Apple Pie Cake
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This Apple Pie Cake layers spiced apples over yellow cake batter and finishes with a buttery crumb topping, all in one 9 by 13 pan. The apples sink in slightly as it bakes, so you get soft fruit running right through the cake instead of sitting on top of it.
Incredibly Easy Apple Pie Cake Recipe
Some recipes you fuss over. This isn’t one, and that’s exactly why it’s still here 10 years later.
The whole thing takes about 15 minutes to put together. Cake batter into the pan, spiced apples over it, buttery crumb scattered on top. What happens in there is the good part. The batter rises up around the apples as it bakes, so instead of a neat layer of fruit sitting on a cake, you get soft spiced apple running all the way through it. The crumb goes golden and crunchy on top, and the cake underneath picks up all the juices.
It’s had a lot of ratings and a lot of comments since I first posted it, which means plenty of people have made this and told me exactly how it went. I’ve folded what I learned from all that into this post, including the parts where things go wrong.
And yes, it uses boxed cake mix. That’s the point. Some nights you want to make pastry from scratch, and some nights you want dessert on the table.
Apple Pie Cake Or Apple Crumble?
Reasonable question, since they share a crumb topping and a pan.
- Apple crumble is fruit with a crumb topping. That’s it. The apples are the whole dish and the topping is there for texture.
- This is an actual cake, and the apples end up baked into it rather than sitting above it. So you get soft fruit through tender cake with a crunchy top. It also feeds more people out of the same pan.
If you want the fruit forward version, make the crumble. If you want something closer to a coffee cake with a lot of apple in it, this is the one.
Which Apples To Use
I’ve made this with just about everything over the years and here’s where I’ve landed.
- Firm and tart is best. Granny Smith holds its shape through the bake and its sharpness cuts through all that sugar. Honeycrisp and Braeburn both work well and bring more sweetness with them.
- Softer apples go mushy. McIntosh, which I used in the original version of this post, breaks down almost completely. Some people like that and it does give you a jammier result, but you lose the distinct pieces of fruit. Same story with Golden Delicious.
- What I’d actually do: mostly Granny Smith with 1 or 2 sweeter apples mixed in. Structure from one, flavor from the other.
- Weigh them if you can. Six apples is a vague instruction, because apples run anywhere from tennis ball to grapefruit. You want about 2 pounds peeled and sliced. Too much fruit and the cake underneath struggles to set at all. Too little and it’s a yellow cake with ambitions.
Ingredients in Apple Pie Cake
- Yellow cake mix (1 box): Betty Crocker SuperMoist is what I use. Any brand works, and a homemade yellow cake mix does too if you’d rather skip the box. Gluten free mixes work fine here.
- Water (1½ cups), oil (⅓ cup), eggs (3): Whatever your box calls for, so check the panel before you start. Mine wants water, some want milk. Use a neutral oil like canola.
- Apples (6 medium, about 2 pounds peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick): Mostly Granny Smith with a couple of sweeter apples in the mix. See above for what holds up and what turns to mush.
- Brown sugar (3 tablespoons for the apples, ½ cup for the topping): Brown rather than white in both places. The molasses gives you a deeper caramel note and a better color on the crumb.
- Ground cinnamon (1 teaspoon): Apples and cinnamon. No notes.
- Lemon juice (1 tablespoon): Keeps the apples from browning while you work and adds a tartness that stops the whole thing being flatly sweet.
- All purpose flour (¾ cup): For the crumb. Gluten free flour works.
- Salt (¼ teaspoon): In the crumb, and don’t skip it. Sweet with no salt tastes like very little.
- Butter (½ cup, cold and cut into small pieces): Cold, straight from the fridge. This matters more than anything else in the topping and there’s a whole section on it below.
How To Make Apple Pie Cake
Oven to 350°F, and spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with baking spray.
Mix the batter. Cake mix, water, oil, and eggs into your mixer on low for 2 minutes. Pour it into the pan and spread it level. It’ll look like a thin amount of batter, and it should. It’s going to rise up around the fruit.
Toss the apples. Peeled, cored, sliced ¼ inch thick, into a bowl with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Stir until every piece is coated, then scatter them over the batter, right out to the edges. Don’t press them down, just lay them on.
Make the crumb. Flour, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl, then cut in the cold butter with a fork or a pastry blender until you’ve got coarse crumbs with some pea sized lumps still in there. Those lumps are the good bits. Scatter it evenly over the apples.
Bake 45 to 55 minutes. Here’s how to tell when it’s done, because the toothpick test is unreliable in this one. You’ll hit a slice of apple, get a wet toothpick, and put a perfectly baked cake back in the oven. Instead look for the edges pulling away from the sides of the pan, a deeply golden crumb top, and a center that doesn’t wobble when you nudge the pan.
Ovens vary, so start checking at 45 minutes. If the top is getting ahead of the middle, tent it loosely with foil.
Cool it before you cut it. An hour minimum, 2 is better. It keeps setting as it cools and warm slices fall apart on the way to the plate. Powdered sugar over the top if you want it to look like you tried.
The Cold Butter Rule
This is the one thing that decides whether your crumb works, and it’s easy to get wrong.
- The butter has to be cold. Straight from the fridge, cut into small pieces. When you work cold butter into flour and sugar, it stays in distinct solid bits. In the oven those bits melt and steam, and that’s what makes the topping crisp and craggy.
- Warm butter makes paste. It blends completely into the flour rather than staying separate, and you end up with a flat, dense, faintly greasy layer instead of crumbs. It’ll taste fine. It just won’t have the texture that makes this cake worth making.
- If your kitchen is warm and the butter starts going soft while you work, put the whole bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes and carry on.
- Don’t overwork it either. Stop when you’ve got coarse crumbs with some pea sized lumps. Keep going past that and you’re back to paste.
Things Worth Knowing
- Cold butter, always. Crumbs or paste, it’s decided right there.
- Weigh the apples. About 2 pounds peeled and sliced. Six apples covers an enormous range.
- Slice them thin. A quarter inch. Thicker pieces don’t cook through in time.
- Don’t trust the toothpick. Pulled away edges, deeply golden top, set center.
- Scatter the apples to the edges. A bare border gives you dry cake at the sides.
- Cool it properly. An hour minimum. It sets as it cools and warm slices collapse.
- Start checking at 45 minutes, and tent with foil if the top runs ahead of the middle.
Variations
- With nuts. Chopped walnuts or pecans stirred into the crumb. Extra crunch and a bit of richness.
- Spiced up. A pinch each of nutmeg and allspice with the cinnamon takes it further toward apple pie.
- Caramel. A drizzle over the cooled cake, or dulce de leche if you have some open.
- Oat crumb. Swap ¼ cup of the flour for rolled oats for a more crumble like topping.
- Spice cake mix instead of yellow. Warmer, more autumnal, and very good with the apples.
- Pears. Half and half with the apples. Pears break down more, but the flavor is lovely.
What To Serve With It
Warm, with vanilla ice cream melting into it. That’s the best way and it has been for as long as people have been putting apples in cakes.
Whipped cream if you’d rather, lightly sweetened with a bit of vanilla. Caramel drizzled over if you’re going all in.
It’s also very good cold the next morning with coffee, standing at the counter, which is arguably its best form.
Make Ahead And Storage
Make ahead: slice the apples and mix the crumb the day before, stored separately in the fridge. Toss the apples with the lemon juice so they don’t brown. The cake itself is best baked the day you want it, though it holds well.
Room temperature: covered, 2 days.
Fridge: up to 5 days, tightly covered. The crumb softens in the fridge and there’s no avoiding it.
Freezer: 3 months. Slice it, wrap the pieces individually, and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheating: a slice in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes brings the crumb back and warms it through. The microwave takes 30 seconds if you’re not fussy about texture.
Discover More Delicious Desserts
- Apple Pie Taquitos
- Churro Apple Pie Cookies
- Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars
- Classic Apple Pie
- Quick Apple Turnovers
- Apple Crumble
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Apple Pie Cake
Video
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix)
- 1½ cups water
- ⅓ cup oil
- 3 eggs
Apple Mixture
- 6 medium apples (about 2 pounds peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick)
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar (packed)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (cut into small pieces)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9 by 13 inch pan with baking spray.
- Add the 1 box yellow cake mix, 1½ cups water, ⅓ cup oil, and 3 eggs to the bowl of your mixer and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it level.
- In a medium bowl, toss the 6 medium apples with the 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice until coated. Scatter them evenly over the batter, right to the edges.
- In another bowl, stir together the ¾ cup all purpose flour, ½ cup brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cut in the ½ cup cold butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture forms coarse crumbs with some pea sized lumps. Scatter it evenly over the apples.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. It's done when the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, the topping is deeply golden, and the center is set with no wobble. If the top browns before the middle sets, tent it loosely with foil.
- Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing, and 2 is better. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.
Notes
- Cold butter for the crumb. Straight from the fridge, cut small. Warm butter makes paste instead of crumbs.
- Weigh the apples. About 2 pounds peeled and sliced. Too much fruit stops the cake setting properly.
- Slice them ¼ inch thick. Thicker pieces won’t cook through in the time the cake needs.
- Apples: firm and tart hold their shape. Granny Smith is the reliable pick. Softer varieties like McIntosh break down into something jammier.
- The toothpick test doesn’t work here. You’ll hit apple. Go by the edges, the color, and whether the center is set.
- Cool before cutting. It keeps setting as it cools and warm slices fall apart.
- Optional add ins: chopped walnuts or pecans in the crumb.
- Serving: vanilla ice cream. Not negotiable in my house.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know when it’s done?
Don’t rely on the toothpick, because you’ll hit a slice of apple and get a wet result on a perfectly baked cake. Look for the edges pulling away from the pan, a deeply golden crumb top, and a center that doesn’t wobble when you nudge the pan.
Why is my cake soggy in the middle?
Usually too much fruit. Six apples is vague, and if yours were large you may have had well over 2 pounds sitting on that batter. Weigh them next time, aim for about 2 pounds peeled and sliced, and give it a few extra minutes.
What are the best apples to use?
Firm and tart ones. Granny Smith is the best pick because it holds its shape. Honeycrisp and Braeburn work well too. Softer apples like McIntosh break down into something closer to applesauce, and you lose the distinct pieces of fruit.
Do I have to use boxed cake mix?
Not at all. A homemade yellow cake mix works perfectly. The box is there because this is meant to be a fast dessert, and I’d rather you made it than didn’t.
Why isn’t my crumb topping crumbly?
The butter was too warm. It needs to be cold and cut into small pieces so it stays in distinct bits while you work it in. Warm butter blends straight into the flour and you get a paste.
Can I make it in a different pan?
A 9 by 13 is what this is built for. Anything smaller and deeper means a thicker cake that takes much longer to set in the middle, and the top will be well past golden by the time it gets there.
Can I freeze it?
Yes, up to 3 months. Slice it first and wrap the portions individually. Thaw overnight in the fridge and warm a slice in a 300°F oven to bring the crumb back.
Recipe adapted from: Betty Crocker
