A delicious Italian apple cake, full of apples, wonderfully moist and lightly sweet. One bowl easy, with no mixer required!
Why you’ll love this Italian Apple Cake
If you’re overflowing with beautiful Fall apples and looking for a quick and easy apple cake, look no further than this Italian Apple Cake. This simple apple cake mixes up in one bowl with no mixer required!
Filled with apple and very lightly sweet, this is a cake that is enjoyable any time of day. Enjoy it as is, or for a lovely dessert cake, top this one with a dollop of whipped cream, creme anglaise or custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Eggs – You will need one whole egg and 2 egg yolks. You can reserve the egg whites for another purpose. Note that I used free-range eggs here, which have a very yellow yolk. Your cake may not be as yellow.
- Apples – This cake doesn’t have a lot of added sugar, so you’ll want to be sure to use a sweet apple here. It doesn’t matter the variety. I used Paula Red apples here. A tart apple, such as Granny Smith, isn’t recommended as it is both too hard and too tart.
- Lemon Juice – Drizzling the apple with a bit of lemon juice, after cutting, will help to keep them from browning. If you don’t have lemon juice on hand, you can omit.
- Milk – I suggest using a milk of at least 2% butterfat. I haven’t tested this recipe with non-dairy milks.
- Sugar – This is a very lightly sweet cake as written, so I don’t suggest reducing the sugar any further.
- Flour – The recipe specifies all-purpose flour. I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour.
Recipe Tips
- As this cake is low in sugar, the top of the cake probably won’t brown much or at all, so don’t use that visual for judging when the cake is done. Test with a skewer in the centre of the cake. When it comes out clean, it’s done.
- I have made this cake in both an 8-inch and a 9-inch springform pan. The cake shown here was baked in a 8-inch. The 9-inch springform will produce a thinner cake. A 10-inch would probably produce quite a thin cake, so I don’t recommend that size.
- Be sure to place your springform pan on top of a baking sheet to bake. The batter here is very thin and a bit may escape while baking. This will keep the mess off the bottom of your oven.
- Baking time will vary depending on the size of pan used and also by the colour of the pan. A dark springform pan will cook more quickly than a light coloured pan.
- Be sure not to dust the top with icing sugar until just before serving, as it will disappear if done earlier.
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
This cake keeps well, so don’t hesitate to make it a bit ahead. It will keep for a couple of days on the counter and should freeze well, up to 2 months..
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Get the Recipe: Italian Apple Cake
A delicious and easy Italian apple cake, that is lovely and moist, but lightly sweetened. Mixes up in one bowl with no mixer required!
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (100 g) white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) all-purpose flour, DIVIDED
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk, at least 2% butterfat recommended
- 7 Tablespoons (100 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch salt, omit if you used salted butter
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices **see Note 1
- Juice of 1/2 lemon, optional
- Icing/confectioners' sugar, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (not fan-assisted), with rack in the centre of the oven. Prepare an 8-inch or 9-inch springform pan by spraying with baking spray and lining the bottom with a round of parchment paper. *see Note 2
- In a large bowl, add the whole egg and the 2 egg yolks. Add the white sugar and whisk until light and creamy. Set aside for a moment while you prepare the apples.
- Prepare the apples by peeling, cutting into quarters and removing the core/seeds. Cut each quarter into 3 or 4 slices. Drizzle apples with a bit of lemon juice. Set aside.
- Returning to the batter, Add 3/4 cup of the all purpose flour and whisk to combine. Add the milk and the melted and cooled butter. Whisk to combine. Add the vanilla and the baking powder and add a pinch of salt. Whisk in. Add the remaining 3/4 cup all purpose flour and whisk until smooth.
- Add the prepared apples to the batter and stir to combine well. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Push apples into the batter. Place springform pan on top of a baking sheet (to catch any leaks).
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes for a 9-inch pan or 35-40 minutes for an 8-inch pan. **Note that this cake will not brown on top, so don't use that as a guide to when it is done. Use a skewer to test in the centre of the cake. When the skewer comes out clean, it is done. Timing will vary, so be sure to test and bake until it tests clean, however long that is. Your cake may take extra time.
- Allow cake to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the outside and remove the side ring. Allow to cook on the base 5 minutes longer, then carefully grab the parchment under the cake and slide onto a cooling rack. Gently remove the parchment from underneath the cake and allow to cool completely. Garnish with icing/confectioners' sugar just before serving.
- Enjoy this cake at room temperature on its own. or topped with whipped cream, creme anglaise or custard or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
1. As this cake doesn't have a lot of added sugar, be sure to use a sweet apple in this cake. Something like a Granny Smith might be too hard and tart.
2. I used an 8-inch pan, for a thicker cake. A 9-inch will also work, but will produce a thinner cake. Note that baking time will be shorter for the 9-inch pan.
This cake is lightly sweet, so I don't recommend reducing the added sugar.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 232kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 22mg, Potassium: 215mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 395IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 1mg
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More Apple Cake Recipes to Love!
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!
HI, We really enjoyed this cake, delicious. However, despite following the recipe word for word and using the 8in spring form pan, I had to bake it 7 minutes longer to stop it from sticking to the skewer. Still, it was a bit gooey. I would certainly attempt it again though, a very lovely tea cake.
Nancy
Glad you enjoyed it, Nancy :) It’s important to remember that there are a lot of variables when baking. Ovens vary, the temperature of ingredients and even the colour and weight of your baking pan can affect baking time. Also, when baking cakes with fruit, the type of apple/moisture content of the fruit can also affect the baking time. That’s the reason that the baking times were given in ranges, as they will vary from kitchen to kitchen.
Thank you for this and other apple recipes! ! I wonder if you might list apple ingredients in cups as well as number of apples? Supermarket apples may be fairly standard in size but apples off old trees—especially where chunks need to be cut away for various reasons, which is true for most of mine—can vary greatly in size and yield.
Hi Terry and thanks for the suggestion. I will keep that in mind going forward!
Hi Jan, thank you for the recipe I prepared it and it was delicious. I changed a bit the recipe, I used three whole eggs and whisk until creamy for 10 min and I used Greek yogur instead milk. The cake was excellent 👍
So glad you enjoyed it, Sonia :) Thanks so much!
Beautiful recipe! The cake comes out so light and fluffy! I really enjoyed this because it is not too sweet, but has delightful texture and consistency. We ate it fresh out of the oven with some ice cream for dessert and then I had a slice cold for breakfast the next morning – fantastic both ways! I will definitely be making this again!
Seasons and suppers never disappoints! Every recipe I have tried is perfect!
So glad to hear, Jenna and yes, I love this cake for just those reasons :) Thanks so much!
This is my kind of cake Jennifer! All those sweet apples baked in a simple cake – outstanding :) A must make for my apple loving family!
Thanks Tricia :)
This looks like it would be a perfect afternoon treat with a big scoop of ice-cream…and coffee, of course ;) ! YUM!
It would, Dawn :) Thanks!
Thanks Jennifer, looking forward to giving this a go.
Enjoy, Jan :)
Watching this video I said to myself “Ya sure” I can make this..you make it very easy for non bakers like myself. I will make it for my 86 year old Italian mom and see what she scores me. Oh she loves blueberry muffins so I have to make those also. Thank you.
It is a wonderfully easy cake to make, for sure :) Enjoy, Pat!
Could the batter be divided into a muffin pan?
Oh gosh … I don’t know. You’d have to cut the apples a lot smaller (dice them, probably). Then I’d worry if they would stick to the muffin tin. If you try it, let me know how it works out!
Is there a pan that would work that is not springform?
Hi Val, a 9-inch round cake pan should work. I would line the bottom with parchment. I think an 8-inch round cake pan might not have tall enough sides to contain the cake as it rises.
Such a perfect cake for my afternoon cup of coffee. I like that it is only moderately sweetened and lets the apples flavor come through better.
Hi Jennifer I keep reading all your lovely recipes but no metric conversions – I know you’re probably very busy but it would be very. I hope appreciated.
Hi Jan, popped in the metric for you, with the usual caveat that I haven’t verified that the converted amounts are correct :) Enjoy!