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Homemade and better than the bakery, this Easy Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake will become a new fall favorite! Made with boiled-down spiced apple cider, maple syrup, apple butter, and a mix of warming, cozy autumn spices. This cake is topped with sweet cinnamon sugar just before baking. Enjoy the warm smells of fall while this cake bakes away.
There are 3 secrets here. The first is to boil down the apple cider to concentrate its flavor. The second is to use spiced apple butter, it provides even more delicious apple flavor. And finally, serve the cake with warm salted honey butter – so delish!
When the apples are pretty, sweet, and delicious, it’s time to bake with them. September is my favorite month for using apples. I know everyone’s started in on the pumpkin craze, but in September, I bake with apples.
In my opinion, we can save the pumpkin for October and November. It makes it even more special!
So far this month, we’ve made shortcut easy apple fritters (my favorite), apple cider doughnut cookies (with melty chocolate), and now this most perfect apple cake.
Shockingly I’ve never made a simple apple cake before. I have apple doughnuts, maple glazed apple pull-apart bread, and even apple mini cakes, but a sweet apple-filled cake is something the site has been missing. So here we go!
Details
Step 1: boil the cider
Start by boiling down the cider. I’ve been doing this for pretty much every sweet apple recipe I’ve shared. Boiling the cider gives you an even more concentrated flavor that really comes through in the end.
Once the cider has boiled and reduced, continue on with the recipe.
Step 2: mix the batter
It’s a simple batter made with vanilla, eggs, apple butter, and, of course, apple cider. I also use the perfect combination of warm autumn spices and very thinly sliced Honeycrisp apples.
For my apples, I love to leave the skin on. The skin provides more flavor and more fiber! If you prefer, you can also remove the skin, but around here, there’s no time for that!
Step 3: the cinnamon sugar
I mix granulated sugar with ground cinnamon and cold shredded salted butter.
Just take a very cold stick of butter and use a box grater to shred it. Just like cheese!
Now bake the batter into a sweet sheet cake. The smells from the oven will be better than your fall candles. It’s just wonderful and so cozy.
Step 4: salted honey butter
I’d say this is optional, but really, it’s not. You just have to smear this all over your warm cake. Mix soft salted butter with sweet honey, it’s the most indulgent addition. It’s absolutely what your cake needs.
Serve with coffee, hot cocoa, or even a steaming mug of cider for a quintessential fall treat!
Looking for apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Haunted Pumpkin Patch Margarita
Cinnamon Crunch Apple Butter Soft Pretzel Knots
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cider Doughnut Holes
Lastly, if you make this Easy Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake
Servings: 15
Calories Per Serving: 374 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/3 cup apple butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2-3 teaspoons apple or pumpkin pie spice
- 2-3 Honeycrisp apples, very thinly sliced
- 6 tablespoons cold salted butter, grated
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. Bring the apple cider to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from the heat. Let cool.3. In a large bowl, stir together the boiled cider, coconut oil, vanilla, egg, maple syrup, and apple butter, until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, apple/pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in the apples. The batter will be thick. 4. Spread the batter evenly among the prepared dish. 5. In a bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, and grated butter until a clumpy sugar forms. Sprinkle the sugar over the surface of the cake. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until just set. 6. Serve the cake warm with honey butter (see notes). Enjoy!Â
Notes
Salted Honey Butter: In a bowl, combine 6 tablespoons butter, 6 tablespoons honey, and a pinch of sea salt.
Pumpkin Spice: mix 1/4 cup cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1 teaspoon allspice.Â
Could I prepare the cake batter the day before, then bake it the next day so I can serve it warm to my guests?
Hi Cathy! That should be fine! I would maybe just add the baking soda into the batter and mix it in right before you baking the cake! xT
This was amazing!!!! Made it just as it was written and it turned out perfectly! My kids have been begging me to make it again!
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great rest of your week! 🙂 xT
So good! Would definitely make again!
Hi Nicole,
I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback! So glad it was enjoyed:) Have a great week! xT
I need to make this ahead of time for a family gathering. Can it be frozen and reheated successfully? Kindly advise. Thanks so much!
Hi Carolyn,
Totally, that will work well for you! Save the salted honey butter for serving:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
This recipe is amazing!! I’ve never bought apple butter but boy was it great in this cake!
Also, can I warm up the cake in the oven the next day? Do you think 300 degrees for 10 minutes would be good?
Hey Christina,
Happy Wednesday!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this dish, thanks a lot for trying it out! Sure, sounds like a great idea! xT
Fantastic recipe! I wanted to follow-up on some substitutions that were suggested in the comments. I used apple sauce instead of apple butter, Cosmic apples instead of honeycrisp and I accidently added an additional 2 tsp of cinnamon to the batter which were intended for the sugar sprinkle. Even with all that it was amazing!
Hey Nicole,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear that it turned out well for you:) Thanks for sharing your notes! xx
This looks amazing. Do you think it will work with gluten-free flour, and if so, which type?
P.S. I discovered your website a few months ago, and I’ve made so many recipes from here already for my family, and most of them get raving reviews from them!!
Thanks so much for your kind message Amy!! I would recommend using an equal amount of GF flour, Bob’s Red Mill should work nicely for you! I hope this helps! xT
Is there anyway I can sub the apple butter for something else? I have homemade apple sauce I made in my slow cooker. Could I use that maybe? Thank u! Looks delish 🙂
Hi Abby,
I think your apple sauce could work nicely for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
What can I use in place of the coconut oil?
Melted butter or vegetable oil! xT
This cake is SO worth the time!! It is DELICIOUS! I didn’t have apple cider but did have apple juice and boiled that down. It turned out great! I printed this recipe off and will definitely be adding it to my favorites!
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT
This is delicious! I’ve made this twice now – both times for family events and I’ve gotten tons of compliments. HBH never leads me astray!
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT
Turned out so good! I decided to grate my apples instead of slice, just out of convenience but we loved it. I plan to try thinly sliced next time:)
Thanks so so much for trying out the recipe, I really hope you loved it! xT