Sweet, fluffy, DELICIOUS. This Apple Fritter Cake is the best for an easy fall dessert that’s a total crowd-pleaser! A light, perfectly moist cake at the base, a sweet, cinnamon brown sugar apple streusel that makes for the best topping, and a glaze that brings that little bit of apple fritter crunch. Everyone will love this recipe!
Whether you’re looking for a fall-inspired dessert to bring to a gathering or you just want to bake something cozy and delicious, this Apple Fritter Cake is here to impress! With so much flavor and the most perfect textures, this recipe truly takes things to another level. The best part? It’s actually SO easy to make!
Ingredients
The Cake – All-purpose flour, eggs, butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and baking powder make for a light and fluffy cake base!
RELATED: Substituting Almond Flour For All-Purpose Flour
Apple Topping – This apple topping is truly the star of the show here. Made with diced apples, softened butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, it tastes like a cross of an apple fritter and a streusel topping!
The Glaze – To seal the deal and create that apple fritter taste and texture, this glaze is made with powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little bit of milk. Feel free to adjust the amount of milk to create the desired texture!
What Type of Apples to Use in Apple Cakes?
The best types of apples to use in apple cakes (or other any other apple recipe) are gala apples and honeycrisp apples, as they are a bit more firm and can hold up in baking. However, any type of apple can typically work great!
How to Make An Apple Fritter Cake
This cake recipe is incredibly easy! Here’s how to make an Apple Fritter Cake:
- Whisk the cake batter together (both liquid and dry ingredients).
- Pour into a 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Peel and dice the apples.
- Mix the apple fritter topping in a medium bowl.
- Pour the apple mixture over the cake batter, using a knife to swirl it into the batter.
- Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes.
- Let cool and drizzle the top of the cake with the glaze!
TIP #1: Depending on how juicy your apples are, you may need less or more baking time. The best way to check if the cake is done is to insert a toothpick and make sure that it comes out clean (or mostly clean)!
TIP #2: Use spray oil to grease the baking pan or use parchment paper to help the cake come out easier.
Tips for Peeling Apples Quickly
Peeling and chopping apples for baking recipes should not take near as long it often does. Want to know the secret to quickly peeling apples and shaving your prep time in half? Use a y-shaped peeler! Another option is to use an Apple Peeler & Corer, but a simple, regular peeler works great too.
The key is to run the peeler horizontally, not vertically. This article shows photos for how to peel an apple and can help the process go so much faster!
Apple Fritter Cake Using Cake Mix
Another time-saving option is to use cake mix for the cake layer! This is a simple swap and works perfectly with this recipe. To make an Apple Fritter Cake using cake mix, simply mix together the cake mix according to directions (by hand or using an electric mixer). Pour into the baking pan, then create the apple fritter topping according to the instructions below. Bake, let cool, and add the glaze!
How To Store Apple Cake
Apple cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months!
To store, simply let the cake cool completely. Next, place it in an airtight container and slice when ready to serve. If freezing, go ahead and slice it first!
When ready to serve, feel free to reheat for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave!
This Apple Fritter Cake Recipe is SO Easy and Delicious!
This Apple Fritter Cake will make your entire house smell like fall! It’s incredibly easy to make and so, so very delicious. It’s truly one of the best fall desserts!
More Desserts & Drinks You’ll Love
- Apple Cider Bourbon Cocktail
- Maple Blueberry Scones
- Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso
- Maple Whiskey Pudding Cake
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Apple Fritter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter melted
Apple Fritter Topping
- 4 1/2 cups apples, peeled & diced about 4-5
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 5-7 Tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk together all of the ingredients for the batter (except for the melted butter) until well combined.
- Slowly add in the melted butter until fully combined.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased 9×13 pan.
- Peel and dice the apples.
- In a separate bowl, mix the topping ingredients together (except for the apples).
- Fold in the apples until distributed evenly.
- Top the batter with this mixture, using a knife to swirl the topping around and lightly blend parts of it into the cake batter.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes.
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes (or more).
- While the cake is cooling, whisk together the glaze ingredients.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cake, cut into slices, and enjoy!
Notes
- Depending on how juicy your apples are, you may need less or more baking time. The best way to check if the cake is done is to insert a toothpick and make sure that it comes out clean (or mostly clean)!
This is soft and full of apple flavor!
This cake looks delicious
Love apple anything! This cake was fantastic. Kids really enjoyed it.
Oh wow! This looks absolutely amazing. Love the ingredients used. Will be on my table this coming weekend.
Love this delicious cake – it has great flavours!
Such a great fall dessert!
This cake looks delicious and perfect for a fall dessert. Glad you added the cake mix version too.
I made it and I loved how easy the recipe was, and with fall season just starting apples are everywhere. 🙂 Also made my house smell so good.
Perfect for the season, waiting for mine to finish to have with some coffee, thanks!!
Apple fritters are my favourite doughnut…so I had to try this cake. It was so delicious and my house smelled heavenly while it was baking in the oven.
This sounds fantastic!
This Apple fritter cake looks delicious.
These flavors are amazing! I loved this recipe!
My two favorite desserts combined into one! Such a fabulous idea and I know we will all LOVE this so much, thank you!
Apple fritters are one of my absolute favourite donuts! This is an excellent option to enjoy the flavours.
Okay, this cake is perfect for the fall! Bookmarked to make for the weekend, thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
I’ve never had an apple fritter cake but it looks and sounds delicious. I love all kinds of apple cakes, tarts and pies, so am sure I’d love this too. On my to-make list!
That apple fritter streusel topping is ridiculously AMAZING and so good with the fluffy cake!
The whole family loved this. We went apple picking and had SO much left over, so it all went into apple pies and this apple fritter cake. So moist!
This is my kind of cake. Moist, sweet, delicious, I love the apple fritter toping. A great dessert for the holiday season.
This was so delicious! My whole family loved it and I’m so excited to make it again. Thanks for the recipe!
This was surprisingly easy! And it tastes just as amazing as it looks! My family flipped for it. Thanks a bunch!
This apple fritter cake is perfect for the season at the moment and I can’t wait to make this! It looks super delicious thank you for sharing this recipe!
This apple fritter cake is a sweet, cinnamon perfection! The glazed topping was so delicious. Definitely making this again soon!
Such a lovely apple cake. Looks delicious. And sounds super easy. I’m going to bake it this weekend. I have a box of homegrown apples waiting to be used.
This is perfect for autumn, I need to give it a go
I am drooling! This apple fritter cake looks so delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
I love anything apple! It’s my favorite in the fall. I will definitely be trying this!
I love apple fritters so this cake is gonna be amazing!
WOW, this looks so good! I’ve been majorly craving apple fritter donuts, but now I want this! Saving to make later -thanks!
Can’t wait to try this one
Thank you
Now that apples are in season, I’m making this right now. I’ll let you know about the results, but coming from you, I know this will be a hit!
This Apple Fritter Cake was a hit at my office party! All of my co-workers enjoyed it and asked for the recipe. I sent them your blog link. This recipe is perfect for this time of the year!
I’m thinking this will be the perfect sweet treat for our next brunch! Fall flavors are IT right now, so thanks for providing the ideal recipe 🙂
We made this cake last weekend and everyone loved it! It was fluffy and not overly sweet. We’ll definitely make it again and again this fall and winter!
This cake was just amazing! Perfect for fall and easier than expected. I’ll definitely make it again soon.
This apple fritter cake is amazing ! The cake is tender and just melts in your mouth. The apple topping is what makes this special . Thanks for a great recipe.
This was a delicious fritter and had so much flavor from freshly picked apples. I had extra juicy apples so it needed to bake for a little longer but it came out fantastic in the end and there wasn’t much leftover!
I would suggest using fresh apples. I used Honey crisp. Forget apple fritters, I made this cake and after the glaze, cut into pieces and froze them individually… When I wanted a sweet apple treat, allowed to thaw in the fridge… Then warmed in the microwave for a few seconds… Excellent!!
Everyone who initially refused a piece due to prepping to lose holiday pounds before the New Year gave in and finished off the cake. It was a big hit!
*Would add that the apples, if prepped by hand, should be done first due to the time it took.