Chew Out Loud

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Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake Recipe

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Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake Recipe comes together in a pinch. All natural, nothing artificial, and tastes incredible. Luscious Cream Cheese Frosting is optional (it’s vegan without.)  This cake is a keeper you’ll want all year round.

apple cake recipe

I mentioned we finally made it to our local family-owned apple orchard, right? I love, love that place. It’s owned by the sweetest peeps who make their own apple cider, jams, bakery goodies, and even crisp hard cider. It’s all part of the fall experience here in Minnesota.

A visit to the apple orchard always gives us inevitable apple-greed. I believe we came home with nearly 20 pounds of apples. That’s not counting the 5 lbs we polished off on the way home. I wish I were exaggerating.

I’m not really complaining though. Because check out the Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake I’m about to reveal.

There are a few apple cakes we adore: this One-Bowl Apple Streusel Coffee Cake and this  Apple Caramel Cinnamon Cake are two of my go-to favorites. But I cannot get myself to stop with the apple cakes; it’s an autumn obsession.

So here we are. Introducing the easiest, fool-proof-est Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake you’ll ever make/eat/repeat.

Watch us make Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake Recipe:


If you just watched that short video, then…right?!

 

apple cake recipe

This is the easiest, least messy version of apple cake you’ll ever make. It’s truthfully so moist, tender, and tasty that it doesn’t have to have the luscious cream cheese drizzle. This cake is good enough to stand on its down. That being said…who doesn’t want luscious cream cheese drizzle??

I routinely keep a Ziploc baggie of this easy, fool-proof cream cheese frosting in the fridge because this frosting is a social butterfly and makes friends with all the treats. It takes this already irresistible apple cake and takes it over the top.

I’ll concede that sounds a little bit braggy. I’m trying to stay humble about this cake, but I’m maybe not quite succeeding. 😇

You just have to bake it up and see for yourself. Dessert or breakfast. You choose.

apple cake recipe

If you make this recipe or any others from our collection, don’t forget to show it off on Instagram. Hashtag it #chewoutloud so we can see your awesomeness! 

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Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Chew Out Loud
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 12-16 1x
  • Category: dessert, breakfast
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Description

Easy One-Bowl Apple Cake comes together in a pinch. All natural, nothing artificial, and tastes incredible. Luscious Cream Cheese Frosting is optional (it’s vegan without.) This cake is a keeper you’ll want all year round.

Scale

Ingredients

  • For the Cake:
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 2/3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups flour*
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 4 1/2 cups apples, peeled and chopped (I use Fuji or Honeycrisp)
  • Optional Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temp
  • 16 oz regular cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 lb powder sugar
  • 1–2 TB milk, as needed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Grease a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, vanilla, and eggs. Using a hand whisk, mix until well combined and smooth. Add the sugar and whisk until combined.
  3. Gently add remaining ingredients and stir with wooden spatula (it’s a thick batter) until just combined and no flour streaks remain. Do not over-mix. Use rubber spatula to gently fold in apples. Scrape batter evenly into your prepared baking dish, ensuring batter spreads evenly into the corners. Bake 35-45 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few tender crumbs attached. Let cool to room temp.
  4. Meanwhile, make Cream Cheese Frosting (if using.) In a bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add powder sugar and gently mix in until incorporated. Add a bit of milk as needed to reach desired consistency. Transfer to a Ziploc baggie, press air out, and seal. Snip off a bit of the corner and drizzle onto cooled apple cake.

Notes

*I use white whole wheat flour, which is milder than typical whole wheat. You can use half whole wheat + half white flour, or use entirely all-purpose flour.

Kitchen Stuff we Love:

Apple Addiction:

  1. Dutch Apple Cranberry Pie

dutch apple cranberry pie

2. Saucy Maple Apple Pork Chops

3. Moist Apple Fritter Bread

4. Upside Down Apple French Toast Bake (Make-ahead!)

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Isabel Hardy says

    Regarding the Easy one bowl apple cake. Does the recipe really require 11 teaspoons of baking soda? Sounds like alot.
    Thanks

    Reply

  5. Dee says

    Glad I tasted the batter before baking! NO sugar? I added 1/2 cup – still not as sweet as my folks would like, so made the frosting cuz it needs it! Was no sugar a mistake?

    Reply

    • chewoutloud says

      Yes it was a total mistake, I’m sorry! I had updated the recipe to say 1 2/3 cups sugar. Thanks for checking on that. Hope you can try the recipe again as it is truly yummy. Happy fall!

      Reply

  6. Cia Black says

    YOu are really fattening up my family…lol, your recipes are so simple half the time I have all the ingredients in my pantry or only need an item of two. I like that this is simple and pan, the less mess the better.

    Reply

  9. Depression No More! says

    I’m going apple picking on October 7th. I’ll have to refer back to your recipe then. Do you really keep the icing in the freezer? I’d love to do that and keep it on hand for those times when I bake a cake and am just too lazy to make frosting.

    Reply

    • chewoutloud says

      Yes, I’ve frozen or just refrigerated the icing just fine, as long as it is airtight. I make little ziplocs of them ahead of time, so I can use them when needed 🙂

      Reply

  10. Anna says

    I am not a baker but glad i stumbled on this post! Can’t wait to try it out tonight. Thanks for putting it together 🙂

    Reply

  13. rochkirstin says

    Yum! I’d love to try a slice of the apple caramel cinnamon cake and I’d also be interested to try following the recipe. It’s a great cake to share with family at home.

    Reply

  15. Sin Yee says

    Thanks for sharing. Actually there are a lot of seem-difficult-to-make dishes/desserts can be made by this way too. However, people just never truly discover it.

    Reply

  17. thenafranssen says

    This recipe looks amazing, and simple and oh so fall! Love it, can already smell the apples baking…!

    Reply

  18. shubhadabhide says

    Wow! You are such a pro and that cake looks absolutely yummy. I have oven but don’t bake too often. Lemme try this.

    Reply

  20. Akshay Malhotra says

    Everything looks so delicious through images. I am definitely going to try out this recipe this weekend. I hope I can make it as tempting as it looks in the pictures above 🙂 Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.

    Reply

  21. Anne Dela Cruz says

    Wow!! These one bowl apple cake looks so tasty and delicious. Would love to try these recipe. I really like apples.

    Reply

  23. Stacie says

    Being easy is a big selling point for me, but what I really love is all those apple chunks in there. I can’t wait to make this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. Marysa says

    We picked so many apples at the orchard, and this would be a great recipe to use up some apples! Sounds delicious, and my kids would have fun baking this.

    Reply

  29. Candy Rachelle says

    This apple cake recipe looks really delicious. Perfect dessert for our family gathering this weekend.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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