An easy and lovely apple cake with the flavours of Dutch apple pie in cake form. This butter cake bakes up with a crispy crust, lots of tender apple slices and a generous topping of cinnamon and brown sugar.
This delicious Dutch apple cake is the perfect cake to enjoy at any time of day. The buttery cake is topped with sliced apples and a cinnamon and brown sugar topping. Together with the crisp crust, it has all the flavours of Dutch apple pie in cake form!
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Apples – Cooking apples will keep their shape nicely as they cook, but any apple will work here. A sweeter apple will make a sweeter cake. Avoid Granny Smith apples, which are quite tart and don’t soften as well when baked.
Plain Greek yogurt – Thick Greek yogurt is specified for this cake, but you can use sour cream as a substitute.
How to make Dutch apple cake: step-by-step
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Scroll down to the Recipe Card for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Start the cake batter by creaming together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Beat in the eggs, then mix in the yogurt and vanilla.
Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined.
Step 4: Spread the batter into an 8-inch baking pan.
Step 5: Place the apple slices on top of the cake.
Step 6: Sprinkle the cinnamon-and-brown-sugar mixture over the cake before baking.
Recipe tips!
- Room temperature ingredients (butter, eggs and yogurt) do make a difference in the finished bake. Be sure to plan ahead and take them out of the fridge 20-30 minutes beforehand.
- You can use an 8-inch springform pan or an 8-inch round cake pan for this cake. In both cases, lining the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper will make it easy to remove from the pan.
- The colour of your baking pan can affect how quickly your cake bakes! A dark pan will cook more quickly, so if your pan is dark be prepared to check on the cake a bit earlier for doneness.
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Get the Recipe: Dutch Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons (140 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons (140 g) butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons (140 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 Tablespoons (45 g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 medium apples, cooking apples recommended, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced *see Note 1 below
For the topping:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
Instructions
- Take the butter, eggs and yogurt out of the fridge 20-30 minutes ahead to allow them to come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) with the regular bake setting (adjust as needed for convection or fan-assisted baking). Grease an 8-inch round springform pan or cake pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Add the 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons butter (at room temperature) and 1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons white granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a large bowl and an electric beater). Cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, for 2- 3 minutes.
- Add the 2 large eggs (at room temperature), one at a time, beating well between additions. Add the 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (at room temperature), and mix in. With the mixer on low, spoon in the flour mixture and mix together just until combined. The batter will be quite thick.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and level the top.
- Peel 2 medium apples (cooking apples recommended, peeled, quartered, cored and sliced *see Note 1 below), cut into quarters, remove the core, then cut each quarter into slices. Arrange the apple slices on top of the cake, inserting the core edge of the slices slightly into the batter and tilting them slightly to the side (but not flat on the batter). *Refer to the step-by-step photos above this Recipe Card for an image of the apples arranged on my cake.) You may not need to use all the apple slices. Just try to fit as many as you can, while leaving a bit of space between slices, but avoid having any apple slices touching the side of the pan.
- In a small bowl, stir together the 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan and a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing the sides of the pan, if using a springform pan. If using a regular cake pan, allow it to cool for 20 minutes, then invert to remove. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool.
- Enjoy the cake warm or at room temperature. Store at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. This cake will also freeze well for up to 3 months. I enjoy this cake slightly warm and topped with a bit of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
