Easy Apple Cake Recipe (With Step-by-Step)

Jump to recipe Easy and adaptable, this apple cake recipe is worth keeping in your back pocket. It's courtesy of reader Margaret Haen of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It all comes together in one bowl, so there's hardly any cleanup involved, and you don't need to get out your mixer to make it. The batter calls for just eggs, butter, and basic baking ingredients, plus a pound and a half of apples. It's the abundance of apples that makes for a wonderfully moist crumb with big apple flavor in every bite. There are walnuts for crunch and warm spices for delicious depth. This cake is sweet enough for dessert but also makes a great breakfast or afternoon snack. Dos and Don'ts for Making This Apple Cake Do peel the apples: This cake uses quite a lot of apples—1 1/2 pounds, or roughly five medium ones—which means the cake is deliciously moist and has plenty of apple flavor in every bite. Be sure to peel the apples first for the best eating experience; the skins can become tough and chewy as they bake. Don't swap in another sugar: It's the molasses in the brown sugar that reacts with the baking soda and leavens this cake. Don't be tempted to use white sugar or you'll end up with a dense, heavy dessert. Do spoon and level your flour: Whenever you're measuring flour for a baking recipe, it's best to spoon it into the measuring cup rather than scoop the cup into the flour container. Scooping can pack too much flour into the cup and throw off the amount that ends up in your recipe. Don't over (or under) bake: This cake is done when the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Overbaking can result in a dry cake, while underbaking can make for a gummy, unpleasantly wet center. Check it around the 40-minute mark and look for these visual cues before pulling it out. The Best Way to Store Fresh Apples Apples—along with certain root vegetables, cabbage, and winter squash—are some of the longest-lasting produce you can buy. Stored properly, they'll keep for up to two months, so you can make this cake and other apple recipes all season long. When you get them home from the market or orchard, store them in your refrigerator's crisper drawer in an open or perforated plastic bag. (This helps prevent moisture loss while letting natural gases escape.) Because those gases can cause other fruits and vegetables to ripen more quickly, it's best to keep apples separate from other fruits and vegetables.