy, my niece had to evacuate her Rockaway home and stay with us. She had just baked one of these cakes and brought it with. It comforted all of us through the hurricane and its aftermath. One difference…we bake it in a Bundt pan. It’s very pretty that way.
I have made this wonderful cake on numerous occasions with great success. It is truly delicious. However… I just had a request for “Jewish apple cake cupcakes.” Do you think there is a way I could convert this recipe to cupcakes? Am I a crazy person for even asking? Thanks!!
Many people have commented here about making them as cupcakes/muffins. I think when the cakes are smaller like that, they’d be much better on day two, even more so than the full-sized cake.
I just made this recipe in two mini tube pans (holds six little cakes each). Followed the recipe exactly except I was a 1/4 cup short on oil and had to use apple cider cause I had no orange juice. I used an ice cream scoop to measure out my portions. I baked the pans one at a time for 40-45 minutes. They were cooked perfectly and taste delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
This looks awesome! Getting ready to make this – can it be frozen?
Getting ready to make this – looks yummy! can it be frozen successfully?
It freezes well.
Approximately how many people does this serve? Thanks!
12, but often 16.
Thank you! Really appreciate that you keep responding to questions! I just heard you’ll be in Philadelphia with your new cookbook. I hope to see you there!
Thanks!
I make this every year, at least once. This year we’re on twice in a week since my kids are food vacuum cleaners on a growth spurt. Thank you!
Would this work with pears?
I made this cake. It came out amazing
But the holiday is in 3 days. Should I freeze it or leave it out. I covered it with aluminum foil
Thanks a lot for recipe
You can probably keep it in the fridge (well-wrapped) for one or two of the days. Or leave it out.
I made this on Saturday evening, will it still be good on Wednesday? what can I do to help it “keep”…. On my phone and can’t search to see if the question has been asked before…
It will still be good. You can probably keep it well-wrapped in the fridge.
Thanks Deb! Now to find time to make the apple and honey challah… and the moist and majestic honey cake. So make recipes, so little time.
*Your cakes have been a part of our family traditions for years now, thank you!
Finally made this cake after years of eyeing the recipe. I split it into two smaller cakes (shortening the baking time significantly) and brought one to a bereaved neighbor. I really don’t think there’s any higher calling for baking than that.
And, because I kept one, I can also attest that it’s delicious — especially a couple of days after baking.
First time making it and I’m very excited but a little confused by your last tip about it browning too much, you say to cover it with foil for all but the last few minutes of baking, yet how am I to know if it’s baking too much before I bake it? Would you cover it proactively? Cover it if/when you start to notice an issue? Thank you.
You can cover it if/when it’s about the color you want.
Thank you. I made it Tuesday for last night’s dinner. It was amazing. I will be making it again and again. Great recipe.
Love this apple cake! My go to apple cake recipe. Have you tried it with other fruit such as plums or pears? Do you think it would work? Thank you Deb
Shana Tova
Deb,
I am making this cake for the third year in a row and had to write in to let you know how much I love making it and how much my family loves eating it on Rosh Hashanah.
I lost a beloved grandmother this year and so much of our relationship was built in the kitchen, particularly while baking. We used to make a different apple cake together, and though I’ve tried to replicate it, grandma wrote down her recipes saying things like “half an eggshell of orange juice” and leaving out certain key measurements and even whole ingredients. Needless to say, these recipe cards do not always yield the best cakes.
Your mother’s apple cake is just the kind my grandma would have made and enjoyed so much. It fills the kitchen and house with the wonderful smell of cinnamon and I feel her presence while I pour out the batter. I wanted you to know how much this recipe means to me and how much it is enjoyed by my whole family every year, but during this first difficult New Year celebration without my grandma in particular.
Pan help! We are in a kitchen remodel and my bundt pan is packed away. Could this be made as a sheet cake in an 8×8 or 9×13?
No, a tube pan is best.
I have been making this cake for 35 years. My recipe calls for slicing the apples, not cutting into chunks. The sliced apples on the top can be “fanned” and the cake presents beautifully…not that my family cared! Everyone loves this cake, it’s a definite winner.
Making this now….and in a bundt instead of a tube in error. And the center isn’t cooking. Been in there for almost 2 hours. Where did I go wrong?? La Shana Tova!
Thanks!
Love this cake. Works well for breakfast too. I baked mine in a one-piece tube pan and it baked exactly an hour and a half. I was afraid it was over done because the sides were pulling away a bit from the pan but it was definitely moist and delicious. One note of caution, I sprayed my pan liberally and sprayed again and I still had some issues with sticking. Next time I will use shortening and really coat the whole pan well.
We went apple picking last weekend and with Rosh Hashsna coming I wanted to try a new apple cake recipe. Since everything I ever tried from Deb’s Smitten Kitchen is ALWAYS a huge hit, I looked up this web site and decided on making your Mom’s apple cake. Wow! Just wow! It was moist, delicious, beautiful, and pareve (which for me was good for after a meat meal).
Thanks Deb for all your hard work! I will definitely make this my new favorite apple cake.
This is, indeed, a spectacular cake. My dad clipped this recipe from The Washington Post in the mid ’80s and asked me to make it. I did, and have several times since. It subsequently appeared again in the Post a few years ago, when they did a piece on Joan Nathan. Nathan had included the recipe in her book. (See https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/jewish-apple-cake/12958/?utm_term=.0a98b2c924a1)
When I saw apple cake recipes popping up last week in advance of the Days of Awe, I contacted the Post food team to ask if there is a way to make this in standard (not Bundt or tube) pans. Alas, they said no. But now you have posted the same recipe.
It is possible that the Cake Muses are telling me I need to buy a tube pan.
Thanks for the memories.
A delicious cake!
I made it one day in advanced, so I don’t technically know if it was better on day 2 than day 1, but I can definitively say it was even better on day 3.
I did not have a tube pan, nor a desire to buy 1. I made the recipe as in into to 8×8″ square pans. There was no risk of overflow, but the apples were more scattered than in your cake below. I would probably try one 8×8″ and one loaf pan next time. Yum! Easy! thanks.
This apple cake looks simply delicious! You know, I’m not much fan of eating apples by themselves but I don’t mind when they are a part of a recipe, such as this savory dessert. I’ll try it out sometime with my friends. Thanks for sharing!
I needed a parve dessert to bring for Rosh Hashanah and this was perfect. I made a few changes: I made a parve streusel and added the 1 cup of optional walnuts to the streusel mix. I also squeezed the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the apples (used Granny Smiths). In a large bundt pan, I put in 1/3 of the streusel mix, then 1/2 batter, then 1/2 apple mix, 1/3 of streusel, and finished by repeating the layers. Baked 1 hour 40 minutes total. Served with curved side up, and sprinkled with confectioners sugar over top.
Only disappointment, when I went to collect my plate there was nothing left!!
Thanks so much.
This recipe was originally published in the New York Times Sunday magazine Nov. 24, 1968 in a Jean Hewitt article. The cake is Laura Goodenough’s Apple Cake and it is delicious. It was republished in Amanda Hesser’s ‘The Essential New York Times Cookbook’.
Hi,
I love that this cake is dairy free! It looks delicious! I also need it to be egg free🙁 What could I use to replace?
Has anyone tried to make this with a bit less sugar? 2 cups + 5 Tablespoons is an awful lot…
FYI- I couldn’t find my tube pan so I made this in my bundt pan this year. I sprinkled some apples in the bottom, then layered batter and apples until I ran out. It was done at about 75 minutes. I liberally greased my non-stick bundt and the cake slid out perfectly. Not quite as pretty as when there are apples piled on top but a perfect bundt shape.
Answered my own question. I ran out of regular sugar, so I used 1 C. white sugar and 1/2 C. brown sugar. Came out a bit too sweet for my taste — next time I think I’ll use even less sugar. Maybe some not-too-sweet whipped cream would cut the sweetness.
My daughter’s favorite cake! Can anyone suggest a way to send this off to her at college? I’m going to bake in a loaf pan (and send the other to her boyfriend). Should I freeze before sending? Bake in a disposable tin and ship overnight? Best way to wrap? Thanks so much!
Just made this for the millionth time and it’s still one of my faves! Used apples from my friend’s tree and they were ridiculously good. Thank you and your mom for such a wonderful cake!
I made this for a potluck dinner and when it was over there were several napkins tucked under the cake plate with email addresses and recipe requests.
I experimented with the following modifications: I replaced the orange juice with whiskey, and I mixed the apples into the batter. Both worked well. I think next time I will use some lemon juice on the apples {I used a mix from the Union Square green market, but they weren’t as tart as I would have liked} and maybe throw in a handful of whiskey soaked dried sour cherries. Delicious and easy!
This has been my “go to” apple cake recipe for YEARS. I make it every fall, the minute we get our macintosh apples in the stores! I do find they are the best apple for this cake. Thank you for a life long recipe. It is not the only recipe from your site that I use on a regular basis!
So very delicious, even though I screwed up and made it in too small a pan. The resulting spillover smelled delicious, even if it was a bear to clean up. I made the cake with a combination of almond and rice flour, and a little xanthan gum. Oh, and also because I have trouble making any apple baked good without it, I used cardamom in addition to the cinnamon. Delectable. It makes a helluva breakfast, btw.
Is it ok to use Grapeseed oil?
Yes.
I don’t mind if it came from your grandmother, a receipe in a magazein or a vision quest. What I do know is my boss can’t eat dairy and the options in London are surprisingly crappy. She couldn’t even buy herself a birthday cake in Ealing.
I made her this and it was a huge hit.
Quick q- could the order of the ingredients be inverted – i.e. apples, batter, apples, batter, so the apples are on the bottom? I have a non straight bundt pan and don’t feel like going out to get another one….
You can mix the apples into the batter and it will come out perfectly.
Delicious! Using different varieties of apples is key. I didn’t have any OJ, so used almond mikk. I had to add about 20 minutes to the bake time. Very easy to make. Prepping the apples took the longest. Recipe is a keeper.
This cake is amazing. I have made it twice this week. I used honey crisps and 4 tablespoons of sugar for the apples. I used 1.5 cups of soar for the cake. Really fantastic and easy
Deb, what an amazing cake! I’ve made it for three years now and it’s become an instant tradition for our family and friends. Thank you for another recipe winner!!
Question — my BFF was recently diagnosed with Celiac’s disease and has had to go gluten-free. Could I make this lovely cake for her with gluten-free flour? King Arthur makes one called “Measure for Measure” that is advertised as being totally swappable with regular all-purpose flour.
I just tried it with gluten free flour (Trader Joe’s 1:1) and it worked well!
I just wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe. I have been searching for a good apple cake recipe for a long long time (I’m French, so with a lot of apple pies recipes but no apple cakes) and then I found yours!
The cake is incredible, perfectly smooth, apple are melting in the mouth and the cinnamon brings this little something that make you love autumn even more.
This is the first recipe I follow on your website and certainly not the last!
I made this yesterday in a 13x9x2 inch pyrex pan because I just moved across the country and have Nothing. It turned out really well!
The cake definitely rose above the pan, but it didn’t overflow. The bottom of the cake burned a bit, but that’s probably because my oven is awful and the dish is glass. Maybe putting it on top of a baking sheet would’ve prevented that.
I was skeptical of enjoying this more second day, but it really has done wonders for the texture and flavor. It’s like eating a whole new cake.
What did I learn making this recipe? My mother’s angel food cake tube pan – the 2-piece style – is NOT the right choice for a tube pan. My vent fan really just exhausts the smoke from the burning batter into the apt. My smoke detector works REALLY well (ok, knew that before). Awaiting the outcome of my decision to switch the hot batter into a bundt pan after the first 15 mins in the oven. Will report back!
I made this wonderful cake when I woke up early this morning, unable to get back to sleep. It is a beautiful recipe to make, such a pretty looking cake and most importantly, absolutely delicious. I had a lot of fun baking it, creeping about my quiet household, my kitchen fully awake and humming at 5! My family awoke to this cake warm for breakfast, oh yum…. For the Monday morning I-don’t-want-to-go-to-school blues, it is the perfect antidote! Thanks Deb and Deb’s mum, have a happy week….
Made this cake for breakfast the fast dinner. So easy and just delicious. I was a bit worried about the comments stating the cake took longer than 2 hours to cook so left it for an extra 20 mins. Was slightly overdone on the outer edge but beautifully soft and moist everywhere else. Definitely a winner. Used granny smith apples and a tube pan and it looked great
I halved the recipe and reversed the layering in a large loaf pan (meaning I put apples first, then cake, then apples, then cake). It was baked to perfection in 1 hour exactly.
I love this cake and the recipe in general–too easy and so delicious and moist. I don’t know anyone who would not appreciate the comforting flavors. Next time, I will add more apples (I’m thinking 8 medium vs 6). Only because I adored every bite with them in it. Thanks, Deb, for this one.
Deb,
I LOVE this cake and so does everyone who eats it. I also love the way the recipe card looks, well-used and well- loved. Couldn’t you just start using a made up story about the origins of the recipe? After a while everyone would believe it. This would certify your position as crazy Aunt, Grandma Deb and forever mark you in the annals of family lore. Seems like a worthy goal to me.
I have made this in other years, but this year I did the tube pan version for work, and it got a little too brown, but still was delicious.
I have a daughter who has a low fat tolerance threshold (no gall bladder), so I always cut fat where I can when baking for home consumption. In previous years I’d used 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce and I did so this year, the applesauce being my own smooth homemade (and milled in a food mill) applesauce. But I also used 2 eggs and 4 egg whites.
It is the BEST version I have ever made and didn’t over brown. My other daughter had some for breakfast the other day, and it’s disappearing fast. This really works, so if you’ve got fat issues, try it!
I’m making this today and can’t wait to try it! One question: are the 5 Tbs of sugar that you mix with the apples measured _from_ the 2 cups total or _in addition to_ the 2 cups?
Ah, nevermind! I simply misread it. Over and over and over… sheesh.
Nope, 5 additional tablespoons.
Deb,
I read this over a few times and it seems you didn’t write where to add in the two cups of sugar. Right?
If you have leftover cake (I know, how could I?) it is great to make into bread pudding. I just replace the bread in my favorite recipe with the cake and it is FABULOUS!!
Susan, look at my comment on 10/16. By accidentally omitting the baking powder and increasing the baking time, it actually became apple bread pudding!!! :)
I’ve made this cake twice now. The first time, I followed the recipe as written. The second time, I made homemade applesauce and subbed it for the cup of oil (1:1 substitution). Everyone who ate it agreed that using the applesauce in place of the oil made for a denser, more moist cake. Plus, there was zero guilt when eating it because the fat was gone. Either way, this is the best apple cake I’ve ever made.
I made this cake last night in 9×11 metal pan and cooked it for 90 minutes. Used 3 additional apples and bourbon instead of oj. Brought it to the office today and people are calling in Apple Pie Cake. It’s been a big hit! Thanks for the recipe.
Made this for the first time yesterday, working from the recipe in your delightful cookbook. It turned out absolutely perfect, and if anything is even better tasting on day 2. The big chunks of apple really make a difference, I feel like the apples kind of get lost in most apple cake recipes. I used apple cider and a bit of lemon zeat instead of the orange juice and added a bit of freshly ground nutmeg to the batter. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful family recipe!
Another successful result – love this recipe, adore this cake. Today: used cup-4-cup gluten- free flour, and buttermilk instead of orange juice. Baked @ 350 for 2 hrs. Outstanding.
I was feeling under the weather yesterday, but I managed to make this cake. Now I’m home sick with all of my plans cancelled and this whole glorious thing to myself. Thanks for the recipe!
Hmmm. I made this for a dinner party, and noticed two things: First, the batter was very thick/dry. The instructions to “pour” the batter into the pan made me laugh, because I actually had to drop it in much like drop biscuits and barely had enough for the two thin layers. I am certain that I measured everything properly and believe I used the right size/type pan, but it just seemed to me that it needed more liquid. This dryness was apparent in the baked cake as well. In terms of flavor, the apples were fabulous, but “cake” part was rather tasteless (and, surprise, dry). It reminded a bit of European cakes that look so pretty but which can be rather dry and tasteless. The only thing that made this okay to serve to my guests was the bourbon caramel sauce I’d made, just in case the taste was as dry as I’d anticipated it would be.
Is there a photo of the finished cake sliced? I’d like to see what it looks like sliced, when it’s done.
Here’s an old picture of a muffin-sized slice I made. And here’s one I found on Google Images that looks pretty close to what we get.
Super super good, everyone should make this! Such a perfect fall recipe and so forgiving. I usually don’t mess with baking recipes too much but I am at my grandparents so out of necessity made the following adjustments:
-two loaf pans and tried an apple upsidedown cake approach. Worked but lacked a stickiness I associate with this kind of thing (since it isn’t the recipe!!) but apples were soft and I’d make it again this way
-milk instead of oj
-mix of spices like allspice, cardamom and clove in the Apple and the cake batter
We decided to make the apple cake yesterday. Through a comedy of errors, it ended up in the oven and 10 minutes after it went in I realized that the baking powder and salt I’d measured out never made it into the cake! We debated what to do and decided to just wait and see how it turned out. No, it didn’t rise as much as it would have with the baking powder, BUT, bottom line, it became the best apple bread-pudding I’ve ever had. Warmed up, it’s unbelievable. I did need to bake it longer – 2 hours. I am still laughing about my mistake. I’ll make it again (correctly), but I’ll definitely make it as the apple bread-pudding version again.
This cake was delicious! I noticed the measurements are slightly different from the hand written recipe. Have you made the hand written version too, but just updated the recipe?
It’s not a problem. The original recipe calls for a measurement of “sifted flour,” something I will rail against in recipes until the end of time. (Who wants to sift then measure? Not me.) The lower amount of flour I call for here yields the same, less work.
This was a huge hit in my house. I’d like to try and make it into muffins. Wondering if you’d have any tips or ideas as to cooking time?
Cooking temperature is the same; from comments here, it sounds like 20 to 22 minutes is the average baking time. I’d check in 2 minutes sooner, at 18.
Thank you so much for sharing such a fine article.Anybody can make apple cake by following this simple procedure.Appreciate it.
This cake is fantastic. Have made many many times, always with a bit less sugar in the batter (I use about 1.5 cups). We have our own apple orchard and this recipe gets whipped up often in the fall. It is my 14 yr old’s absolute favourite. And I am always pleased how it looks exactly like the photo above. Highly recommend making this cake a family fall tradition.
I just wanted to let you know that I made this cake for thanksgiving and it turned out great. I didn’t use a bundt pan I used a large round cake pan. Instead of cutting apples in chunks I sliced them and layered them. Everyone loved the cake I had no leftovers. Thank you for the recipe will be using again.
The search is over! I finally found the recipe for the best Jewish Apple Cake!
This is so easy and so delicious that there is no need to search any more.
I substituted almond flour for the regular flour and it came out great!
I make lots of desserts – this cake just earned the “best you’ve ever made” comment. It’s a keeper.
And – I used gluten free flour (Pamela’s) and it was still amazing.
Thank you!
I do wonder – if you are using the walnuts do you add them to the cake or the apples? There isn’t detail about where they should go.
your post is very nice thanks for sharing this post
DElicious! I made this yesterday for a birthday celebration! GONE! Yummy!
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Like several others I halved the recipe and used a loaf pan. Instead of layering the apple with the batter, try mixing in the apple into the batter itself. I did this by mistake and liked the resulting baked top of the apple cake. The top of the cake was slightly crispy and caramelized. Now I always mix in the apple, and I’ve baked this about 4 times this year. It’s really a great recipe. Thanks, Deb!
Hi Deb, I’ve made this several times and it’s always delicious and impressive. I have a tube pan that is similar to the one you’ve mentioned, but mine is pretty dark metal and I find that the sides of the cake tend to bake up a little too dark. I recently ordered an aluminum pan for more even baking but I wanted to check with you to see if you think any of the ingredients would cause a funky reaction with the aluminum?
Hello! I love this cake and was planning to make it for Thanksgiving this year. Then I remembered a family member is allergic to oranges. Any recommendations on what I could substitute the juice for? And have you ever added raisins? Thanks!
I didn’t have orange juice and used a little lemon juice instead, and it turned out fine. I’m supposing (haven’t tried it) that you could substitute some of the apple for welled raisins.
I just put Mom’s Apple Cake in the oven. I’ve been baking this cake for Thanksgiving since I first saw it on the internet (five years maybe) and it always comes out perfect. However, I’m getting older and mixing due to a bad shoulder has become difficult, although I’m beginning to think it might be good therapy. The shoulder and arm do not ache as much, but the mixing does take a little longer. My question, finally, did you ever make this cake using a mixer?
just ate some of this cake, better than pie, and the texture is great, more bread-like than cake!
Great recipe. Will make it tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing!
Love, love it. Great cake, I like the density of the crumb with the apples. Followed directions exactly with the exception of using a bundt cake and it came out perfectly. Used Winesap apples because that is what I had, 4 big ones.
This cake is every bit as great as you claim it to be!! Thanks for a fantastic potluck go-to!
This is the best apple cake I have ever baked. Thank you this recipe will stay with me for sure
Loved this–and as everyone has already mentioned, very very easy.
Jewel of a recipe.
I made only two tweaks–
1) replaced 1/4 c orange juice with 1/4 c boiled apple cider (reduced to 1/4 original volume–i.e. 1/2 gallon became 2 cups) mixed with 1 tbs lemon juice. I tossed 1 tbs of this mixture with the apples and used the remaining 1/4 cup as the liquid in the batter.
2) I didn’t love the idea of all those naked apples on top of the cake, so I cut thin slices instead of cubes, and put two concentric rings of slices on the top.
Flavor was great and the cider really enhanced the apple-ness.
I might increase the batter by 25% next time, to kick up the ratio of cake to fruit. To me, it was a very little batter for a very lot of apples. In fact, as I write this, I think I might increase all the batter ingredients by 25% EXCEPT the sugar and oil. The reduced cider is super sweet, way sweeter than orange juice, so reducing the sugar measure makes sense, and I used virgin coconut oil which adds a lot of richness.
I also wouldn’t put apples on the top next time. I like them better on the inside.
There will definitely, definitely be a next time.
My favorite cake of all time. My colleagues send a big ‘thank you’ because I often bring this into the office.
The cake is delicious. My husband loved it. However, I did not know to let the cake only cool 15 minutes and take it out while still warm (I looked this up online) The juices caramelized and I simply could not get the entire cake out of the pan. It stuck to the bottom. Next time I will know better!
All the hype is right!! This did not disappoint. It’s amazing. Made it on Friday, served it for a party on Saturday. So delicious. Followed all directions except i lowered the heat to 325 after 45 min to accommodate something else going in the oven.
I made this today and it was so fabulous. Used 3 granny smith apples and 4 unpeeled green pears. Baked in a nonstick Bundt pan that I coated with nonstick spray. 325 degrees in my convection oven for about a hour and 15 minutes. Sooooo good!
Would spelt flour work?
I haven’t tested it with spelt. I’d probably begin with just a partial swap to start. (1/3 to 1/2 the flour).
This is my go-to cake when I want to knock someone’s socks off! Thanks, Deb. I’ve made this cake to sell by the slice at a Sunday Market I used to participate in. It was the best seller!!
I’m curious if anyone has made the two different versions – one with oil, one with butter – and what is your preference? Is one more moist than the other? I do love this cake. I made it with butter this time (I can’t remember what I used previously) and it was not as moist as I remember. It could be the type of apples I used. Thanks!
Butter is generally less moist (but better tasting) in cakes. This cake is also great on the first day, but even more moist and lovely on 2nd, 3rd and beyond, so if making it with butter, plan to serve it the next day.
Hi. My cake seems to cook in less than an hour. I think that the oven needs to be calibrated. This is the best tasting apple cake ever.
Made this per the instructions, but baked it at 325 for a bit longer to accommodate another item in the oven. SO DELICIOUS, absolutely perfect recipe. I will make another this week for my mother’s birthday.
I used a two piece tube pan, also labeled an angel food cake pan at the store. I didn’t have leaking issues but cleaning under the rolled seams was annoying.
I made this last year for a small card playing group (4) and it was sooo good. Made it in a 2 piece angel food pan and worked great. Is there a way to half this recipe and what type of pan to use? The whole cake is huge and I had a lot left over and froze it but would like to make a smaller version of it so I don’t have much left over.
Thanks,
Jan
I have made this cake several times and it is a hit every time. Good advice about checking for doneness right below apples. It is a nice size cake, so works well for group.
Sounds and looks absolutely delicious. I’m definitely trying this recipe when I get some apples and Oj. I enjoyed the story and shared your disappointment that the recipe had no history connected with your family. I will be looking for more recipes and stories from you. Thank you, Janet
The first time I made this I didn’t have a tube pan, so I used two 8 X 4″ loaf pans – and it was excellent. The second time I still didn’t have a tube pan, and used a 9″ springform – also great. Then I bought the 2-piece tube pan, and the pan did not leak as some other comments mentioned, but the cake took longer to bake and was a little dry. I will likely use a springform going forward. Once I had the batter in the pan and was about to top with the final layer of apples, and realized I had failed to add the sugar – I dumped it all back into the mixing bowl, added the sugar, stirred and then returned to the pan to top with the remaining apples –
and it was just as delicious with the apples mixed in. In short, this is really hard to screw up, and whatever pan or shape this has become one of my very favorite cakes. Thank you.
So funny, I also forgot the sugar, but realized as soon as I had added the wet to the dry, so stirred in then!
Made in a Bundt, and it worked fine, but was a little fragile coming out.
Abby
Thank you for sharing this family recipe! Just fed some of it to 3 appreciative teenagers. It’s just delicious. Hopefully there will be some for breakfast tomorrow. I used a 9×13 pan and it was done in 50 minutes. I added some cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the dry ingredients.
I’m curious about the heavy amount of sugar in this cake. Is it really necessary, 2 cups? I’m not really a stickler, but I don’t care for overly sweet. Generally, in cakes, I don’t use more than 1 c. Does anyone have feedback on this?
Easy to make cake. This is a healthy cake for all of us. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Your recipe is very similar to my mom’s apple cake and she got it from my aunt. My mom uses the walnuts just on the top; I could personally do without them and instead of mixing the apples in the cinnamon and sugar, she lays the apples and then sprinkles the cinnamon-sugar generously on top (this was always my job as a kid). She also flours the tube pan after she greases it and it creates almost like a crust on the side and bottom of the cake that really is delicious (and probably my favorite part of the cake). I have seen variations of this cake in more than one Jewish holiday cookbook.
Hi! Do you think I can sub another fruit here? I’ve made it many times with apples. Am thinking strawberries since we’re approaching that time of year. Not sure if I’ll keep the cinnamon, but am more concerned with how the strawberries will bake in this cake. Or any other successful fruit reco’s would be appreciated! Thank you!
If you search for almost any fruit in the comments, you’ll probably find someone who has made it by now with it. But I have not. I think it could be great with peaches, or peaches and raspberries, but it will likely take longer to bake.
Can I use a 9×13 instead of the tube pan?
Yes; it’s harder to get the two layers in but it definitely fits.
Thanks!
As an avid cook and baker, I am excited to write that this is my first smitten kitchen recipe (I only discovered this wonderful site recently…I know so sad for me).
I made this cake into muffins/cupcakes (fine line, right?) this afternoon and they turned out beautifully.
I went for a half recipe which made about 8-9 muffins/cupcakes. They baked perfeclty at 340/350 ˚F for 35-40 min giving a golden brown outside and very moist/apple saucy/melt in your mouth inside. I made a handful of modifications: melted butter instead of oil, and no nuts or orange juice (didn’t have either on hand; replaced oj with milk). Additionally, I used very sweet gala apples and thus decreased the sugar by around 35 % (about 130 g instead of 200 g for a half recipe). I also used a mixture of white and whole wheat flour (150 g AP and 30 g whole wheat, just for some of that whole wheat-y flavor I like!). Finally, I nixed the cinnamon and added about 2 teaspoons of cardamom instead.
Welcome to the FOLD (Friends of Lovely Deb) – once you cook one of her recipes, she becomes the place to look for new ones. And the “surprise me” button is one of the best ways to waste time!
I have made this cake many times and it has always been wonderful – until I ran low on oil and substituted butter. Huge mistake! It totally changed the consistency and even the taste of the cake.
Can it be frozen?
Can the apple chunks be mixed throughout and then added on top?
Can I use Stevia or Splenda instead of granulated sugar? I have someone with diabetes… or is okay with granulated sugar?
I haven’t tested it with either but here are comments from people who made it with Stevia:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-986924
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643051
It’s summer, and peaches are in season. Thoughts on how this recipe would adapt to using peaches instead of apples? I love the apple cake recipe, btw. I have guests who can’t have dairy, so this recipe would be great for dessert for them.
I just made this with super-ripe plums and it was great so I’d give it a go if I had peaches sitting around (not that you will by now)
Even though I see your other comments are from 2008, I decided to chime in since I only just now found this Apple Cake recipe.
I have all the ingredients except the orange juice(which I definitely want) and the apples(another necessity) so unfortunately have to wait until tomorrow to buy them. THEN I am going to attempt to make your cake. I even have the exact same tube pan shown in the recipe! I will add my 2cents worth after I see how it turns out.
Thanks for this wonderful ageless recipe!
I bought a bundt tin specifically for this recipe, last week, and have already made this cake three times – twice with apples and once with plums. I used Gala apples which are a bit sweeter than the ones the recipe specifies, so the first cake was delicious but very sweet. The second time I made it, I reduced the sugar in the batter by half a cup and the sugar in the apples by a tablespoon; I also reduced the sugar to 2 tsp. The cake was still delicious and the fruit came through properly.
For the plums, I put 1.5 cups of sugar in the batter and just 2 tbsp in the plums, with 1.5 tsp of cinnamon (they were very ripe and it was sort of a shame to cook them but we couldn’t have eaten them all fresh before they tipped over into rotten). Just as I finished the first layer of fruit I realised that I’d only put half a cup of olive oil into the cake (couldn’t understand why it was so gluey) so had to scrape it all back into the mixing bowl to add the extra oil. So for the plum cake, the first layer was mixed into the batter, although I still had the layer for the top. It was delicious and I’m going to try stirring the first layer of apples into the cake next time to see how that goes.
Massive hit, rave reviews every time I’ve served it. Thanks so much. For UK readers with a fan oven, I cooked this in a 10 inch bundt on 160 degrees C fan – the plum cake was ready in 1 hr 30 minutes and the apple cakes were ready after 1 hr 45 – they definitely needed covering after 1 hour 30.
I just went back through the comments and am amazed at how much people’s different ovens vary! (I am a bit anal and check mine periodically with an oven thermometer.) I will say, though, all three cakes were still crackling a fair bit when I took them out but I reasoned that if they were being left to go cold in the tin they’d cook a good bit longer out of the oven too.
I cannot wait to make this tomorrow for my parents’ 63rd anniversary on Saturday. When I told them about this recipe and asked if they were interested , I got a loud “yes please!” I don’t comment often, but I love your recipes. You have your own heading in my recipe app! 🙂
When I have baked apple cakes in the past, the apples shrink a little and leave a gummy, pasty hole around them.
I have seen bakers who cook the apples first, such as in an apple pie, to cook out some of the water.
Have you tried this method for your apple cake? Or does it not need it?Moist is good. I just don’t want gummy batter around the apple chunks.
Thank you.
I lost my Mom this year. She collected apple cake recipes. Therefore, I’ve always collected them if only to share them with her. I miss my mom. More than words can ever express. Should would have loved this recipe. I would have sent it to her. I’m so sad. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to depress everyone. The cake looks lovely. I’ll save it….for my Mom.
I’m sorry. I lost my dad this year. It stinks. But you might still enjoy the cake and the memories.
Could you make this cake in a 9×13 pan instead?
Many have and said it comes out fine.
Yes, it totally fits.
Hello, you! I found this recipe online years ago, because the apple trees in my yard were so abundant that we were literally rolling in apples! This recipe is a perfect way to use up so many apples at once! I know that the point of this recipe is to come out with a super moist cake… But I kind of find that I don’t like the mushy, pudding like texture the next day. I was wondering how to get a more cake-like texture, should I add A LOT more flour? Should I use less apples?? I really hope it’s not using less apples!! HELP PLEASE!! Thanks!
Smaller apples or one less might help. Shouldn’t be mush, however, if baked through, but this is very much an apple pie embedded in a cake.
I’m back for my third or fourth go with this cake for Rosh Hashanah. I love it, clearly. But I do want to document (for anyone else with this experience) that every time I’ve made it (completely by the recipe as written, using a tube pan, about 2 3/4 lbs apples, AP flour, etc etc) it has taken over two hours to bake at 350. It doesn’t seem to suffer, I just put foil over the top when I like the color, but yes–longer than the recipe states. It’s a winner every year.
Yes! I just made this tonight and scrolled to recent comments to see if anyone mentioned cooking time. I lost track but I baked this cake for at least two hours, maybe more. I used a bundt pan and layered apples as instructed so the only difference is that, when served, the top apples are on the bottom of the cake.
Love this cake! Just made it the 2nd time and it really was fabulous – the flavors! I use a bundt pan – a dark one – which I forgot about the first time and it burned well enough to almost make me cry, but was still amazingly good. This time I reduced the oven to 325 F and made sure to check after 50 minutes and still it baked fast at 1:15 minutes. I find it’s easy to flip it out after completely cooled and then back over so the apples are on the top – no sweat!
This cake is WEIRDLY good. I expected to like it, but didn’t expect to eat half of it myself within 12 hours and think about it all day long.
I don’t have a tube pan, so I used two 9″ round pans (3″ tall aluminum ones), and they needed about 1 hour 15 minutes at 350.
I plan to make it for Christmas brunch. I LOVE this recipe! My 3-year-old helped, and he loves it too. Thank you!!
I made this today for a family dinner and it got rave reviews from people from 11 – 74. I added the zest of the orange I juiced and used pecans and don’t think I’d change a thing. It took an hour and 40 minutes to get completely done.
I had a hard time getting it out of the tube pan — some of one side stuck in the pan and it didn’t look so pretty….but wow did it taste good!
OK, so we are going to a friends for Rosh Hashanah on Monday and I thought I would bake this beauty up Saturday afternoon so it would have time to sit and get nice and puddingy in the middle. (I’ve made it before, and it does!)
Saturday was a cool rainy day and the cake went in the oven at about 4:30. My husband and grown son kept making noises about how wonderful the house smelled, and about 7:30, after dinner, they just couldn’t stand it any more.
It is now Sunday morning and over HALF THE CAKE IS GONE. So guess who is going to make another one tonight?
Note: whenever you put 2 cups of sugar, tons of vanilla and a cup of oil in something, chances are it’s probably best to bake it the day you are bringing it!
PS. Deb, you are the best. My go-to site for all baked goods.
This cake was fabulous! Thank you so much for posting the recipe. I made it with gluten free flour (cup 4 cup), it took a little longer to bake, closer to 1 hour 45 min and it was perfect. It was completely gone within minutes, everyone loved it !!
Question: I bought apples from costco, which I think are much larger than your average apples. Should I reduce the number of apples I use to 4 or 5? Thanks!
Hard to say without seeing them but maybe just use 5.5.
Hi Deb…Happy New Year! I would like to make this cake for Break Fast and still have time to order the pan you indicate. The cake looks moist and heavy when baked. Any tips on getting it out of the pan in one piece are appreciated.
Use a tube, not a bundt. Comes out more easily! (And it’s what I show/recommend here.)
This was so delicious! Served it for Rosh Hashanah last night. Big hit! Thanks for sharing!!
I made this for Rosh Hashanah. It was a big hit!! Delicious!
I was really excited about trying this cake recipe after reading the comments, but I wanted to use whole wheat flour because I like it and of course there’s more fiber. What I’ve read about substituting whole wheat for white is: (1) add two tsps. more liquid per cup of flour, (2) reduce the flour by 25%, and substitute o.j. for the liquid since whole wheat flour has a bitter after taste. I could also have used whole wheat pastry flour but all I buy is regular whole wheat. So I made 1/2 a recipe in a loaf pan (a commenter said it worked fine for her), and also used a combination of stevia, sucralose and erythritol since I avoid sugar, and things taste fine when I substitute with those sweeteners. I DID add 3 tsp extra o.j., but used 1 2/3 c flour, not really reducing it. I was afraid it would be too juicy with the apples (which I cut in half inch squares, not 1 inch, btw). Anyway, I didn’t overbake it, but tasted an end slice after it cooled a little and it seemed dry. I’m so bummed!! Maybe it will moisten overnight from the apples? Does anyone have any advice for me about whole wheat flour? I should have reduced it by 1/4 cup, clearly.
I’d like to make a vegan version of this as my daughter is vegan. Do you know if it works with aquafaba? I have seen discussion of aquafaba but not used it myself before–any tips? Thanks for any help you can give.
Here are three comments from people who veganzied the recipe and offer tips:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642567
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642882
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643322
This cake is to die for. First time I ever made an apple dessert for Rosh Hashana and this is my new go to dessert for other holidays too! I whipped up some cream adding cinnamon and powdered sugar, and that was just the right compliment!
OMG Apple Cake is so so good that I had to comment. New mom getting one and the church meeting the other. I made this into 2 long loafs. The baking time was still 1hr and 20 min. One of the loaves was not fully cooked and I had to leave so I turned off the oven and left it turned out fine. Thank you.
I made this but I think 1 1/2hrs baking time dried it out really bad! I probably should have taken it out a lot sooner than I did but I figured if you said 1 1/2hrs that I should follow your directions. I cut off the sides and bottom as they were almost burnt – the rest of the cake was very tasty & same density of a kind cake! I’ll try make it again but watch the baking time!
Is your pan thinner than mine shown? That could change the baking time.
Could I use apple cider or apple juice instead of orange juice?
Absolutely.
Can you use a springform pan for this? And my leftover vanilla sugar anywhere in the recipe? :)
Sounds like people have made it in 11- and 12-inch springforms. Not sure if you could go smaller safely; I’d definitely use a big one. I bet some vanilla sugar would be nice in the batter.
Made it today in a 9X13 pan, layering the cinnamon-y Gala apple chunks as suggested, and with olive oil and equal parts brown and white sugar (ran out of white). It’s absolutely delicious. I’ve had my eye on this recipe for 5 years but wanted to wait for Fall each time. Well, it is technically Fall, although it was an unseasonably warm day in Minnesota. This recipe has 1500+ comments for good reason and I can see it becoming a Fall tradition in my family.
I made this last weekend… my husband loved it so much he asked for it again this weekend… so I made it again (I’m an amazing wife). I added an extra apple the second time. Thank you for the delicious, easy recipe!
Hi Deb!
We tried your apple cake and loved it! But we had difficulty getting it out of our tube pan. We waited until it was completely cooled, and when we tried to take it out, it cracked. How do you take it out of your pan while leaving the pretty apples on top? Do you flip it over onto a plate and then flip it again onto a new plate? Any help would be much appreciated!!
Depending on the pan, yes, we flip it twice. You can, if you wish, make a round (ring-shaped, really) of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the tube pan to make removal a little easier. You’d just need to cut around the sides, make sure they’re not sticking at all.
This sounds so good! Would you ever do a glaze on this? Maybe a thin maple one? Making for my sons birthday and feel like I want a glaze or frosting on it but don’t want to add to much sweetness! Thank you!
I wouldn’t because I don’t feel like it needs it, but you certainly could. Maybe use apple cider instead of water or milk.
I’m about to make this cake and don’t have any juices in the house! Sould sub water or lemonade?
I think either would work.
Deb- do you think this would work with a loaf pan? 2 loaf pans? Thanks!
Two loaf pans seems to be the prevailing advice in the comments. (I haven’t tried it but it sounds about right.)
Any suggestion for cook time when using a loaf pan?
I need to test it and find out, but I’d check it at 40 minutes, then every 5 after that.
I saw this recipe on your Instagram feed recently and made it I since I had a half bushel of apples. Well, it was so good, I made another and…and then another. All in a week. I’ve shared with friends and passed the recipe on to them as well. Thank you!
This is a fantastic cake. I used Jonathan apples and baked it in small, 6″ round pans as a trial for gift giving. Turned out great. Question: since apples vary in size, how many cups of chopped apples should one use?
My mom never measures; the cake is forgiving. Look for medium to medium-large apples.
Wondering if you have ever made this cake in a regular round spring form pan. I don’t have a tube. I am thinking it’ll work but I will need to adjust the cook time and check the cake more often to see if it have set.
Thoughts?
Yes, but I think you’ll want an 11/12-inch one based on earlier comments.
Absolutely loved this!
I just made this for the first time, and flustered by the political madness these days–I got flustered and forgot to add the 2 cups of sugar! And you know what–it is still DELICIOUS! Even my kids are eating it and don’t realize! It’s a little more dense and bread like, but the apples (to which I added 4 T sugar) carry a hint of sweetness. Thank you for a great recipe!
I’ve made this twice now, and I thought I’d add how I changed it. Delicious! I halved the recipe, using a loaf pan. I cut the apples into smaller, 1/2″ pieces. I also layered into 3 layers, since the first time there was too much cake on the bottom layer. I used sifted whole wheat flour, and per Internet suggestions for subbing wwheat for AP flour, I used 25% less flour, and added 2tsp extra liquid (orange juice cuts the bitterness of the ww flour) per cup of flour. I also used melted butter. It only took about 55 minutes to bake. 😋
This is the most fantastic Jewish Apple Cake I have ever tasted! Since I found this recipe a few months ago, I have made it at least 10 times. Thank you so much!.
I covered with foil but that stopped the cake rising and the mix spilled over out of my tin! Will use a bigger tin next time. Burnt on top but tasted amazing inside esp when covered in sliced strawberries and blueberries for my fruit-mad son’s 7th birthday!
I have an Apple Cake in the oven right now and it is smelling heavenly. My recipe came from the 2nd grade teacher of our 2 daughters (30 years ago). When I compared the recipes, I realized that they were basically the same. Haven’t been making this apple cake as long as your Mom has, but this has been our go to apple cake recipe all these years.
What kind of pan is this? Looks like a Bundt pan without ridges. Can you please link to the pan you use or similar? Thank you!
I made this twice in a week, this cake is now my official go-to apple cake. I do not have a tube pan so I halved the recipe (to the gram!) and baked it for 1h and 15 minutes in a 9 inches round pan and it was perfect. I used rhum instead of orange juice and used only a tsp of cinammon, it was just enough for my taste. It keeps very well and is so good for breakfast or in the afternoon with a cup of tea.
I just made this 4 days ago for a bridge gathering. Rave comments!!! A big hit!
I made it according to the directions–to a T! Very easy; first time I made it and will do so again!
I feel qualified to leave a comment since I have now made this amazing cake 5 times. My slight mods: I never have orange juice around so I tried using ginger ale. Oh my, delicious. I didn’t have a tube pan so I have baked this cake in 2 loaf pans with buttered parchment paper the long way to make a sling. It comes out of the pans beautifully. I’m baking at 4500 feet and have not made any adjustments for altitude. I may have baked it a little longer but the toothpick test works perfectly. I use extra light virgin olive oil and added a smidge of freshly grated nutmeg and ground allspice to the apples. This cake is so wonderful and everyone loves it. My bumper crop of apples (a Macintosh type) is being turned into freezer bags full of chopped apples so I can continue making this cake for months. So much more fun than a pie. Thank you!!!!
Do you have a picture of the crumb? Thanks
I’ve made so many apple cakes looking for that really good one and OMG this is the best one ever. I used the walnuts and we loved it.
Hi Deb. Can’t wait to make this. Can another liquid be substituted for the orange juice? I was thinking maybe apple cider.
Never mind…found a previous answer.
I have wanted to make this cake since I came upon it a few months ago clicking the Surprise Me button. OMG!! It is the most delicious apple cake I have ever had!! My husband and sons devoured it and I had to stop them finishing the whole thing in one night. Thank you so much for posting your recipes, I have never been disappointed with anything I’ve made from your blog!
Best apple cake I’ve ever made, or tasted. My family and co-workers agree. And it does get a little pudding like a few days later. One time, I traveled with the cake and left it in the car, freezing temps, brought it indoors one day later and let it thaw, spectacular.
You mentioned to use a one piece tube pan. Would there be an issue with using a tube pan with removable bottom?
Totally delicious…. I used a Bundt pan And greased it well and it worked !!
Deb I have boxes of apples to use up and your glorious apple cake fits the bill for at least some of them …but how would you suggest that I do this without sugar? We are trying to keep white processed sugar out of our bodies as much as possible. What would be the effects of using honey and maple syrup?
I make a cake almost identical to this. The recipe was in Bob Apetit many moons ago. It calls for the batter to be “divided” in thirds, so it starts and ends with batter. Apples are added half at a time. Maybe that would solve the “pockets of uncooked batter” issue?
I think I might be crazy because this doesn’t seem to have been an issue for anyone else…BUT – the recipe calls for 1-inch chunks, which is big. I am looking at my bowl of apples and looking at the picture and I think I may have done something wrong. I’m going to cut mine a bit smaller based on the photo (and on the fact that they just look too big!) but thought I’d double check. Thanks!
I cut mine smaller also, probably into more like 1/2 inch pieces.
To weigh in on the one piece vs two piece tube pan debate. I used a two piece and I’m watching the batter drip onto the baking sheet I put under it as we speak. I’m totally bummed, but the batter was so good, I’m going to invest in a one piece pan ASAP!
I made this last night – everyone loved it, even the doubters in the family (apples? in cake?).
This was delicious! And very easy. Can’t wait to make it again!
Before I get into this recipe, I just have to say how much I love your blog, Deb! Such wonderful inspiration, beautiful photographs, and writing that makes me smile every single time.
I made this cake last night and oh, my goodness, is it magnificent. I used a dark bundt pan likely from the 70s; I lowered the temp to 325, honestly for no other reason than I have heard I should with dark pans. I put the ingredients in backwards (apples, then batter, then apples, then batter) so that the apples would still be on top once it was inverted. One last change: I didn’t have juice so I made buttermilk (whole milk with a little apple cider vinegar). I don’t know what it would have tasted like with the orange juice, but the buttermilk seemed to work just fine. I couldn’t wait for it to cool all the way – I had two slices and it was just divine. I hope this helps anyone wanting to make it!
Hi,
Can I halve the recipe?
If yes. What size cake tin should I use?
Thanks.
Any adjustments for High Altitude?
This cake is the best! I drizzle a little salted caramel sauce for extra specialness!
2nd attempt at making “Mom’s apple cake”. The first time was for my boyfriend’s bakeoff and the cake took forever getting baked because our pan was too small for such an overload of apples and dough. However despite all the issues, his entire office finished the cake in a couple of hours, even with the dry exterior and the jammy heart of apples.
This time I got a tube pan from Amazon and did everything exactly the way it was written, but lo and behold: the tube pan had a removable disk *facepalm emoji*. I didn’t think of adding parchment at the bottom (and come to think of it, how would I avoid the hole in the middle? Is that a dumb question?) so it started leaking in the oven… I added a parchment right under the cake pan to avoid any issues. Let’s pray this cake turns out well the way it has for everyone on this blog! I am starting to feel this recipe has a thing against me. I will comment on how it turns out.
Deb,
This cake post is from 2008 but just made it Oct. 2018. OMG. So delicious.
My old boyfriend’s mom used to make me a Jewish Apple Cake from her mother’s Austrian recipe. I just went down memory lane…thanks so much for touching my heart with this recipe. I can now die happy.
Beth
Deb,
I am a silent follower of your blog. I have tried so many of your recipes and they are always good. I made Mom’s apple cake today. I used whatever apples I had in hand. Cake turned out really good. Kids loved the cake. Perfect amount of sugar.
I also added a cup of chopped walnuts to the batter. Will definitely be making this again. Next time, I will try using APF+whole wheat flour.
This might be a very silly question, but is there any possibility that this cake could be made in muffin tins?
Many people here have, so it works. Personally, my concern has always been that the muffin might be baked (15 to 18 minutes, probably) before the pieces of apple get as tender as they get in the cake (which bakes for an hour).
This batter makes a fantastic base for al manner of fruit cakes. I’ve used it with peaches and with pears, subbing in almond extract for some or all of the vanilla, apple cider for the orange juice, and adding some cloves and nutmeg to the cinnamon mix. It also turns out very well with half oat flour. So thanks for the recipe. Coming from a family with few of any handed-down recipes except for sponge cakes and pavlovas, I’m adding this to my fanmily’s repertoire.
This is a wonderful cake. It looks SO impressive, but can be made by anyone! I want to add dried cranberries for Christmas cheer. What do you think?
I definitely think you could. Maybe you could sprinkle them and some pistachios across the top for a red and green look?
So I just made this, and most importantly, it tastes amazing!!! I’m not a sweets person but I seriously want to eat the entire cake tonight. But I think I need to comment because my baking time was kind of crazy. I had to bake it for 2 hr 45 min (!) to get all the batter pockets around the apples to cook. And I know my oven is working fine, I just catered a holiday party with no problems. The best I can figure is I used too many apples….8 because I thought a few were on the small side. The cake also slumped and cracked a lot at the midpoint where the first layer of apples were once I took it out of the pan. The sides and bottom didn’t burn at all though, they actually browned beautifully….I used a very old aluminum tube pan that was my grandmother’s. It was much lighter than the one pictured (also smaller, my batter and apples came right to the top). The top apples did burn but I just picked them off (benefit of too many apples). Also, just for comparison, I used melted butter instead of oil and 1.5 cups sugar instead of 2.
Cake is awesome….even better the next day as you mention!! I’ve used a bunt pan and it always breaks apart when getting it out of the pan. Is it the pan / or something I’m doing wrong?
Ah question!
I have made this cake a few times and the top browns nicely, but the bottom is overdone by the time the middle is done. Should I raise the rack in my oven a notch? Lower temp a hair? Do I need a lighter coloured pan? I made it today and unfortunately chanced it with “maybe it will firm up as it sits “ 🤦🏻♀️ So it’s fairly goopy in Center but definitely too crunchy on the bottom.
Has anyone made this cake ahead and frozen it? Does it freeze well?
Thanks!
Yes. I froze this cake and it was still delicious. I think I just thawed it. No further baking.
Making my 3rd cake in less than 24 hours! I have a bunch of extra apples to use up + I have a 10 inch aluminum tube pan = delicious apple cake for everyone. I made the following changes:
– substituted about 3/4 cup whole wheat flour instead of using all AP flour.
– decreased sugar to 1.25 cups (250 g).
Luckily my pan is the perfect size for this recipe; nothing overflowed although I put an extra cookie sheet underneath as a precaution. Baked for exactly 1.5 hours total, although I covered my pan with foil about a hour in as the apples on top were browning a little too quickly for my preference. Can’t wait to bring this to share at work tomorrow!
Hi there just wanted to point out that 400gm of sugar is an enormous quantity for this recipe. It would be great if you correct the recipe. I followed it and wrecked mine.
Kind regards
Hi, I have made this several times using the exact recipe and with weights in grams, it works great.
Abby
I made this and I did a whiskey butter glaze on top, it really complimented the cake
This is The Cake!! The cake I’ve been making for about 40 years, the cake my children always want as their birthday cake and the exact recipe I got as a handout in the Massachusetts building at the annual Eastern States Exposition (West Springfield, MA). It was called “Vickie Cheney’s McIntosh Cake” and it was from Cheney Orchards in Brimfield, MA. This cake is the best cake I’ve ever tasted. Using McIntosh apples makes a difference; I’ve tried other varieties but was disappointed. Unless I’m making a birthday cake, I make it in two loaf pans and freeze one. A treasure.
I love this recipe and have been making it for years. No story behind it other than it was given to me by a dear friend and my family loved it so
much, I’ve made it ever since – for holidays, break-fast, Sunday Brunch and dessert. It is just a wonderful cake!
I have always made it in a bundt pan, using one third of the batter on the bottom, then apples, then batter, then more apples, then the last of the batter (and I press any uncovered apples down into the batter). But I love the look of this cake made in a Tube pan and will try that next! I’ve always used Granny Smith apples and like Deb, have never used nuts.
This will definitely become muffins sometime soon at my house!
This is so funny … I have the EXACT recipe and was told it was my (Jewish) grandmother’s apple cake recipe. I guess she got it from the same magazine? One of the best cakes and comes out perfect every time!
Hi
Can you offer a substitute for the walnuts that would not compromise the deliciousness? We have a tree but/coconut allergy in our house.
Thank you
I skip them. I don’t think I’ve used them in years.
I made this at high altitude, so I made the usual subs of ~1/8 tsp less baking powder, 1 Tbsp more flour, and a dash more liquid. One thing I didn’t have was orange juice and I wasn’t feeling like running out to get it. So I squeezed a lemon into 1/4 c water.
The cake came out great, will definitely make this again when apple season is overwhelming us with her bounty!
I’ve made (your) Mom’s Apple Cake four times. It’s definitely one of my favorites. My son is addicted and requests it regularly. Perfectly moist without being wet, amazing baked apple flavor (I used Fuji) & not too sweet. It’s one of those dangerous cakes that call to us at all hours. My only slight change this time was to use 1/2 canola oil & 1/2 melted butter. The butter gave it a rich taste that I thought was perfect. Thanks for your website, I use it often.
So I read through all the “I made this” comments to see if I could bake this in two large loaf pans as they were the only option I had available. Having convinced myself I could, I was almost finished prep when I realized that I had added 1 tbsp of baking SODA, not baking POWDER. I am so used to making quick breads in the pans that I reached for my usual leavener. Panicking, I added 2 additional tsps of baking powder. Shoved it all in the oven and crossed my fingers. I fully expected the soda flavor to ruin the cake, but it really isn’t too objectionable. I tented with foil at the 30 min mark and cooked for 70 mins in total. I think 60-65 mins would have been fine. Husband is 1/2 way though one loaf and has declared it a winner. Looking forward to trying again with the right ingredients next time!
Caveat: Not a food scientist or even close. But on July 4th I accidentally put 2 teaspoons instead of 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda in my cornbread and it was… fine. A reader commented that because I hadn’t added more of an acidic ingredient (buttermilk or the like, which activates it), it didn’t really matter. I still don’t get it but it must be relevant here for you too? Regardless, glad it worked out and was a hit.
I guess it’s better than leaving the leavener out completely. Although I’ve managed that trick too, more than once!
Made it with the right leavener this time and it is truly wonderful.
Has been declared “better than banana bread” which is high praise indeed in this house!
This recipe popped today as a link from the zucchini chips recipe that was in your Twitter feed. And it is just perfect, as we are making our first-of-the-season trip to our local orchard this weekend, and I am certain my dear husband will want me to bake something with apples (even though I think that shouldn’t start until October).
Like so many, I first encountered this recipe from a clipping — my dad cut it from the Washington Post in the 80s and asked me to make it. He loved it and it was one of my go-to recipes for nearly 20 years — until I lost it. The only flop I ever had was when I used a two-piece tube pan that I thought was a terribly clever idea — until I spent hours cleaning burned batter out of my oven.
The Post ran a reprint a while ago, from Joan Nathan, with a possible explanation for the “Jewish” cake moniker. https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/jewish-apple-cake/12958/
It seems to have a long if somewhat lost history and I think that alone attests to how good it is.
This is one of my absolute favorite cakes. A caveat however: I don’t recommend using butter rather than oil. It totally changes the texture and flavor of the cake. The cake does not have the wonderful moistness with butter that it does with oil.
can this be baked in a regular cake pan?
You can bake it in a 9×13 in one layer.
Do not attempt flax eggs. I was making this and realized we had one egg left, so tried 3 flax eggs and one egg. Cake took 2.5 hours and STILL didn’t cook through. I shouldn’t have attempted the substitute but hopefully another can avoid my mistake. Whoops.
I’ve made this cake twice now. It’s amazingly moist and delicious. Both times, I’ve used organic apples and left them unpeeled them, but just cored them. The peel ended up melting into the cake structure.
I think I was able to get the cake out of the pan in one piece the first time by leveraging the cake with a brownie spatula. But I forgot about the brownie spatula this time and cut it up in chunks, which was sad because the cake is impressive and beautiful looking fully intact.
Deb, I have a few questions about Mom’s Apple Cake. Can I shred or grate the apples instead of cutting chunks or perhaps cut much smaller pieces in the food processor and mix them in the batter? My husband would not like the chunks. How do you think any of the above would effect the cake’s texture?
Secondly, could I use a Brown Sugar Icing on the cake? I saw two similar versions of this recipe in “The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook” and in The New York Times in an article by Jean Hewitt, “Teddies Apple Cake”, in 1973 and then again in The NY Times Sunday Magazine in November of 2007 of the same recipe aforementioned. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes, hilarious comments and help in the kitchen.
Best, Joanne
I’ve never done it — I’m not sure it would work as well. I think you could use icing, but the cake doesn’t need it.
Thanks, Deb. I think I will not tinker with perfection!
Joanne
I only have a 2 piece tube pan. Do you suggest any adjustments to the recipe (or do I need to purchase a 1 piece pan)?
I only have a piece tube pan. What adjustments should I make?
Can I make your Mom’s apple cake in a bundt pan or will it overflow?
Thank you.
This recipe looks scrumptious! Can’t wait make it. Deb, could recommend a substitution for the 2 cups of sugar? Or should I just make it as is?! Thank you!
I have made this many times and LOVE it! I am thinking of making it in a decorative bundt pan. I realize I wouldn’t be able to put all of the batter in it. Has anyone ever done that?
I have only made this cake in a bundt pan, alternating layer of batter, apples, batter, apples and ending with a thin layer of batter. You are left without the pretty array of chopped apples on the top, but you can sprinkle on a light layer of powdered sugar just before serving. The cake is delicious either way.
I think a lot of ethnic groups have a much-loved apple cake. I am Irish/English/Scottish mainly, and have a very nice recipe passed down. Definitely going to try yours, however. Thanks!
I got a similar recipe from a friend several years back that has apples and also has fresh cranberries in it.
When do you add the optional walnuts?
Hi, when you do you the walnut in the cake? Mix with the batter or sprinkle in top of the apple?
You could do either — in the batter or mixed with the apples.
Can you prep the apples a day ahead?
Yes, but they’re going to let out a lot of water and the sugar on them will liquefy. Don’t throw this out. Pour it on with the apples.
So you begin with a layer of dough, but the inverted cake looks like it has a layer of apples on top. Do you re-invert the cake after it is out of the oan?
Yes
Yes, flip it back over
Any thoughts on making this with almond flour?
See these comments:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-985209
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643047
How can I print recipes from your site ? I must be missing something I am sure. Please help
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template.
Can this be baked in 2 loaf pans??
I saw you make this in your stories and was inspired to make it for Rosh Hashana this year, which I also hosted for 25 people. This was an easy recipe and comes together quickly. My family gushed over this cake! Both my sister and SIL asked for the recipe. Thank you for sharing. I’ll be making this again!
Yummy! I’ve made this cake many times before but this time I only had 3 apples so I halved the recipe and made a 9” loaf instead and I think I may prefer this method better. I did have to bake it for 80-85 minutes still (the normal version always bakes in closer to 2 + hours for me), but I feel like the apple to cake ratio was even better in the loaf pan. I didn’t have OJ so I subbed the amount for makers mark (not even close in taste I know lol) and it was SO good! (FYI: The sub made it not boozy at all, just a nice hint of something in the background.) I will probably do that next time I make the cake. Love this cake. Deb your mom’s recipe is the best! Xx
Could I use a standard bundt pan for this recipe?
How long will it take to bake if I use a 9 x 13 pan? Thanks for your help!
This is my absolute new required autumn baking item! Used a bundt pan and I would recommend starting with batter in the bottom vs apples as some of my sugared apples stuck to the pan. But still! It was so delicious and my work agreed as I took 3/4 of it to school and it was devoured. Huzzah! Thank you!
Good morning, and Happy New Year, Deb!
I often bake in bulk for a local soup kitchen (that’s their web site below), and found great success with your zucchini bread. I’m delighted to see another recipe for a bread/cake that “improves with age” since this will be served next day.
I hope to do this recipe in bulk (probably 6x), and will use disposable loaf pans figuring two cups of batter per loaf. I’ll play with the liquid amounts of the oil/butter when sextupling and would very much appreciate any other suggestions you might have.
Thank you again for your wonderful recipes and sense of humor, and may all good things be written for you in the year ahead.
I made this! It was delicious and I can’t wait to play around more with this recipe. For a variety of reasons I 1.5x’d the recipe to make 2 8×8 and 1 loaf size cakes. My cakes took about an hour and 10 minutes.
I think I would like a thinner cake and more apple, so next time I’ll try using a 9×13, and I might add another apple (mine were on the smaller side). I also added a bit of nutmeg to the batter, because it seemed like a good idea (it was, it tastes like a very good cake donut).
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Love it!
Emily, 50+ years ago my mom made this apple cake in a 13×9 Pyrex pan. She baked it at 350 for 70-90 minutes according to her handwritten recipe which I still have and treasure. Personally, I prefer the tube pan version but either way it’s a great recipe. Enjoy!
I made your beautiful Apple cake. And it is deliciouso!! I couldn’t stop admiring it myself, had to break down and cut it. Everyone loved it. Thanks Smitten Kitchen. :-)
Hi Deb, love your site for many reasons. Not only are your recipes delicious and foolproof I also appreciate the wonderful sense of community that has been created in the SK.
I was wondering when would be the best time to freeze this cake? After a couple of days when it has reached its perfection or straight away and then remove from freezer a couple of days before serving?
Thank you!
I’d probably freeze it right away, so it’s freshest when it defrosts. As it defrosts, it will have that good day two crumb.
Thank you!
this cake is delicious! i made it last year for rosh hashana as written and we adored it. this year we had less people joining us so i made 1/2 the recipe in a loaf pan, and i mixed the apples into the batter. i used apple cider instead of oj bc that’s what i had and i added a mix of apple pie spices bc i like them. delicious! is def a rosh hashana tradition from now on.
Deb, Can we get a total weight on the Apple cubes? Apples vary greatly in size, and I have a feeling that too much will make the cake soggy and too little will just be disappointing. Thanks!
This recipe is perfect! My oven required extra cooking time for a total of around 1 hour and 45 minutes. You really do need to keep poking around with a long skewer because the batter is sneaky around the apples! The cake definitely tastes better and better after each day that passes. It was super easy and full proof. I used a mixture of a few types of apples from the farmers market (about 8 total). Totally delicious! Side note: My mom has always raved about an apple cake that my grandmother used to make that she loved. Sadly, no one ever got the recipe. I made this on Monday and showed her my pictures. She said it looks exactly like my grandmother’s! I will make it again when I see her for Christmas.
Can you use applesauce instead of the vegetable oil?
I made this and made the following substitution: used one half cup unsweetened applesauce and one half cup vegetable oil instead of a full cup of vegetable oil.
It is superb! Not sure if this changes the freezer quality. I used a bundt pan and the finished product was really pretty!
I’m always interested in saving calories if taste isn’t sacrificed. I used a 8 oz butter. Of course it was yummy! In the Bundt pan, did you incorporate the apples into the batter or layer them?
If using a bundt, reverse the assembly steps since the bundt will be flipped over for serving: half the apples, then half the batter, second half of apples, remaining batter on top.
I love this cake, I’ve made it three times now, once I had only three apples so I only put them in the middle, still delicious!
My family went crazy for this cake! it was the perfect dessert to round out a brisket dinner. Every recipe of yours is better than the next. So much fun cooking your recipes knowing they will all be show stoppers!
My family went crazy for this cake! it was the perfect dessert to round out a brisket dinner. Every recipe of yours is better than the next. So much fun cooking your recipes knowing they will all be show stoppers! Moo
Halved the recipe and made it in an 8″ round cake pan. Halved the time too but it needed 25 mins more. Delicious, Moist and yummy. Will definitely make it again soon! Would like to freeze it as one of the comments says it freezes well.
Halved this recipe to make 12 muffins – delicious!
Deb!
I entertain often. Israelis, Sicilians, Russians, Ukrainians Romanians- my family and friends consist of many nations. They do not all agree on many things except…
This apple cake of yours!
I have made it for Jewish holidays, Christmas dinners and for my grandsons’ Brit last week and not a crumb was left. I have two apple trees that are prolific and gift is with wonderful fruit, but the recipe compliments their deliciousness.
Thank you for sharing all these fantastic recipes and their histories and all your stories, too.
All the best to you and yours, Maria Basch
I made this in a Nordicware bundt pan that’s described on amazon as holding 10 to 12 cups. It definitely wouldn’t have all fit in the pan so I put about 1/4 of the apples and cake mixture in a round 6 inch cake pan. Baked the bundt for 90 minutes at 325 since it’s a darker nonstick pan. The smaller round pan was done after 45 minutes. I used my instant read thermometer and baked it to 210 degrees which according to Google is the temp at which cake is done. Turned out great. Excellent cake.
Yum. After reading the comments, I lowered the sugar some and mixed in the apples with the batter. I preferred that to the layers (which I tried on the first batch). Made two loaves with King Arthur Measure for Measure flour. took tips from ATKitchen re gf baking and reduced the oil a bit and upped the bourbon (instead of OJ). Was delicious and a little boozy. Realized after I put it in the oven that maybe Apple Bourbon Loaf Cake was not appropriate for an elementary school bake sale – but off it went anyways. was sold by the time I made it to the bake sale!
Hi, After watching you making this on Instagram, I remembered a similar recipe we made (at Ottomanelli Bakery, in late 1980s) in a Cuisinart (same ingredients, but sliced apples,and no walnuts) and baked in 9 inch spring form pan.My handwritten recipe says Bonnie Stern, Cuisinart Book. Checked the internet and found her recipe slightly different from mine and yours. Today planning to make your Pumpkin Bread for Halloween.
I make this recipe every fall. I’ve made it with pears and pecans too. Just love it. You’re recipes always impress me.
I made this in 2 loaf pans with one layer of batter and one one layer of apples, and baked for the entire time. As some of the apple edges got a bit singed, the next time I make this, I will cover with foil around the hour mark. Love this cake!!
This isn’t just my mom’s recipe, it’s probably yours or friend’s or acquaintances’ mom’s, too. My mother got it from a friend who got it from a magazine and it’s been published under as many names as Jewish Apple Cake and German Apple Cake and Polish Apple Cake and then some. Reading all of the comments together, I was amazed by how many people said they went way back with this cake.
Deb,
What a tribute to you that a recipe first published in 2008 is still receiving comments and questions! I am making everyone’s favorite apple cake for Hannukah. If I bake It 4 days in advance, do you suggest freezing until day 3 then defrosting overnight?
Thanks in advance!
I should add that I’m using butter.
It might take longer than overnight to defrost, but yes. It also keeps really well at room temperature, but for 4 days, you can just pop it in the fridge.
Having had great success making this with apples (one of my favorite cakes ever), I tried this making this with persimmons instead of apples last night. FANTASTIC!!! I used 6-8 (can’t remember how many) Fuji persimmons. Only 2 TBS sugar to toss since persimmons are sweeter than apples. Persimmon puree instead of orange juice. I also used coconut sugar 1:1 for the granulated sugar, and Bob’s 1:1 GF flour. It worked great. Cake was 100% totally DELISH. I found there were more uncooked pockets of batter than when I made this with apples, and so I had to cook it about 15 min longer – probably close to 90 min. Was a big hit at Hanukah. THANKS!!! Great recipe!!
Thanks for the recipe! It really is the best apple cake.
I made this cake and it turned out……not so good. I did use whole wheat, so that might have been it. I think this cake would be better with brown sugar instead of white sugar and butter instead of veg oil.
I use melted butter and half sugar/half rapidura and love the flavor!
Nice recipe however I set the timer for 60 minutes (recipe indicates 90 minutes) and it was overdone after 60 minutes. Next time I will set the timer for 45 minutes and add time if required. I have trimmed off the overdone edges. The slice I had was lovely and I expect will be even better tomorrow.
Made this in a 9×13 pan with apples on the top and bottom and batter in the middle. Next time I will definitely just mix in the apples! Also substituted lemon juice for orange juice and almonds for walnuts because that’s what I had, and only did 2/3 cup of sugar which felt like PLENTY. The almonds were a little too crunchy but I’ll make this again with walnuts and apples mixed in and it will be perfection.
Help, please! I made this cake twice back-to-back about 18 mos ago. Came out perfectly both times. This time, the apples and the cake batter didn’t intermingle very well, giving me a lumpy, layered effect. Still delicious, but it’s much better the other way. Might I have over-mixed the batter, trying to get everything fully incorporated? Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.
The batter was lumpy or the cake was?
Okay, maybe there’s a better way to describe this: the apples did not distribute themselves through the cake batter this time. When I cut into the cake, there were layers of apples, then cake, then apples. And just now I think I may have figured it out (funny how that works, lol).
1) I didn’t divide the batter evenly. Not enough in the first layer. Need to weigh next time.
2) I cut my apple chunks too small. They looked too big, and I couldn’t remember whether I’d left them as-is the first time, so I cut them smaller, making them float on top of the batter rather than staying put and letting the cake envelope them as it rose.
Thanks, Deb. You totally rock! 😎
Just made this terrific and easy cake, following recipe exactly. Used coconut oil because I had a bunch on hand, and the results were simply stellar. Brunch guests were blown away. No one could believe there was no dairy in it. This is perfect for a brunch, because it’s gorgeous and you can have it all finished and the kitchen cleaned up well in advance. It took about 2 hours to bake, but my oven runs cool and I stuck a sheet pan under the tube pan for fear of drips. (There were none.) I’ll plan to make this over and over
This cake is SO great. We don’t have a bundt tin so have made twice in a 7 x 7″ tin and cooked for an hour under foil, and half an hour with the foil removed – a sprinkle of golden granulated sugar at this point made the topping even more crispy and crunchy and yummy. A square tin does mean fewer of those crispy edges… so a bundt tin is on the must-buy list!
I have made this before and loved it so I thought i would try it again with rhubarb. I mixed the rhubarb with a little sugar and I used almond extract instead of vanilla. I thought it was really good but not as good as it is with apples. I might try it again with a rhubarb apple mix. Oh, I halved the recipe and it fit perfectly in a loaf pan.
Can the apple cake be frozen? We love it soooo much. But as the kids leave for university it’s way much for us.
Every time they are home.. this cake is on the list. Thank you so much. ❤️
Yes
I’ve made this three time, each time the bottom gets very dry, somewhat burned, and the top is moist. If I take it out sooner, the top portion is not cooked. Any one else have the problem? Anyone have a solution?
I baked this in a 10” springform and it came to just below the top edge of the pan. I baked it for about 2 hours before it was done, but my oven may have been running cool. It was super simple to whip up and everyone loved it!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and it’s great for a party. But…no parties right now. Would you consider modifying it for the pandemic kitchen for us? To serve 4-6 instead of 12+ and bake in a smaller vessel? I’m trying it today, a half recipe seems like it fits in 3 mini loaf tins.
I love this cake, but I would enjoy it more if apples were evenly distributed throughout, instead of creating layers – do you see any problems with baking if I just mix apples in with the batter?
I wondered this too. What does layering achieve?
I noticed some questions about baking this in a Bundt pan. I made it that way and didn’t change anything about the way Deb layered it per recipe. So the apples are on bottom next to the plate when flipped out. Not a big deal at all. It was easily the best apple cake I’ve ever had. And yes, definitely cut into it the next day. It’s amazing what a difference that makes.
This was a really fabulous cake!! Thank you :)
Inspired by making banana bread for breakfast (my go to is your crackly banana bread recipe with the bourbon from your Jacked version, mmmmm), I dropped the sugar by a third and swapped half the flour for whole wheat. Mmmmmmm. Because of how lunches are served differently at my school due to pandemic teaching, I anticipate a lot of extra apples in my life this fall. I think I’ll keep tweaking his more and more toward healthy breakfast. Maybe we’ll even start baking in 4th grade. Mmmmmmmmm.
Do you have an adaptation for this recipe for high altitude (8,500 feet)?
Thank you!
I don’t have any personally tested high-altitude baking tips, but understand the ones on King Arthur’s site are great. And here are comments from people who mention altitude adjustments:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1676841
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642405
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642472
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642476
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-869680
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1239362
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1401241
Can this be made with gluten free flour. I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 ?
I haven’t made this with gluten-free flours but here are comments from people who have:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642539
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643057
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-856475
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-979286
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-985886
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1187050
can this be made as muffins?
I definitely think so — I haven’t done it but there are many muffin/cupcake comments here, and no complaints.
Can you use a Bundt pan instead of a tube pan?
Yes. You’ll want to butter and flour the pan very well, and then reverse the way you add the batter and apples, because the top ends up being the bottom and you want the apples to look like a crown on top.
1. Half the apples
2. Half the batter
3. Second half of apples
4. Second half of batter
Some apples might get stuck in the pan; just plop them back on top while it’s still warm.
Can i make these into muffins?
If I wanted to try this in a loaf pan, do you think I could just halve the recipe? Or am I better off making two….
Hi! This cake looks wonderful! I am going to make it for Rosh Hashanah. Have you ever made it without peeling the apples? Thank you!
Has anyone prepared this recipe with less than 2 Cups of Sugar. Given the sweetness of the apples, is it necessary to use that amount of sugar?
I grew up in Minnesota. Macintosh apples were very common. Not as much on the west coast. Love to see the recipe in your moms handwriting. I have many of my mothers.
Hi! I love all your recipes, everything I’ve made of yours always works well and enters my routine of recipes I use on the regular! I have neither a tube or bundt pan, what size cake pan or loaf tin would you use as an alternative?
Thank you!
Una
You can bake it in a single layering of apples in a 9×13.
I’m from Winnipeg and only eat Mac Apples- wait every fall for the return of this sweet delicious apple!
I do not have a tube pan. What other type of pan can the apple cake be baked in . Thanks
Deb, I only have a Bundt pan. Since comments say the apples don’t crisp in a Bundt pan, do you have suggestions for using it?
Yes. You’ll want to butter and flour the pan very well, and then reverse the way you add the batter and apples, because the top ends up being the bottom and you want the apples to look like a crown on top.
1. Half the apples
2. Half the batter
3. Second half of apples
4. Second half of batter
Some apples might get stuck in the pan; just plop them back on top while it’s still warm.
What can I sub for the OJ?
I am wondering if I could use a bundt pan, as my tube pan is for angel food cakes, is 2 piece, and I don’t want to get it greased with any other cake.
I am so glad to read your posts from Facebook, as my daughter and daughter in law love your blog and recipes! And now, so do I.
Yes. You’ll want to butter and flour the pan very well, and then reverse the way you add the batter and apples, because the top ends up being the bottom and you want the apples to look like a crown on top.
1. Half the apples
2. Half the batter
3. Second half of apples
4. Second half of batter
Some apples might get stuck in the pan; just plop them back on top while it’s still warm.
I have this recipe, and also wondered what made it Jewish. I don’t remember exactly where it came from , but I’m pretty sure I got it from a magazine so it’s probably been handed around and every so often someone feels the need to publish it 😊 – as they should, because it is truly excellent.
Has anyone tried to make this gluten free, just substitute gf flour?
I made the recipe as written with two changes. I substituted Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour by weight (360g) and added an extra egg (5 large eggs instead of 4). It turned out perfectly except that the apples on top sunk into the cake. I’m not sure how to fix that. My guess is that the GF flour doesn’t provide enough structure to hold the apples on top, but no one seemed to care. The cake was delicious. I did have to take it out of the oven a bit early (I think it was at 1 hour 15 minutes or 1 hour 20 minutes), so I’d recommend checking the cake every 5 minutes starting at 1 hour 10 minutes.
Thanks for that!
Did you have to add xanthan gum? I know it says that on bobs flour? I usually use king arthurs, which already has it.
Can I do this grain-free? Like, chickpea and almond flours?
I wouldn’t recommend them as a full swap here but if you’re looking for gluten-free flour swaps, here are comments from people who have made them:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-642539
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-643057
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-856475
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-979286
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-985886
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-1187050
Deb, can this be made in a bundt pan? Apologies if this question is redundant – I didn’t scroll through all of the comments.
Yes. You’ll want to butter and flour the pan very well, and then reverse the way you add the batter and apples, because the top ends up being the bottom and you want the apples to look like a crown on top.
1. Half the apples
2. Half the batter
3. Second half of apples
4. Second half of batter
Some apples might get stuck in the pan; just plop them back on top while it’s still warm.
Just made this and it was great! And delicious for breakfast the next morning.
Definitely making this for Rosh Hashanah! What can I substitute for the OJ, Lemon juice?
What a delicious recipe❣️ A blessed New Year to You and all Your Loved Ones ‼️✨🍯🍎💫✨
This is so similar to the “Jewish Apple Cake” recipe my mother made and passed down to me. She (and I) subbed apple cider for the orange juice and brown sugar for the white in the apple mix. The big difference is that we slice the apples rather than chop them, and both layers of apples are inside the cake. I’ ll try your chopped apple version. This cake has become a required element of our family Thanksgiving.
Just took mine out of the oven. My apples sank more into the cake than your picture. ??
This cake is amazing! Over the summer I used peaches instead of apples, and coated them in brown sugar instead of white sugar and cinnamon, and it was amazing. I also used a bag of frozen mixed berries one time, no sugar for the inner level, and a dusting of turbindo sugar on top. also amazing.
The cake is beautiful. I made it today. I used the and type pan. After I had let it cool completely. I thought I had loosen the cake using a knife going around and in the center of the tube. When I turned it over, only half of the cake came out. I was able to get the rest out and put it together. It did break more when I took the top part on the bottom part of the cake. I have never had that happen before. Can’t wait to taste it though!
I tried to send the picture, but it won’t let me.
Can someone tell me how many cups of chopped apples “six apples” equates, to?
Our Finer Things ( :D ) Foodie Group has somehow stumbled in to appropriating holidays/celebrations from other countries/cultures (Sorry if that’s not PC! In July it was Bastille Day!). This month we are meeting on Rosh Hashanah, so I just pulled this cake from the oven. It smells so good & I can’t wait to cut into it tomorrow! I’m also going to make your Fig, Olive Oil & Sea Salt Challah. Thanks for sharing all your great recipes, Deb! (Your I Want Chocolate Cake cake is one of my very favorites!)
I didn’t want to believe the hype….I have a family recipe for apple cake and I didn’t want to believe that another cake could be better….
….but then I made this one and I’m shook. It has a very good cake to apple ratio and the apples keep the cake moist. Thank you, Deb. You’ve done it once again.
Thank you for this, Deb. I made it for the new year and it was a hit. Looking forward to serving the leftover at brunch tomorrow since you said it gets better!
I always love anything I make from your site!
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! But, the bottom stuck to the pan (I bought the recommended tube pan), and the whole cake broke at the middle level of apples… any idea why? I waited for it to cool completely and ran a knife around the edge before inverting. Thanks so much—would love to try it again!
This cake was awesome! Happy New Year!
Judging from the comments, I thought I might get away with making this in a bundt pan instead of a tube. I very thoroughly greased and sugared my pan, and attempted to de-pan after about 10 minutes of cooling. Half came out, the other half came out in chunks! No one to blame but myself here, but if others reading this are considering making this in a bundt, take note of my cautionary tale as at least one data point.
I opted to make cover the damage with a whipped cream frosting with a bit of cream cheese. Still tasty!
How do you get this cake out of a 1 piece tube pan? Do you flip it into a plate and then flip it over again?
Yes
Delicious. Dropped by to read the comments because I think I’d like to cut the sugar (its very sweet) and wondered what others have said. Looks like this is a very forgiving recipe. Next time I’ll reduce the sugar a bit and see what happens.
I made this for Rosh Hashana and it was gorgeous. I had a last-minute panic when I couldn’t find my tube pan so had to bake it in two round 20cm x 8cm pans (I think that’s about 8″x3″), used a combination of Fuji & Pink Lady apples, single layer of batter & apples in each as recommended by Deb when using smaller pans. It took around 65 minutes, having rotated the pans every 20 minutes, and we now have a new favourite apple cake. Can’t wait to try it made in its proper pan!
Sorry, meant to add: I used apple juice instead of OJ as the kid had finished it all!
Can you freeze this? Thinking of making mini loaves of this for gifts
Yes, they freeze well. I just made them in mini tube pans. I got 12 out of the recipe which are probably the same amount for mini loaf pans.
I made this in a 9x 13 pan and it was really good, but has less apples vs batter than I expected. I used 4 Granny Smiths. About how many cups of chopped apples should be used?
Why, may I ask, did you use 4 apples instead of 6? I’d use all 6 every time to get the right balance. I haven’t check the cups but I always grab 6 apples.
Hi, In my family we refer to this as our Jewish Apple Cake. I’m 81 years old and have been making this cake since I was first married. This recipe was given to me by my Aunt Jean who lived in Brooklyn,NY. This cake has become an essential part of our family meals. Not only has my family enjoyed this cake, but now my grandchildren get to enjoy it. When one of my granddaughters was in the Food Study Program at New York University she had a class assignment to make a family dish. Since she had no kitchen privileges she asked me if I would made a Jewish Apple Cake. Of course I did and shipped it to her overnight in my tube pan. I was happy to make the cake for her and she was happy to have it. By the way, when she came home for break, she brought my pan back with her.
Hi. I made this in a tube pan last night. IT’s very very good. I also added some crumb topping. Question. I might want to make it in a springform pan, just to make it easier to get it out of the pan. If so, what size do you think would work? A 9 inch? Please let me know. thanks!
I haven’t done it, but other commenters have mentioned using either 11″ or 12″ springforms successfully.
I made it this week, a complete winner of a recipe. I had so many compliments on it and it honestly gets better with time, the apples keep the cake so moist, we are fighting over the last bits 5 days later. I cut the sugar back to 1.5 cups, and to me its perfect. Next time I’ll use butter instead of vegetable oil, I think it will add some nice richness.
I made this cake for the holidays and loved it! No Bundt pan—baked perfectly in a 10-inch spring form for around 1 hour and 20? I used 3 smallish apples and 3 huge grannies, next time I will use more apples. To the apples I added a heaping tsp of ginger and an 1/8 tsp cardamom. No OJ in the house so swapped lemon.
Great recipe, but apples on to get slightly dried out. I prefer to mix them in. Also great with whole wheat flour.
Longtime reader and huge fan. But Deb – I BEG you…..please please put measurements for chopped apples in the recipe. 6 apples is so vague….and I don’t want to have to scroll through 1,780 comments to see how many cups of apples that people chopped. I used 13 smallish apples, but seems like it should have been more.
Made this with whole wheat flour and brown sugar. Overbaked it a little because I was scared it was underbaked (oops). Ended up making a glaze with apple juice/maple syrup/butter to add a little more moisture. Was good with whipped cream.
But pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease, for the love of cake…….apple measurements!!!!
Hi there. I JUST made this and was wondering the same thing. But, what I realized is that I don’t think it’s an issue if you go over or under the apple amount. I think if the apples are large, do 5, or if they are smaller, do 7?
I just keep digging my heels in on this, don’t I? :) It’s because it doesn’t matter. That’s now how we make it. We just take 6 apples. Sometimes they’re bigger; sometimes they’re smaller; the cake always works. That said, if you went apple-picking and got apples the size of globe grapefruits — you know, those really ridiculous ones that weigh the better part of pound — you can use one less. And if they’re lemon-sized — i.e. tiny — you can use one more. But even I don’t always follow this.
(:
I made this in a bundt pan, and round one was a disaster (though delicious) and round two was perfect. For anyone making this in a metal bundt pan, I’d recommend a few things. First, grease every single part of the pan carefully with shortening and then dust with flour immediately before pouring in the batter. Second, pour in batter then apples, then more batter, more apples, and finally the remaining batter. This will give you a clean top and a better chance of getting the cake out in one piece. Finally, roll up a bath towel in a donut shape in your sink and pour boiling water on it then nestle the cake in the middle after it has cooled for 5 minutes. Place a damp hot dish towel on top, wait 15 minutes, then invert. Wait until the pan comes off easily.
I made the cake in a bundt pan and did not invert the batter and apples as instructed. It turned out great. I served it as if it has been made in a tube form. Voici :) https://flic.kr/p/2jNM4aR
I measured the apples as I cut them up – 6 cups was a perfect amount to use in my glass 9×13 pan. There aren’t enough words to describe how delicious this cake is. It’s going be a cake I bake every Fall. Thanks, Deb!
If you make this in a 9 x 13 pan, one layer, do you put the apples on top or bottom?
*Sorry, I posted this question but forgot to click the box to notify me of follow- up comments. Am reposting.
If you make it in a 9 x 13 pan, do the apples go on the top?
Yes, put the apples on top.
I made this VEGAN, because the reviews were so rave, but my son is allergic to eggs. Because 4 eggs is a lot, I started small – halved the recipe, used a loaf pan, and replaced the two eggs with 1/4 cup chickpea flour + 1/4 cup soy milk. It was delicious and we went to an apple orchard so I made it again the following week exactly as written (whole tube pan cake) but subbed 1/2 cup chickpea flour + 1/2 cup soy milk for the four eggs. Worked exquisitely. It’s my new favorite cake – making 2020 *slightly but meaningfully* less awful. I know I’m not alone needing to make substitutions so thought I’d share my success with those interested. The batter is quite thick and I did need to bake it a little longer, covered with foil so as not to burn.
Can someone please give me an idea of the size or weight the 6 apples should be. Apples come in many sizes.
Thank you!
Deb
I made this in a 9” springform pan. I followed the recipe exactly as directed, and it fit perfectly in the pan without anything bubbling over. It turned out beautifully, with no burnt bottom or edges and a delightfully moist centre. But (and this is a huge BUT!) it took over four (FOUR!!!) hours to bake. I checked it every 15 minutes or so along the way, and the centre remained gooey until just a few minutes before I took it out. My oven temp is steady and correct, so I assume this was mainly due to my choice of pan, and perhaps because I used fresh-picked honeycrisp apples that may have been juicier than other alternatives. Whatever the case, it was worth the wait, but next time I’ll definitely try a different pan!
This is so delicious. My mom had an apple cake recipe that she got from her German grandmother and it was lost over the years. I’d like to think that this is very similar.
This is an amazing cake. Seriously, one of my favorite ever. The only thing I changed was I used an “apple machine” to slice my apples–you know, those hand-cranked spiral slicers you suction to your counter. I quartered the spiralized apples which creates thin slices. This made a pretty uniform, apple-pie-esque layer of apples.
So it is Covid and I don’t have a Bundt pan and am not shopping. Do you think I could use a springform pan? Or could I use an inverted heatproof glass jar to make a fake center in the spring form.
I have eyed this recipe for years and finally decided to make it tonight. I used a mixed group of apples (honeycrisp, gala), used Robin Hood gluten free flour (Canada) as I have an allergy. I didn’t have orange juice, so used apple juice and juice of 1/2 a lemon instead.
The batter is really thick. The batter got stuck in a regular whisk, so I used my new Danish Dough Hook and it worked like a charm. The DDH is also great to mix and scoop the apples.
I finally got to use my mother-in-law’s very old square angel food cake pan which worked like a charm. I had to cook the cake a bit longer (10 min) because of the GF blend, but it all worked out in the end. The taste was fantastic! The apples on top act as a streusel topping which was delicious. I served it warm with a bit of dulce de leche ice cream. Fantastic! Thanks Deb!
Sooo delicious! Have made it about 4-5 times now. I like to use brown sugar in place of white on the apples, and some lemon zest. Amazing after resting overnight!! Story or no 😊
Great cake. Came together easily. The 4yo wanted to ‘help’, so spreading the layers of apples on the batter was a perfect job. The cake is even better on the 2nd day and still great on the 3d. I made a half batch in a 20 cm square pan. Definitely making this cake again.
Oh and I used lemon juice instead of orange. Seems to have worked :-)
I used apple cider which was great also.
I made this last night. The cake and apples taste good, but it doesn’t quite hold together as shown in the picture. I’ve made some pretty dense fruit cakes in the past and think it might be better if you just mix the apples in with the batter, then pour it into the tin. Perhaps I had too many apples or could have chopped them smaller. I’m not sure.
Just one other note. I reduced the sugar to one cup and added a handful of raisins as a hint of sweetness to make up for the reduced sugar. They taste great with the apples.
I made this cake for my neighbors for a “ welcome to the neighborhood” and they were absolutely thrilled! I’d never made it before and I was excited to see how it would come out! I went to introduce my daughter to them the next day and I noticed the cake was half gone! I didn’t mention it and was told by both husband and wife that “ it’s the best apple cake I’ve ever had!” In fact, she’s asked me to teach her how to make one! …. today, I’m making this cake for my family and I will add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it , YUMMY! Thank you for sharing your Mom’s amazing recipe!
Hi. I have made this cake several times. It is fabulous and because it’s dairyfree it’s a favorite of my parents. My question is what do you grease your pan with? The bottoms always seems to be overdone whole the rest of the cake is fine. Thank you.
I use either butter, shortening, or some sort of Pam spray. I do find that the cake can get dark on the outside in the baking time (you can see it in these photos, I think) but it shouldn’t be burnt and it should still taste good.
Thank you!!
I LOVE this cake and have made it 2 times and even with cooling on rack and running a knife around edge and inner tube of my one-piece tube pan, it comes out in chunks with the bottom sticking. (Greased pan, Oven temp is correct and checked with thermometer etc.).
Maybe I need to bake it higher up, mid oven level? I’ve been baking it on the bottom rack of oven. Thanks!
Could you use an ordinary round or square cake pan for this cake? It looks so good but I don’t own a tube cake pan :-(
You can bake it in a 9- or 10-inch springform or a 9×13-inch pan.
Made last night. Used six large Fuji apples and thought it was going to be too much, but it turned out perfectly. A great way to start using up some of the stash we picked over the weekend! Also, using a melon baller to remove the cores was a revelation – I’m definitely going with that method in the future.
Just enjoying the fantastic aroma as it’s coming out of the oven. I made in the 18cup size pan so cooked just a little over an hour. Perfect. Now, to let it sit at least until tomorrow. I remember from last year, it really is better with time. And maybe a small scoop of ice cream…
This is the BEST cake in the whole wide world! I am always begged to bring it to family events. I am going to try to halve the recipe today, because I know I would devour the entire cake myself. So instead, I will just devour half a cake. This is my type of dieting.
Made last night. Used six large Fuji apples and thought it was going to be too much, but it turned out perfectly
I can’t believe I’ve been making this cake for 10 years now! It’s always a favorite and, as you mentioned, is even better the next day (if it lasts). I call this “mom’s apple cake” for my own reason- over the years I’ve had 4 of my friends’/boyfriends’ moms ask me for the recipe! Thanks for making such a wonderful blog :)
Hi Deb! Love your writing and recipes. I’m baking this tomorrow morning for a birthday brunch for our insulated family. I have similar roots and have a honey cake recipe, hand-written on an index card that looks much like the “authentic” one you shared :-). Love your story.
I’ve made this 3 or 4 times now in the past 2 months, and made some changes to fit my needs. I wanted a barely sweet “breakfast cake”, so I reduced the sugar to 225 grams, which is perfect for morning greek yogurt/maple syrup application. I’m a pretty lazy baker these days, so I streamlined the apple prep. I skip the sugar on the apples, put the cinnamon directly into the batter, and mix the apples into the batter as the final step. You don’t get the craggly apple studded-top, just evenly distributed apples, and there were no structural or baking issues. I have used 9T of melted butter every time. I’m also experimenting with adding cloves and nutmeg for an apple spice cake vibe, w/ good results. I will probably try to make it gluten-free at some point. This really seems to be an excellent base recipe that is easy to customize, and it is a very forgiving bake. It is a huge cake that lasts 4 days for 2 ppl w/ daily eating. And you will need two hands to get this out of the oven, it weighs almost 6 pounds in the pan :)
Hello Deb! Can I make this in a loaf pan? If so, should I halve the recipe and baking time? Looking forward to trying this :) I hope you’re well. Thanks for the words and deliciousness, as always.
Thank you. You can halve it, I believe, in a loaf pan. I’d expect it to take an hour to bake, but safest to check in at 45 to 50 minutes.
Just want to put a plug in for the walnuts. They are great for texture and flavor reasons!
This is the BEST apple cake I’ve ever made and I’ve made quite a few. Everyone loved it. The walnuts absolutely took this cake to the next level. Thank you so much for sharing your mom’s recipe!
I love this cake so much that I use the batter as the base for any cake I can think of (blueberry lemon, cardamom, coffee cake). Simply AMAZING!!!
I’ve made this recipe twice in one week- one for family and one for the office. I ended up using freshly picked apples (Mac’s) and it was super yummy!!! The cake stays so moist 2-3 Days after-if it lasts that long :) I did add the walnuts but only sprinkled them on top, it added a nice crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
I am not a baker but in this Covid-year, I have made this cake twice. Once to take to a neighbor’s Rosh Hashana dinner. We’re not Jewish so I stressed about bringing a Jewish Apple Cake to their special celebration but it was met with rave reviews! I made it again for a quiet Thanksgiving for three, and gave leftovers to two sets of neighbors’ the next day. They all loved it! I followed the directions to a tee both times and use Honeycrisp apples both times. This cake is superb! And truly even better the next day. I bought a two-piece nonstick bundt pan to use and placed the cake on a baking sheet while in the oven. Incredibly moist! Great cinnamon and apple flavor. My oven is slow so it took two hours at 325 to bake. This is a keeper. I’ll make it again for Christmas. Great for breakfast with coffee the next day! This is my first time posting a review ever but that’s how good this cake is.
When do the walnuts get added in, please? Are they mixed in the batter or with the apples?
Yes, with the apples. Will fix.
I added walnuts in with the cake and it was delicious!
I have really small apples so a weight measurement would be really helpful. Please? They are 2 1/2 oz each!
This apple cake is thebomb.com. My whole family is obsessed. A+!
I’ve been baking for 50 years; made a gazillion apple cakes, including this yummy one. And it’s only now that have this stupid question. So if I want the apples on top and carmelized and I’m using a tube pan, the apples would go on top? Aren’t we all flipping the cake onto a plate which would mean the exposed apple chunks would then be at the bottom? Are people flipping it back onto another plate after initial removal? Then the widest part would be at top unlike the pics. So confused here.
I make this in my largest springform pan and it comes out so pretty, especially when dusted with a little powdered sugar.
Deb, I was thinking about which now-defunct magazine might have been your mom’s neighbor’s source, so I went to newspapers.com and looked around. For what it’s worth, the 9.27.65 issue of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Intelligencer Journal lists a nearly-identical recipe to the handwritten one in your photo. That was the oldest instance I could find of this combination of ingredients, though not every newspaper ever is held by this website. Unfortunately, the PA newspaper version includes no creator or source – so maybe the mystery magazine version was the one snagged by the PA paper! I love the ways recipes move around. :)
Thank you for your sleuthing! I bet there were so many magazines like this. I suspect this recipe made the rounds, given the number of comments here over the years that say “this was my family’s apple cake too!” And everyone has their own small tweaks.
this is a staple for us – but we halve the recipe (it’s huge, easily 2 normal cake tins worth), and don’t bother layering, just mix the apple pieces through the batter. Delicious every time!
Made this recipe last night as I needed a dessert to serve my guests following dinner. It turned out scrumptious. I had the makings for apple pie in the freezer that I defrosted but I didn’t want to make a pie, So i used the apple pie filling and followed the cake recipe and layering as in the recipe. It was a hit served with a scoop of vanilla bean gelato. Thank you for posting your moms cake recipe.
I made this yesterday and it is delicious. And I know there were several previous comments about the baking pan. I used a 9” 2-piece angel food cake pan and it worked fine. I just made sure I put 1/2 batter in first, then 1/2 of apples, then remaining batter and remaining apples. It worked fine and did not leak.
I just made this cake for my 18 month old grandson who can’t have dairy, soy or corn. His mom doesn’t cook much and is having a tough time figuring out what to put into his daycare lunches. I offered to make several loaves of quick bread that that she can keep in the freezer and use for a starting point.
So, instead of cake, I used two loaf pans, I also cut the apples into small pieces (paranoid grandma who doesn’t want any apple-choking incidents!) and mixed them in. Also used 2/3s whole wheat.
Turned out lovely. By the way, in case there are other grandmothers baking for grandchildren with corn allergies–did you know baking powder has corn starch in it? Same with powdered sugar. Luckily in this day and age, both are available corn free.
This cake is great!! Thank you. Do you think I could freeze and mail it? It would be in transit for 3-4 days. Thanks
Which two piece tube pan do you recommend? Or do you think a one piece tube pan is better?
I think a one-piece is the safer bet here. I have this one.
Deb,
This is my moms apple cake!! I’ve been making it and eating my whole life. As soon as I saw the photo I knew it and the recipe confirmed my instincts. I knew I loved you and your recipes now I feel a kindred spirit. Happy new year snd thanks for sharing your recipes. Lots of love for a healthy happy snd sweet new year from one baker to another 🥰🍎🍯
A very generous person gave me a bag of cut-up apples from her tree (thanks NextDoor!). Has anyone measured or weighed the apples?? I did find this info on the Spruce Eats:
2 lg or 4 med apples = 1 pound = 3 C sliced or chopped.
All the same, if anyone sees this query, I’d be grateful for a weight (and/or number of cups) next time you make this. Thanks to Deb, as always, and all her multitude of readers!
p.s. Here’s the link if you want to see for yourself. I’m sure there are other places on the web with similar info.
http://www.thespruceeats.com/apple-equivalents-measures-and-substitutions-1807456 ):
This was so good. Ideal Rosh Hashanah cake. Made it with panela for the white sugar (which would also mean brown sugar would work too). Made it vegan with flax eggs (1 T ground flax to 3 T water, for this I actually used a slightly higher proportion ground flax). Made this in a 9×13 pan, which worked really well.
I’m wondering if you can do shredded apples and still achieve the same cake. I grew up on this cake and my grandmother sliced the apples thinly. I’m only suggesting this for the purpose of cleaner (cake) cuts. Thoughts?
This was delicious. Great 3rd day as well!(Almost) as good as my mother’s recipe but not near as fussy. Thanks!
Amazing recipe! This tastes just like fall to me. Love the simple ingredients and instructions. I picked a ton of very small, fairly tart apples yesterday and this recipe was perfect for them. I goofed and forgot to peel them… Still delicious! Used apple instead of orange juice as that’s what I had. Baked it in a 9×13 glass dish for the hour and a half. Foolproof! I’ll be eating this for breakfast tomorrow
How many servings does this make and can it be made in individual cakes?
Thx
Loved this apple cake and the apples on the top (and also in the middle)! Love to try new recipes! Love the family history behind the recipe as well!
Had a lot of apples to use and I chose this wonderful cake. I concur with others it is indeed delicious. My husband and I have enjoyed the half we kept at home and his office also loved the cake with coffee. You do great work thank you.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it. One question though… how many cups of apples equals (6) of the McIntosh you use? We have a small apple orchard on our property so the apples are misshapen and smaller than store-bought. Thanks!
Is it possible to include theinternal temperature for the cake when done. I have made several times and the baking times have all been different and sometimes no matter how long i cook and check it it seems to be underdone. Taste is always delicious. Thanks
The comments about this getting better every day are spot on! We had a huge apple haul from going apple picking plus a jug of apple cider. I substituted cider for the orange juice and it was fabulous. I divided the recipe into two loaf pans with the intention of giving one loaf away to friends. Whoops, guess my belly is my friend! Loaf pans worked well though!
Amazing!! It’s like an Apple Pie and an Apple Fritter had a baby!! I used a Bundt pan, so I changed up the layering and put apples in first. It slid right out of my pan after cooling and inverting on a plate! I did use chopped walnuts also… seriously am going to have to do some serious dieting after we finish this! Making it for Christmas Dinner! Thank you!
I make this apple cake every fall. It’s easy, reliable, and SO yummy.
Recently I doubled it and split it between a 9×13 and 8×8 pan – both were a little over 2/3rds full and it did not run over. I cut the sugar by a third, and it’s plenty sweet enough for me.
I made this tonight (with less cinnamon), and life is worth living.
LOVE apple cake. Can I use Canola oil instead of a “vegetable” oil? We only have Canola in our house. Looking forward to trying this! I got some Honey Crisp apples today and they are our favorites!
I use canola. Turns out great.
You definitely can use Canola. Another poster said they used olive oil for extra depth of flavor, but I actually used Canola, too! It’s a nice neutral flavor.
Can this be made gluten free?
Same question!
Looks like you totally can! See my reply to the poster below!
Can this be made with gluten free measure for measure flour?
Hoping for an answer to this as well. I want to make this cake for Thanksgiving, and have a dear sis-in-law with Celiac disease.
Eureka! Looks like you can!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/moms-apple-cake/#comment-979286
“Another successful result – love this recipe, adore this cake. Today: used cup-4-cup gluten- free flour, and buttermilk instead of orange juice. Baked @ 350 for 2 hrs. Outstanding.”
Can you use apple juice and not orange?
For British people, when you say “flour” do you mean plain or self raising?
Plain. The baking powder is added separately. Almost all American recipes call for plain flour without any baking powder, salt or leavener. All of Deb’s recipes call for plain flour unless otherwise specified.
Can this “Jewish” apple cake be made in a Bundt or springform pan ?
Can you halve this recipe and bake it in a loaf tin?
It’s unclear when you add the sugar — to the dry ingredients? Help! This looks so delicious I started making it but then couldn’t figure out that step of hte recipe.
Please disregard my question about the sugar — I see now when it goes in.
We love walnuts! Do you combine them with the apples?
Yes!
is this really with 400gr of sugar? has anyone tried making it with say 300? would it change it that much? thanks
I used the 400 grams of sugar as the recipe called for, and I thought it was the right amount of sweetness…but go ahead and try it and see what you think
I made this but my sides turned almost black :( What did I do wrong? I used butter to grease the tube. Was I wrong in doing that? Amateur baker over here…
This cake can get dark but it shouldn’t burn. Does it taste burned?
I just loved your mention of your mother counting the stairs. It made me smile and think of my late mom. My mother never took a flight of stairs without counting the number of steps. I also have a recipe card in her handwriting for this cake. Like most Manhattanites who grew up in apartments with small kitchen but lots of great bakeries in walking distance, my mom and my grandma were fabulous cooks but didn’t bake often. Even after she married my dad and moved to Massachusetts, mom didn’t bake often but I remember her baking this cake every fall.
I stumbled upon this classic after making the big crumb apple cake, and was intrigued by how many comments this recipe had!
This feels like a dumb question but one that I don’t think has been addressed in the 1000+ comments (most of which I’ve skimmed) – what exactly do the instructions to ‘grease the tube pan’ mean? Does this mean grease and flour (like for a Bundt) or literally just grease with oil/cooking spray/butter? Asking because I bought the linked tube pan and proceeded with the latter, only to have some trouble with unmolding the cake! Most of it came out other than a large wedge stuck to the bottom and a thin layer of the bottom ‘crust’ (cook’s snack!). I shoved the wedge back into place and it will be tasty, but wondering how I can avoid this for future bakes.
Appreciate your clarification as well as any advice you might have on unmolding the cake the pan. I’ve read the Bravetart manifesto on Bundt pans but was hoping to not have to grease and flour for this recipe since the tube pan was advertised as nonstick…(famous last words, haha) Would LOVE a video of this recipe including the unmolding process!! Thanks for considering!
My mother always greases with Crisco but if this wasn’t enough to keep it from sticking, try a spray with flour in it too, like Bakers Joy.
This is fantastic! Halved it for a loaf pan and it will be on repeat this fall.
This is a great cake. It delivers on everything you promised. It’s really moist. It’s better the second day. It’s easy to put together. Perhaps the walnuts could be omitted, but don’t. The texture and little extra bite that they give is terrific. We did have one little challenge. When the cake was thoroughly cooled, it was also rather glued to the pan. We got it out with care, but next time we’ll figure out a way to line at least the bottom with parchment. The tube up the center will make that a little challenge, but not at all impossible.
Anyone wondering how this’ll turn out in 2 loaf pans…the answer is excellent! I’ve made it 3 times this Fall!
Deb, first off, I absolutely love this recipe, and 2nd of all, I just wanted to note that this naturally dairy-free wonder isn’t listed in the dairy-free section on your index, and I’d hate for the lactose free to be deprived of its delights any longer! Haha. 💛
This cake recipe looks so similar to an apple cake that my mother used to make. Yum!
One question- could applesauce be used in place of the oil?
Made this last night with an assortment of apples. It was INCREDIBLE and even the hubby remarked how good it was … he usually just eats desserts with no comment but this one made his head turn in a good way ;-) I will be making this again but using 2 loaf plans rather than the tube pan … I think it would be great as a gift and one for the freezer. Absolutely DELICIOUS the next day as many people have noted. Get yourself a GOOD cup of hot tea, a slice of this and the world will look wonderful … I promise!
This was absolutely delicious and a hit with the family. Originally I made it with some of our apple picking haul but my mom has kindly requested that it be added to the Thanksgiving dessert list. I did something wrong as it stuck horribly to the pan and came out broken/not pretty (but still delicious).
I have a very similar apple cake recipe except the oil is olive oil. Swap it in for an incredible depth of flavor.
I have made this cake several times now and it always comes out tasting delicious, but I find it takes way longer than 90 minutes before a toothpick comes out clean. I always start testing at 1.5 hours, then test every 10 minutes (both because I am hopeful and because I don’t want the cake to be overdone). I used 9 toothpicks today, which means the cake was in the oven for about 2 hours and 50 minutes. I wonder if the apples I’m using are so large that I should not be using as many? It would help to have an approximate measure (i.e., how many cups of cubed apple), because apples can vary so much in size. I am not a confident enough baker to change anything in the recipe without advice. :) Thank you for this tasty recipe that my family loves!
This Apple cake is sooooo delicious! I made it in a Bundt pan and just turned it back over so the apples were on top. I also used gluten free flour mix. Can’t wait to try some of your other Apple recipes. Thx!
I’ve baked this cake many, many times over the years as posted, but I recently decided to try something different based on what some people have posted on here!
I halved the recipe and baked it in 3 mini loaf tins (Williams-Sonoma gold touch) and substituted King Arthur Baking’s boiled apple cider for the orange juice. I also mixed the apples in with the batter. I chose golden gala apples this time.
I will do never do liquid substitution again, haha (much prefer the lightness with freshly squeezed orange juice) and I did not like the texture of the cake with the apples mixed in. It was much more bread pudding like. The apples retained their shape and provided some nice texture though!
***Made for Friendsgiving totally GLUTEN FREE, & the importance of baking pan choice:
Firstly, let me just say….. OOFDA. THIS CAKE. Holy smokes, incredible…
It’s one of those very satisfying cakes to eat, because the apple pieces are allowed to be their juicy selves. And substantial enough that you feel like you’re getting a good chomp of apple in each bite.
For a totally gluten free cake, I used a mixture of Pamela’s all-purpose and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour. Because the small size packages were all that were left in the baking aisle after everyone else’s pre-thanksgiving shopping. Haha.
As I thought, the flour formulas were similar enough that they made a moist, nicely-risen cake almost identical to SM’s photos. 10/10!
One of the comments I’ve seen often is the vast disparity in bake time. I suspect this is largely to due with the pan being used. I went out of my way to buy the exact pan used in the recipe using SM’s amazon link. Were it a different pan (different metal, glass, ceramic, different thickness, different design) that would change the bake time dramatically. Using the angel food cake pan is important, I think, because it means there aren’t deep areas in the batter that take extra long to cook all the way through. The hollow, center post ensures an even bake. If made in a regular cake pan, I’d suggest using a larger one, so the cake isn’t too thick to cook evenly.
I made this cake twice, one as a test run, the 2nd as the “final draft”. I’m glad I did! I forgot our oven runs 15 degrees hot, so while it still turned out, the edges of the cake were a little dark, and the inside just a bit too pudding-y for my liking. It almost reminds me of a fabulous apple bread pudding?
Regardless, the “draft” version AND the “final” are scrumptious.
I’m making this for a Hanukkah party this weekend. People freak out over this cake. It’s so good. I don’t change a thing. I make it in my Angel Food Cake pan because that’s what I have.
I’ve made this twice now, the first time a full recipe in a tube pan and the second halved in a little 7×10 pan. I am baking in a toaster oven due to house fire and not having a kitchen. In the little oven the half recipe worked much better. I also stirred the apples throughout the second time, as the first time in the tube pan the top layer dried out which was disappointing. The stirred-in apples distributed nicely and did not just sink to the bottom. I used coconut oil, melted, and added it to the wet ingredients after they had sat at room temperature for a while, but it immediately hardened and got clumpy. I ended up blending the batter with an immersion blender which worked great! I also think that the batter would be better with an extra 1/4tsp of salt.
I have to tell you- I have made this several times, and each time gotten so many compliments. I actually made it twice this week- once for a holiday party and again tonight to give to my neighbors. This time, however, I only had two eggs left, so I subbed one ripe banana for the other two eggs. And let me tell you- there was something about the carmelized apple/banana combo that was absolutely amazing. In the future I might do this on purpose. Highly recommend.
made this 2 days ago. Did a few substitutions, but the main change I made was reducing the sugar to 150 grams. While the sweetness level was perfect, this change appeared to be responsible for ending up with a dry cake. Decent flavor, but– oh well, can’t win ’em all. (and for the record, I am a HUGE SK fan).
The best cake I have ever eaten. Every time I make this cake, I wonder why I ever make anything else. It’s so forgiving and the batter is so delicious. I’ve absent-mindedly stirred all the apple chunks all the way through the batter before and the cake doesn’t mind. I usually use 6-8 apples, 6 if they are big and 8 if they are small but it works either way. The only thing I would add is that I made it with golden granulated sugar instead of caster or light brown soft today and it made a real difference: the sides were deliciously caramelised and lightly chewy. It is delicious with any sugar but worth getting the granulated in (I don’t tend to just have it around).
I make this in a bundt. It will normally come out cleanly-ish (any chunks left behind are for me) if the tin is well buttered and I have my silicone palette knife to hand. But you can scoop it out of the bundt like pudding too.
Has anyone had luck subbing GF flour in this? I want to make for my daughters class but there are a couple of kids who cannot eat gluten.
Came out perfectly! Used a bundt pan, sprayed liberally with cooking spray and put a layer of apples in first. Cooked i a convection oven for 65 minute. It had a nice caramelization and pulled away from the sides a bit. Let it cook for 5 minutes and it popped out. Thank you!
Meant to say rest for 5 minutes after taking out of the oven.
This comment was really helpful for me tonight – thank you. I halved the recipe and got 12 muffins in a standard muffin tin. I wish I had diced the apples slightly smaller. It was hard to be sure what to do with them – in the end I mixed half in with the batter and sprinkled the other half on top, rather than layering, as there just wasn’t space in the tin. The muffins don’t rise that much and a couple over overfull ones just spread outwards – but as you say where they overflow the batter is delicious. They took longer than expected to bake though – I started checking at 18 mins and it wasn’t until 35 mins that I felt OK taking them out.
I liked them (and am glad to avoid eating an entire bundt of cake in 3 days as I usually seem to) but I do think the bundt cake is nicer (on day 1 at least; interested to see how they are on day 2).
As I think Deb predicted in a response up there, the muffins are exceptional after a day or so (though I still miss the heft of the cake)
2 questions – how does anyone wait for this cake to cool completely before cutting a slice? It is delicious and makes my whole kitchen smell delightful!
But seriously, I had to bake it for 1 hr 45 minutes because at 1 30 it was still VERY gooey on top. But with the extra time, the bottom got a bit drier than I like. Any suggestions?
I’ve tried a lot of Jewish apple cakes as my grandma didn’t have one either. This is the one! Everyone loved it. I used less sugar and on the second day everything became very “umami” and wonderfully not sweet. Not sure what the orange juice would add, but didn’t have any so left it out. Will add it next time. Will also try adding the walnuts. Used date sugar for the apples. 160 degrees in a convection over.
Hi Deb! Love your writing and recipes. I’m baking this tomorrow evening for an anniversary brunch for our parents.
Hi Deb, Not really apple season, but we have apples falling off our tree here in California … I’d love to make an apple bread (think banana bread, but apples), then freeze and save to send to my kids in college in a few weeks’ time. When it’s actually, you know, fall-ish. Would you recommend this recipe or another for loaf pans? Any tips (other than obviously baking time will be different). THANK YOU.
Just put it in the oven – I was in a hurry to get it baked before the day gets hot, and sharing a small kitchen with my husband also prepping a recipe, so didn’t pay attention until too late… I wanted to include the walnuts, but they are not mentioned in the instructions, so they got omitted. My fault, but shouldn’t it say somewhere when to put them in? I’ll include them next time and compare the results!
Also I had apples from a friend’s tree, so sizes were all over the place – what’s the typical weight, or does it really not matter?
Can I substitute brown sugar for some of the granulated sugar? Would anything else need to change?
How do we feel about making this in a Bundt pan instead of a tube pan?
Writing to say I make this every year for the Autumn equinox – it never disappoints and is always great. Usually I use a bundt pan (well greased!) for a festive look
I made this yummy cake and just want to note a few things for anyone who had questions like I did:
[] I used six medium-large Honeycrisp apples and it turned out fine. It was a lot of apples! But the cake could probably have even absorbed more.
[] I used a two-piece angel food cake pan. I greased the pan, then I put it together and lined it with parchment paper. The way I did this: I took a piece of parchment paper, cut a small circle out of the center to allow for the center tube, then flattened it in the best I could manage. I’m so glad I did this. With the parchment, I did not worry about the batter running out of any cracks and I had no trouble removing the cake from the pan.
[] I served the cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for dessert. Yum!
So. I’ve made this cake at least twice a season for many years, a household favorite. This year, I made the batter with half oil and half butter (because a contestant on Junior Bake Off said that’s what he does – ideas come from everywhere!), and I reduced the sugar by about 40-50g. I used 8 apples, and added a scant teaspoon of cardamom to the mix because I like that extra warm spice note and it reminds me of Sweden (might do 1/2 t next time). Delicious! Cuppa tea and you absolutely can’t lose with this one. Tried and true.
Could you please give an (estimated) amount for the chopped apples? I have very small mountain apples so this would be very helpful –
Thanks!
This recipe is in our family too, but we call it “Aunt Faith’s Apple Cake”. You will also find it in many old synagogue cook books.
I am going to try your method because we do two layer of apples and three layers of batter, which is a pain because it’s such a thick batter.
However, we use apple cider (not OJ) and I have also used apple juice concentrate when I don’t have cider in hand. Both/either of these make the cake even better.
We have also made it with Italian prune plums at the end of the summer and that is also to die for!
Yep! My mom, from Montenegro, has an apple cake recipe as well. I’m going to try yours and see how they’re different. Your recipes are always so tasty!!
My son, who is 20 and very rarely gives me compliments on my baking, said “That could be a $17 dessert in a restaurant, served warm, with a really good ice cream”. Make me laugh, he is not wrong. I have a cake recipe from my mom, almost like this, but without the O.J. and you mix in the apples. Your recipe is delicious and very moist, I think I like it better! Great recipe, thank you.
I can’t find a tube pan large enough (in the time I have) so my question is this: of the two pans I already have, a 9 X 2.7 inch springform OR a 10 X 3 inch regular cake pan, which is better for this cake? Thanks so much. Can’t wait to get the new cookbook!
I think the 10×3 would work (presuming you meant 10-inch round). Two loaves should work too. And I have a friend who makes it in one layer in a 9×13.
I just made this and used a 10×3 springform pan. I ended up cooking it for around 2 hours and it turned out great! After 1.25 hours, I just kept checking every 15 min or so until I felt that the batter was no longer sticking to the metal skewer that I use as a tester. I think baking times may vary depending on the size of the 6 apples used, which might influence the amount of time until done. Also, I used a scant 1/4 c milk and around 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice instead of the OJ. All was well!
Can anyone tell me if you can taste the orange juice in the finished product? Just curious! (Wondering if I can sneak it past my orange-hating child.)
Thanks!!
No, you cannot taste it. But you can also use apple juice or apple cider.
Miss your YouTube videos!! Love your total style on cooking!
Can’t wait to try this cake!!
Hi Smitten Kitchen!
If you want to skip the baking powder you can beat the egg whites separately with 2/3 of the sugar and you’ll have a fluffy cake without it.
I just mentioned this because there are people (like me) who can actually taste and hate the baking powder :).
What baking powder do you use? Most double acting baking powders have aluminum in them (yuck) but not brands like Argo or Bob’s Red Mill. Maybe give ’em a try for your next bake!
Finally going to make this cake. We r not huge OJ drinkers but i have some apple cider on hand. Do you think some homemade lemon aid would be better than apple cider bc it needs the citrus / brightness?
I’m looking forward to making this cake fir Thanksgiving
We’ve got apple trees so I’m always looking for great-tasting but simple recipes to use them up. This is a beautiful recipe.
I made half in a muffin tin and half in a loaf pan. Had way too many apples chopped but they are a delicious snack! Thank you for sharing.
Deb-I am a huge fan!
As I wait for the cake to bake, I want to ask a few questions while they are fresh in my mind:
I did not seem to have a lot of batter-certainly not enough to completely spread over the top.
Any suggestions?
Also I used gluten free flour. Will that change the consistency of the cake?
Love your food.
So many thanks-
I haven’t tested this cake with gluten-free flour. I am sure it will change the consistency. But others have made the swap and been happy with it. Re, batter: I describe the cake as an avalanche of apples and a tiny bit of batter so your impression is correct. It all works out.
Excellent – completely worth making! Did not have orange juice, but I did have extra lemons, so I used that as a substitute. Otherwise, baked as advised. Great the day of, and even better day two after warming in the microwave with a cup of coffee!
Made two half-loaves already just this weekend! First bite (day of baking it) I was disappointed in the flavor. I figured since the batter is basically just sugar and oil it made sense that it tasted flat, but the next morning though…OH MY GOODNESS so tasty!
No tube pan, so I heeded the comments and halved for a loaf pan. I don’t have orange juice so subbed bourbon in my first, which was good. This second loaf is for a special treat for some young ones so used apple cider instead.
What a delicious cake! I made a few adjustments, subbing whole wheat flour for regular and replacing the cup of oil with 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup applesauce (that I had and needed to use up), and a splash of oil. The cake is wonderful and perfectly moist even with those changes. Thanks Deb!! Will definitely make this every Rosh Hashanah–and also when I have pecks of picked apples to use up, like yesterday :)
This cake is sooooooo good! I made it the day before I was planning to serve it.
All eight of us loved it. I made it exactly as the recipe stated. It’s nice to know you can make one of Deb’s recipes for the first time and that’ll be tasty. It tastes just as good on day 3.
Made this today and it is ahhh-mazing! I don’t have a bundt pan so I used a 9×9 baking dish, because my dish was smaller I decided to use only 4 apples and I cut the sugar by 1/2 a cup. My family and I have been eating it throughout the day and it does get better as it sits, hopefully there is some for tomorrow because i’d love to try it after it is a day old. Thank you for sharing this, I know this will be a new staple in the house, what a great way to use apples!
Suggestions for measurements if I want to double the recipe?
Made this yesterday in a bundt pan and it came out great. I did give it an extra couple of sprays with PAM. Everyone loved it day one and it is even more moist day 2,
I baked this cake using a bundt pan. The inside edge never fully cooked. The outside edges were cooking faster so I covered it with foil as suggested. I baked the cake for more than 1.5 hours, and finally just gave up. What may have gone wrong? Bundt pan too tall?
Hi Deb! I’m a huge fan of SK and have not once been let down by any of your amazing recipes. I’ve been excited to try this one since seeing your recent Instagram post of it. I’ve got everything together to bake it, but it’s my first time using a tube pan (I ordered the one you linked to on Amazon) and I realized I’m confused about how exactly to “unmold” it, especially since the apples are on top. Do you invert and then flip it back right side up?
Yes. Tube pans are served the way they are baked; the bottom is the bottom. Bundt pans are the opposite; the bottom is the top.
Made 1/2 recipe and baked it in a 5-cup bundt pan. I put in about 1/3 of the batter, then 1/2 of the apples, the rest of the batter, then the rest of the apples. Baked up perfectly. If I had been more patient and waited until it was completely cool it probably would have released perfectly. Our taste buds didn’t notice. Delish.
Hear me out: drizzle the whiskey glaze from the apple dumpling recipe.
Hi Deb! Thank you so much for posting this beloved family recipe. I am writing because I had some issues making the cake, and I’m hoping to remake it for an event next week. First, I bought the pan you recommend, so I wouldn’t run into any size issues. At the 1.5 hour mark, the center was still gooey and batter clung to the toothbpick so I cooked it for almost two hours. I did place foil on it to prevent it from burning. When I took it out, the middle was still a tad wet but I was afraid of overbaking it and thought the cinnamon/apple juices might be normal and making the center a little wetter. I then let it rest for about an hour before getting it out of the pan. It was still a little warm. I had a really hard time getting it out, and it ended up breaking in half between the layers of the apples. I probably should have waited for it to be even cooler. But I still wanted to ask: Do you have any tips for removing it from the pan? Should I have waited to take it out until the center was completely dry, as in not having any cinnamon/apple juices or small bits of batter on the toothpick near the very center of the tube? I did see your note about testing the batter at the shallow level and topping with foil, and for the most part it was fine except at the very, very center, but I was getting a little nervous about overbaking the other parts of the cake. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
If you’re using a tube pan, sometimes — mostly recently as mine is getting older and more scratched up — I add a doughnut-shaped parchment round to the bottom of the pan for easier removal. Then I use a knife down the sides and center before flipping it out. I hope that helps!
I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and it tasted fine. I either baked it too long in the bundt pan OR the reduction in sugar made the cake a little drier. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed by pouring some cream over!
My mom used to make a version of this when we were kids and I am glad I found the recipe once again.
I tried it with whole wheat flour too and it turns out delish every time!
All family – we are all loving it! Thanks for sharing!
I am about to make this cake a second time in two weeks. It is delicious and everyone loved it. Thank you!
Just made this for my Scrabble group tonight…meant to put in nuts, forgot them. It smells heavenly – can’t wait!
I baked my apple cake for over 2 hours at 350F and the top is still a little undercooked. Is it supposed to be baked at mid rack? I put mine 1 level below mid rack.
I made this tonite after saving the recipe for 3 years. Waiting for it to completely cool now. I enjoy following you on your journeys. Thank you for letting us tag along. Wish I could post a pic of it.
Patty Poston
Thanks Debbie – made my second of your Mum’s Apple cake, in a short space of time .. so delicious ❣️
.., today taking a big’un (that is a larger version of the Apple Cake!!) to a family gathering but kind of hoping there will be some left over to bring home , even though that doesn’t seem very hospitable of me. I also used many implements and bowls but well worth it
Thanks for reminding me of past delicious family cakes
All the best
Hedy
We make the same cake but mix the apples in to the batter completely before scraping it all into the tube pan. That way there’s no uncooked batter at the top. I also do a topping: 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs brown sugar, 2 tbs white sugar, 2 tbs heavy cream or sour cream, and a bloop of vanilla. Heat all those together until it barely comes to a boil while stirring it constantly, and then pour it over the cake after it comes out of the pan.
I grew up Jewish but somehow never had or made apple cake. Always sounded ok, but no recipe jumped out at me. I found yours and had to try it. OMG it was SOOOO good! It was so moist and the perfect amount of sweetness. I made it the day of the party and it was VERY easy and though there was little left, you were not lying about it being great the next day! THANK YOU and your recipe clipping mom!
(FYI I didn’t substitute anything but did leave out the nuts, trying to please the most people, though I thought pecans would be yummy in the future, and also maybe a pinch of brown sugar in the apples)
I have made this several times and it is the best apple cake I have ever had. I used more than six apples because they were not very big. EXCELLENT!
Why did my apple cake refuse to release from the non-stick pan, which was well greased? Could I use a pan with a removable bottom and try again?
Sorry to hear that, always my dread ( sticking to the tin)
I made mine in a Bundt tin( twice ) buttered and with mix of oil and butter in the recipe, I left it in the pan to cool as per instructions. That last step I think was the key to easy release.
Any help?
All the best.
H.S
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Dear Deb, I have been making Moms Apple Cake successfully for several years – however we got new fan assisted ovens – now when I bake the cake – the batter rises very quickly over the apples on the top of the cake and as a result all the apples sink to the bottom – can you help me? I do adjust the temperature of the ovens accordingly.
Lindsay – Scotland
I have made this cake for years – recently we got new fan assisted ovens and when I bake the cake it rises very quickly and covers the apples on the top. They sink to the bottom so it is a lot of apples at the bottom and cake at the top. I adjust the oven temps accordingly. Any ideas what is going wrong.
Thanks Debs
You can turn the fan off? If so, that will probably adjust it. If not, try 25 degrees less.
Thank you Deb – I will give them both a go .
Lindsay X
This was delicious. I used half rhubarb half apples for the fruit and cut the sugar by half and it was definitely sweet enough!! Excellent cake :)
This was sublime! I wanted to make this in a 9-inch, deep sided springform, so I cut it down to 3/4 of the recipe, but did not reduce the apples. I added ground ginger, allspice, and cardamom to the apples; used 25% whole wheat flour, and reduced the sugar to 1/2c raw sugar and 1/2c maple syrup. It baked for 1h30 and turned out wonderfully — no issues from the reduced sugar, added liquid, or whole wheat flour. Best apple dessert I have ever made.
Hi,
Can I use GF flour? I normally don’t but my sister needs GF . Thanks
Great, wonderful, one thing to please edit in the recipe: I let my cake “cool completely,” which to me meant waiting a few hours for the pan to come to room temperature. It stuck, came out mostly, but stuck. So I went to read about how long to let a tube/bundt cake cool and the internet says something like 10-20 minutes. Please specifythe cooling time for this otherwise perfect recipe!
I make this in a tube pan and let it cool completely in the pan, as written. It will be harder to release from a bundt, for sure.
I’ve made this cake a LOT. My only quibble: I wish you’d give a better indication of how much chopped apple to use. Apples vary greatly in size. Six of one could be 2 or 3 of another. Any chance we could get a cup measurement? I just tried it with 3 cups and that was no bueno. I think I’ve done up to 5, maybe 6 cups as well.
I have an apple tree that is going for world domination and lucky for me I can get rid of 6 apples in one shot with this recipe. Made this cake to spec and it came out amazing. I used the optional walnuts and really liked the addition. It might be fun to try apple jack or whiskey or cognac in place of the vanilla. Definitely a make-again recipe
Deb, have you tried making this with the newer gluten free flours that are available?
How many cups of apples is 6 apples?
I loved this cake but could have added an extra 2 or 3 apples…my apples were small.
Dear Deb
Every time I see an email with questions and comments about your (Mom’s) Apple Cake I want a slice or 2 ❣️It is the BEST❣️
I have made it a few times, always delicious, keeps well, freezes even, doesn’t matter how many apples you use, dip the skewer till comes out clean, will come out of tin whatever shape, well if not just dig in add cream and call it pudding, eat at anytime of day ( or night )
Perhaps this will help with answers!?
Thanks for your brilliance and patience
Hedy S
I’ve made this cake several times. Always a winner. This year, I made it at the beginning of the week, froze it, and then thawed on Rosh Hashanah.
It was off. The structure was not the same. It tasted fine, but the consistency of the cake was not there. It was like a jumble of apples.
I’ll make it again, but I’ll take Deb’s advice to put it in the fridge, not freezer.
After several years of craving this I finally made it for Rosh Hashanah! I used a 9×13″ roasting pan, with parchment paper on the bottom to prevent burning, since it was all I had that would work. More surface area on top meant more roasted apples and walnuts, yum! One hour and ten minutes and it was perfectly done. With lots of leftovers I found the rectangular shape easier to divide into serving pieces, wrap, and freeze.
The cake was delicious but there was a little leakage from my tube pan. Does that happen to anyone else? Or is it just my pan and i should get a new one.
I generally use a one-piece tube pan for this.
I’ve been making this every fall for years and it really is the best!! I did things a little differently this year so I came to share – I used two 9” round cake pans (so I could keep one and give one away). It worked but it was hard to spread the batter around the pan enough and I don’t think it was evenly distributed between the two. That said they look gorgeous and taste delicious. I baked for 55 mins because it was hard to tell if it was done ( the cake ends up being very thin layer this way). I think it was probably good by 50 mins. Next time I think I’ll try it with loaf pans instead.
Also I used apple cider instead of orange juice. And I weighed my apples, they are small so I needed 9 to get 3 lbs.
If you haven’t made this yet, try it! It cannot fail.
We loved this so much we made it twice in one week (a birthday cake for someone who doesn’t like frosting and then just a Saturday evening with family over dessert). It was so easy that my 10-yo stepdaughter and non-English speaking MIL were able to put it together the first time with a little translation from me, and it came together in less than 15-min the next time. We definitely added the walnuts and loved it – incorporated into the apple layers as we built the cake. Highly recommend if you like that fall apple-nut flavor combo. It’s great day-of with vanilla ice cream (even when we didn’t let it cool 100%), but even better the next day with coffee…
For those going the loaf pan route, I used 2 9×5 loaf pans and while the levels seemed kinda dinky going in the oven, this baked up to a good size with no worry of spilling over while baking. My loaf pans are ever so gently angled at the sides. I was worried there would spillage if used the smaller size.
Even with the loaf pan, it still took 1 hour 15 minutes for me. I checked at 45 min and it was nowhere near done.
We used gala apples and from what I snuck off the top, they softened nicely. We plan to eat this on day 2 but we’ll see how long we make it!
We made 24 hrs. It’s phenomenal. My son made this for extra credit in German class which will be day 2. Lucky class gets the rest!
Hello Deb and fellow Apple Cake makers ~ I have made this Apple Cake with great success in many different / same shapes and forms .. always delicious and delightful .. rectangle, square, Bundt, and big and small! Large and small amounts of apple, lemon, every combo works just fine..
Mostly I have written to say thanks and how much I enjoy the myriad of comments – and suggestions .. there is a book in it
Cheers
Hedy
Hi Debbie, do you have a favorite gluten free flour for this cake. Would almond or bob’s red mill paleo flour work in this recipe?
The only one I’ve used a few times is Cup4Cup but I know readers use a wide range of brands.
Just to say that I’ve made this cake a half dozen times and it’s marvelous every time. Once when I was low on cinnamon, I had to sub garam masala for some of the cinnamon and it was so good that I now do it that way every time. Thank you, Deb & Deb’s mom!!!
This cake is delicious as is (I have made it more than once); however, the last time I made it I got fancy and reduced the spiced juice left in the bowl from the apples, added a bit of butter to it to make it more of a caramel syrup, and drizzled that over the finished cake. Then I also made a simple glaze (a la apple fritters) and drizzled that over as well, and oh my. I recommend. Not that it needs it! But it sure was a tasty tweak.
I’ve been making your Mom’s Apple Cake every fall since you first posted it 15 (really? wow) years ago. This and your Apple Sharlotka always get several workouts from me every winter. In fact, they leave very little room for other apple desserts to elbow their way in.
I have either a 10” tube pan that’s in 2 pieces or a Bundt pan. Which is the better choice?
Either will work!
Hi Deb: I made your mom’s apple cake, and I have to say it came out perfectly. I didn’t have butter so used good olive oil which made it more dense but delicious. Thanks for a great recipe that comes out just as written.
I’ve made this before a few years ago but didn’t keep notes. I only have a two-piece tube cake pan so I’m sure that’s what I used previously. I put a parchment round in bottom and put a bit of foil around bottom in case of leakage, but I didn’t have any. Used melted butter vs oil. I have a box full of Gravenstein apples from a friend’s moms’ backyard, so this is Mom’s cake with mom’s apples :)
Cake turned out wonderful. I did bake it 1 hour 40 minutes before I got a completely clean skewer.
Made and loved this few years back and have been meaning to again- today is the day! Baked ahead for a German friend’s annual Coffee and Kuchen party in her cozy city garden- we all bring a cake. My smallish Bundt and a regular sized loaf pan were both done in 60 mins. Will be hard to resist, I may slice the loaf and nibble a bit as my apartment smells too divine now.
In terms of the cup measure for the apples, just eyeball it. There really is enough batter and moisture to accommodate. Look at the photo of Deb’s apples and approximate it best you can. I had mix of tiny, homegrown heirloom apples and chain store giants. I used around 6-7 smalls and 2 bigs. You do want lots of apple chunks. Also, I just throw my apples right in to the batter and mix. Happy Fall y’all!
First off I just want to say I love your recipes and haven’t made a bad one yet! Secondly, I love the commentary, snippets and stories you layer with your recipes, it makes me feel like I’m sitting at my besties table swapping recipes with her, you make your family, especially the well, not so little anymore ones (my grandson just turned 14 in September too) such a part of your recipes I can all but see them and you in your tiny NY kitchen. How you make such delectable dishes materialize out of such a small space is definitely magic and when I start to fuss how our kitchen isn’t big enough that little voice inside my head says “it’s bigger than Deb’s so if she can make it in her tiny one you can make it in your spacious one!” Thank you for making all of us feel like we have the BEST bestie in you
Ps: made the apple cake this afternoon and it smells divine, my grandson just told me “it looks DEElicious” can’t wait to try it
Can I use a 2 piece tube pan?
I want to make this to serve two days later. Should I keep it in the tube pan until ready to serve or remove it after baking and wrap in foil?
I used loaf pans and kept it in the pan until fully cooled. Then I put in a platter and covered with saran wrap. It was great on day 2
I cant wait to smell this baking in my house. Thank you and your mom for the inspiration!
Would a Bundt pan work for this recipe? I do not own a tube pan.
I seem to remember a version of this, from Deb, where the apples go in first. But I cannot for the life of me remember if there were any other changes.
Does gluten-free flour affect how this turns out? Do I need some kind of binder (I’m not much of a baker and want to make it for a gluten-free friend)? Thanks!
The recipe doesn’t say when to add rhe walnuts. Obviously it’s not hard to figure out, but it was easy to miss because it’s not part of the directions. Kinda hard to add after everything is in the pan.
Made this today followed recipe exactly. Did use bundt pan and as one commenter suggested used Pam to coat and put apples in first than layered the batter , apples, batter. Came out 98% perfect with the exception of one small piece that stuck to the pan. No problem scooped out and put back on top of cake. Outstanding makes a huge cake and since I’ll be serving to my canasta group next week cut it in half and froze. Of course left 1/4 of cake out for my husband and I tomorrow. Can’t wait to hear what my fellow card players think
I made this cake today, and it was a fun bake! I’m not a serious baker, I do it for fun and I love your recipes…I even have your latest cookbook. The whole process took about an hour which includes peeling, chopping apples; getting everything “mise en place;” following your easy steps by step; and putting it into the oven. The bake time was spot on, I checked it at 75 minutes and it only took another 10 minutes to finish. Can’t wait to dig into it! And, to boot my cake looks just like your photo!
My tube pan is a two piece one, with a decent sized lip for the bottom insert. Should I wrap in foil/put it on a cookie sheet? Or is the batter not really runny enough to leak out as it bakes?
I decided to try it and am very glad I did wrap foil around the bottom! It leaked out, covered the bottom and went up into the tube! If I decide to try again sometime, I will definitely use my bundt pan instead. I think I probably had too many apples, given how long it took to cook, though I don’t think it was really done despite testing done. It would be really useful to have apple weight to go with the others.
I haven’t tasted the cake yet, but my, oh, my, did it ever take a long time to bake. It was unreal, and I cannot imagine why. I did set the tube pan on a cusionaire sheet pan, but I wouldn’t have thought would make a huge difference. I have ever confidence that it will taste great, but the fact that it took closer to 2.5 hours to bake really threw me for a loop.
Possible to get the apples in weight? They vary in size so much! I tried looking through the comments and couldn’t find anything.
I baked it but the delicious bottom apples stuck to the bottom of the bundt pan. Not sure what I can do differently so that it won’t stick to the pan and it will flip over beautifully. I applied a lot of solidified coconut oil on the pan.
I have made this in years past with much success, but can’t recall if I measured the flour by weight or volume. I read the comment noting the error …2 3/4 cup flour does not weigh 360 grams. So…which do you use?
This was the first time I’d made the cake, so I didn’t question the grams vs cups. I am a novice when it comes to gram weights, so with my new scale in tow, I measured 360 grams. At the time, I thought it seemed like a little more than 2 ¾ cups, but I dismissed my gut feeling. The cake weighs about 5 pounds, honestly, and I used 4 nice sized honey crisp apples. It looks just like Deb’s photo, but it’s NOT pudding like inside. It’s moist, but extremely dense. The taste is fabulous although next time I’m going to cut the cinnamon down from 1 Tbsp to 2 teaspoons. It’s heavy on the cinnamon for us.
Wonderful cake! Made it gluten free using TJ GF flour blend. Cut sugar in half for both apples and cake and was just right by me. Added the walnuts to the cake batter. Used a tube pan with removable bottom and worked fine.
My teenagers made this with very little supervision from mom using some local Central NY apples. Served with a crème anglaise drizzled over the top … so good, love the recipe!
Loved the recipe. I included walnuts but agree they didn’t add much. I added a few handfuls of fresh cranberries and thot they gave it a nice balance of tart next to the sweet apples. Would make again
I made this cake with 50/50 butter and oil and it was not pourable. Haven’t eaten it yet but the batter was more like cookie dough than cake. I love your site and recipes!
Smitten Kitchen…
I was so looking forward to making this and bringing to a friend’s for dinner, as I’d had it recently and loved it!!
DISASTER!!!!! I followed recipe to every detail; let it cool completely before trying to remove from the tube pan…it stuck everywhere and came oout in pieces!! I was devastated. It was a fair amount of work to prepare and then to have it fall apart was so disappointing, to say the least..
What kind of “grease” did you use in your pan? I used vegetable oil….should it have been something else?
I always use Baker’s Joy spray or the Aldi equivalent. Or I use butter with a flour coating.
Thank you!
Love apples and walnuts together – so do you add walnuts to the batter at end? Also how many cups of apples approximately
When do you add walnuts – with batter or apples
This looked amazing, but I wondered if the recipe would need to be adjusted since I live at almost 6000 feet. The only change I made was to reduce the sugar to 1 and 3/4 C and it turned out wonderfully! Thanks for the very adaptable and delicious recipe.
Hi Deb, I’m hoping to make this in 9×5 loaf pan to give as gifts – wondering if the batter would fit in two pans, or more like 2.5? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance!
2 loaf pans this size worked for me
Apples are not created equal. I just went out to pick some apples for this cake and they range in size from 4 ounces to 10. Can you tell me roughly how much chopped apple (by weight or volume) I need to end up with?
This was so delicious and beautiful! I used 330g flour, 1.25 c sugar, and used 1/4 c applesauce instead of orange juice. It came out wonderfully. Thank you!
I just made this today – with the walnuts. OMG!! What a delicious cake – moist, flavorful! This is a keeper!
How would it work with gluten free flour? I used to make this all the time but now I’m gf and want to adapt…
I have made this with GF flour mix and works great! Subbed same amount of flour in recipe with Trader Joe’s GF flour blend. Would work with any GF flour blend though.
I’ve made this several times and it always turns out incredible. I usually have to bake it around 1hour and 40 minutes, and then I take it out even if the top looks a little uncooked still. It keeps baking even as its out of the oven and ends up just right.
Phenomenal, phenomenon, phenomenal. Made for Thanksgiving but when I got to dessert, I thought I was too full for more than a bite. I was wrong. Used a mix of Gala and Granny Smith apples, which was a nice contrast. The crust was this incredible brown caramelized chewy thing, and the cake and apples were moist, and everything just melded so beautifully. I think I’ll be making this for many celebrations going forward.
I made this cake a couple of weeks ago – wish I had read all of the comments and questions before I did. I tested it at 90 minutes and then left it in for another 10; the tester came out clean. However, after letting it cool, I unmolded it and it was definitely not done, but it was very loose and I couldn’t put it back in the pan to bake more. I decided to wrap it up and freeze it, then thaw it, break it up into a rectangular baking dish and bake it until it’s done, maybe adding some walnut streusel on top. Will this work? Or should I put it back in the tube pan when it’s frozen so it stays together and then thaw it in the refrigerator and bake it until it’s done? I want to take it to a party in 3 days, so it definitely has time to thaw slowly.
What a disaster!
Mine was a total disappoiintment, too. the tester came out clean and then it wouldn’t come out of the pan! Fell apart in 2 or 3 places and looked awful. I was SO disappointed as I was taking it to a dinner gathering.
What a waste of time, energy , and ingredients!
My work around for the cake that didn’t bake all the way through worked SOOO well. I thawed the frozen cake, broke it up into a rectangular baking dish, poured a little heavy cream on some drier areas and baked it for about 45 minutes. I made a streusel topping of walnuts, brown sugar, organic cane sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a little butter that I pulsed in my food processor, and then baked that for about 15-20 minutes. Rave reviews at my friend’s open house today.
Second cake I’m making in 2 weeks. Such a hit. This time I added an extra apple. I used Arkansas black apples. So good.
I made this last night. It looks stunning. Took a little longer in the oven – thank yo for the guidance on how to test for readiness. Can’t wait to try it at a party tomorrow.