Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe

Last updated on January 22nd, 2024

Being that it’s apple season, there’s no better time of year to make this old fashioned fresh apple cake recipe!

Clearly, if you’re going to take the time out to travel to an apple orchard, walk through the orchard, pick apples, and then bring them home, you better do something good with your abundance of apples!

And this particular apple recipe “takes the cake” in a good way!

Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe

Speaking of apple picking, if you live in the Frederick, Md area, here’s a great list of 9 Best Apple Picking Farms!

I was lucky enough to stumble upon this “I’m-DEFINITELY-making-this-again” apple desserts on a site, I Am Baker.

Needless to say, you can’t get any better recipe than one of those favorite vintage recipes that’s been passed down from generation to generation with your grandmother’s seal of approval. 

And that’s exactly where Amanda Rettke got this old fashioned fresh apple cake recipe!

What I really love about it is how easy it is to make, using very basic ingredients.

However, don’t let the simplicity fool you!

The combination of these ingredients baked into a Bundt pan results in a heavenly, “Don’t-even-talk-to-me-while-I’m-eating-this!” experience!

Simple Ingredients

Like I said, the ingredients are very basic:

• Granulated Sugar
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla Extract
• Eggs
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Ground Cinnamon
• Salt
• Fresh Apples (Granny Smith or other type of tart apple are the best kind of apples for this cake)
• Butter
• Heavy Cream
• Brown Sugar

How To Make This Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe

Step 1: In a Mixer Bowl (Large Bowl) Beat Sugar, 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil, Vanilla & Eggs

I’m telling you right now, if you don’t already have one, get yourself an electric mixer!

Indeed, it is an absolute game changer if you bake a lot.

Especially with this apple cake recipe, the muscles in your arms will thank you!

This first step is child’s play and something you could technically mix by hand. 

But…

Step 2: Mix in Remaining Dry Ingredients: Flour, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, & Salt

Once you add this flour mixture, it requires some major arm strength to blend it all together.

Therefore, I HIGHLY recommend using an electric mixer whether it’s a hand mixer or a stand mixer!

Once the ingredients are combined, the batter is very thick and dense.

Step 3: Core, Skin, Slice, & Cut Apples & Fold Into Batter By Hand

Here’s another handy dandy kitchen tool that you REALLY need in your life: an Apple Peeler Corer (works for potatoes too).

Sure, you can skin the apples with a knife and cut out the core, but this peeler corer device is so much easier, quicker and a lot of fun to use!

I bought it last year after a trip to the apple orchard when we made a bunch of homemade apple butter.

Needless to say, it was a life saver!

Once you crank the apple through this tool, your apples will be one big spiral.

Then you’ll just cut the spirals into bite size pieces.

Use a large, heavy duty stainless steel spoon to fold the chopped apples in the thick batter by hand.

This is when you don’t want to use the electric mixer because you want the apple pieces to stay intact.

So, use your strongest arm for this one!

Step 4: Pour Cake Batter into Bundt Cake Pan & Bake at 325 Degrees F for 70 Minutes

First, make sure that your Bundt pan is sprayed well with Pam Cooking Spray so that the cake won’t stick to the pan and will come out easily onto your cake plate.

Oh, and by the way, this recipe would have been posted a week sooner because I thought I already had a Bundt pan, but I didn’t.

So, I bought a really nice Bundt pan just for you guys!

I know I’ll be using this pan a lot because my family has a newfound love affair with Bundt cakes after making this recipe.

Before taking the cake out of the oven, make sure that when you stick a toothpick into the center of the cake, it comes out clean.

If it looks like there’s still moist batter on the toothpick, stick it back in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 5: Make Caramel Glaze

Making this caramel sauce (or glaze) is so much easier than I could have imagined.

You just combine melted butter, heavy cream, & brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir frequently.

Then, bring the brown sugar glaze to a boil, constantly stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

After that, remove it from the heat and add in the vanilla.

One thing I noticed though, is you need to be very careful when you do this because vanilla has alcohol in it.

So when I added it to the hot caramel glaze it started bubbling and popping like a science experiment.

My advice would be to wait a couple minutes once you remove the glaze from the heat before you add in the vanilla.

Once the vanilla is stirred in, let the glaze sit for about 10 minutes or longer until it reaches room temperature before you drizzle it over your warm cake.

If you don’t wait and you drizzle it while it’s piping hot, it will soak into the cake instead of resting on top of it.

In the end, it will still be absolutely delicious, but part of the beauty of this cake is seeing the delectable caramel glaze on top.

How Do You Make Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake From Scratch

A lot of people ask how do you make apple cake from scratch, and this is exactly how you do it!

See? So much easier than you even imagined, right?

As you can see from the photos, this easy apple cake recipe is perfection!

Not only does it look amazing, but also it tastes absolutely divine!

Full disclosure: I don’t eat sugar and I eat as little carbs as possible.

Therefore, I can’t eat this cake.

BUT I had to try just one bite!

I probably shouldn’t have because I felt like my body was transported to another dimension, it was that good!

It’s got a little bit of a crisp on the outside and it’s a very moist cake and full of flavor on the inside.

Perfect for eating with your morning or evening cup of coffee.

My husband, son, and nephew were able to reap the rewards of me making this cake recipe.

They all absolutely love it and want me to make it again and again!

Pro Tips

If you’re a nut person, adding crunchy pecans or walnuts to this recipe would really be a nice addition!

Suggested Toppings:

• Whipped Cream
• Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream

After 2 pieces each, my husband and son said that it’s very filling.

Obviously, it is a heavier type of cake than a pound cake or an angel cake.

So start out with small pieces because you can always go back for seconds!

Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe

For more delicious, easy-to-make cake recipes, click on over to:

The Best Carrot Cake Recipe You’ll Ever Make!

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The Ultimate Pumpkin Dessert! Pumpkin Crunch Cake