I realize how confusing this must sound. Is it a pie? Is it a cake? Make up your mind, RecipeGirl! It was tough for me to decide, really. In this recipe, a cake batter is poured in and around the apples to hold it all together in the consistency of a cake, but there are so many apples involved that it can officially pass for a pie too. So here you go: Cinnamon Apple Pie Cake
The recipe is one that I spotted while reading through one of the newest cookbooks I have on my shelf: Monday Morning Cooking Club.
Here’s a description from Amazon:
In 2006, a group of Jewish women began meeting every Monday morning. They cooked, ate, drank endless cups of tea and – often heatedly – discussed the merits of different recipes. After just a few weekly meetings, the Monday Morning Cooking Club was born. Five years and hundreds of dishes later, six members of the sisterhood handpicked their favourite recipes to go into their book – the result is a generous, rich and inspiring cookbook featuring the best, most treasured recipes from a culturally diverse community. Each recipe begins with a short story of the cook and their history of the dish, and these stories, interwoven with amazing recipes, take the reader on a heartwarming and delicious journey through a community who finds a deep connection through food and the memory of generations that have gone before.
It’s a rather interesting cookbook indeed. The authors are from Australia, so it’s fascinating to read the stories that go along with the recipes. Some of the recipes have some out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, so it’s not one that I’d cook from every day… but it’s a great one to buy if you’re a cookbook collector. Other recipes I’m eager to try: (there are actually a LOT): Plumb Cake, Souffle Pancakes, Chocolate Bread and Butter Pudding, Custard Chiffon Cake, Israeli Couscous Soup, South African Cheesecake, Morroccan Fish, Chicken and Barley Soup, Chicken Paprikash, and Challah From Heaven. There are a lot of neat things included in the book that you don’t typically see here in America. It’s a great way to get exposed to some new food.
How to make an Apple Pie Cake:
You need a springform pan (like the kind you make cheesecake with). Apple slices are scattered around the bottom…
… and they’re piled and piled until you almost reach the top.
The apples get a sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar.
A cake batter is poured on top of the cinnamon apples.
Let the cake batter drizzle down and around the apples, and give the pan a few taps on the counter to settle it all in there.
The batter gets a generous sprinkling of cinnamon- sugar too.
A quick peek into the inside of the pie- cake and you can see my dilemma. It sure looks like a cake, but it’s so full of apples that it can pass for a pie too! I loved this recipe. It’s really different than any apple pies or cakes I have made before, and it was a major hit with my taste testers. Interestingly enough, the author of this recipe refers to this as her husband’s “favorite cake” in the introduction to the recipe, but she named the recipe “Cinnamon and Apple Pie.” Clearly, everyone is confused!
Here are a few more apple cake recipes you might enjoy:
- Chopped Apple Cake with Sticky Toffee Topping
- Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
- Cinnamon Apple Cake
- Apple Topped Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Upside Down Cake
Cinnamon Apple Pie Cake
Recipe Details
Ingredients
PIE- CAKE:
- 6 to 8 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups superfine white sugar (see NOTES below)
- 3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
TOPPING:
- 1 1/4 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 1/2 to 10-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper and then spray again.
- Layer the apple slices in the pan until they come about 2/3 of the way up the side. (I went a little higher than that and it worked out fine). Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over the apples.
- Prepare the batter by beating the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the oil, applesauce and vanilla and beat well, then stir in the flour. Pour the batter on top of the apples, and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar on top. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to allow the batter to sink down and around the apples.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool *completely* in the pan. If you try to remove the cake from the pan while it is still warm, it will tend to break apart. I refrigerated my cake before slicing, and that worked out well. Serve slices with ice cream (warm individual slices in the microwave, if desired).
Notes
- You want "caster sugar" for this recipe: It is a finer grind than table sugar, but not as fine as powdered. Look for "Baker's Sugar" at the store, or simply put regular white sugar in your food processor and give it a few whirls to create superfine sugar.
I’m not happy with this pie/cake at all. At 1:20 it still wasn’t done. I put it in for 10 more mins. When it was cool and I took it out of the pan it had no crust on it whatsover. I stuck it under the broiler for 5 minutes to “brown” it up a bit. I followed the recipe EXACTLY, used Granny Smith apples and canola oil, only I used gluten-free flour. The pie/cake is oily and mushy with not much flavor. IF I ever make it again, I’m using 1/2 the amount of oil and sunstituting applesauce for the rest. What a dissapointing end result. The pie/cake is going in the trash. 🙁
In the oven right now! Smells so good! I used gluten-free flour so I am anxiously waiting for the final result. 🙂
I made this a couple of months ago and it turned out perfectly, it was easy to make and so good!! Have a craving for it and am going to make it this week. This recipe is a keeper and one of my favorites.
I make something very similar but I use an apple crisp topping instead of cinnamon and sugar. I put half the crisp mixture on top right away and the rest about 10 minutes before the “cake” is done. I call it apple crisp cake
I’ve made this cake 3 times now (4th one is in the oven right now:)) I use 1 cup baking stevia and 1/2 cup sugar. 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white. 1 cup avocado oil and 1/2 cup apple sauce. It’s my husbands favourite cake and he’s a dessert freak. Thank you for a great recipe!
Hi Lori~ I was planning to try this recipe today, but I had a question about the cinnamon-sugar. In the ingredients list it calls for 1-1/2 Tablespoons of Cinn-Sugar, but in the parentheses you state: 1-1/4 T. (Tablespoon) sugar and 1/4 teaspoon (t.) of cinnamon. Shouldn’t it be 1/4 Tablespoon (T.) Cinnamon? Thanks for the clarification!
Yes, I suppose you’re right! I should change. In any case, a mixture of sugar and cinnamon is just fine 🙂
Do the apples soften while baking or are they still crisp when the cake is done?
They soften just as much as an apple pie. I’d say they’re definitely not crunchy, but that depends on how thick you cut the apples too.
Wow … this looks amazing! I am going to try making this with a simple gluten-free white cake mix! …can’t wait to try it! 😛
To Rosie, I had the same problem that mine was leaking out at the bottom too. I will have to check the pan out when it’s done to you what’s up.
I was looking for a unique recipe for Christmas, & apple dishes are my favorite. My family loves pie, but my step-mom is known for them. Since I was making the dessert this year, I needed it to be a standout dish on it’s own, not a pie.
This recipe looked so good, I had to try it. And I am so glad I did! It was so simple, the most difficult part was peeling/slicing the apples. We used an apple corer/wedger, & then sliced each wedge in 1/2 to make them super thin.
One tip – unless you know that your springform pan is leak-proof, bake it on a cookie sheet in the oven to avoid drippage,
It came out looking like a magazine ad, I was so impressed! And the taste was divine – light & fluffy cake, drenched in moist apple slices – it truly is a cake/pie.
Leftovers were still good the next day, but 3 days out & the cake was losing texture & becoming soupy. Definitely meant to be enjoyed when served. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be keeping (& repeating) this one! ~ Tara
can i make this a day in advance, or should it be made the same day it’s served? thanks!
One day in advance should be fine. I’d keep it refrigerated.
This cake was good. But it tastes oily because of the amount of oil. Next time I make it I will sub butter or possibly coconut oil for a better flavor. The “oil” taste only hits you for couple bites, and with coffee it wasn’t bad. Everything else about the cake was wonderful!
Superfine sugar is like Redpath one it’s refined
And works perfectly for this recipe . It’s in the oven
Now cooking for my guests tomorrow hope it
Turns out great . Smells lovely ! I added a 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg to the recipe .
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was great but after it sat for a day or two the oil seeped out and pooled on the plate. I ended up throwing over half of it away. I just think it’s way too much oil. I think it could definitely be cut down some.
I made this over Thanksgiving! It turned out great! People have raved. I used a cinnamon sugar grinder I had instead of making the one in the recipe to sprinkle over the apples though. I wonder if that’s why my pie was still slightly tart (but still good!) I wish I had spring as I layered until the end. This recipe was totally worth buying a spring pan! I will be making this again!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it looked and smelled wonderful. However, it had an oily taste and after sitting for 1 day, it had oil in the bottom of the pan. Not sure why it would taste so different. May try again with a different batter.
Lori me dear, what a brilliant creation! Since my dear wife passed away I’ve had to learn how to cook… so recipes with pictures helps this dumb guy… as does easy to follow instructions (read three times with tongue sticking out in concentration). The end result was unbelievably good! I had a piece for my dinner and another (burp – pardon me) later for dessert. I shall return to this site often! Thank you very much.
I am happy to hear it was a success for you!
I made the apple cinnamon apple Pie/Cake for Thanksgiving…wonderful!! I love it. It is so moist – reminds me of a good bread pudding! I love it and will make again!
Thanks for sharing!!
Does the parchment paper matter that much? If I just spray will it still come out?
It helps keep the cake together. You can try without!
I am making this for thanksgiving but won’t have time tomorrow to bake it. How do you think it will hold up if I make it 2 days in advance?
Hopefully it will be okay… might dry out a bit though.
I subbed gluten free flour
And the oil with 1c. Oil and 1/2 c banana
It turned out awesome!!!!
Thanks!!!!
Excellent! Glad to hear this works with GF flour!
Beautiful cake–I’ve just put one together and have it in the oven now. Unfortunately, I had a problem with the batter leaking out the bottom some. Did anyone else have this problem? What did I do wrong???? Thanks for any help!
Your pan must not have a tight seal. Hope it still turned out!
I made this and frankly was disappointed. I’m sure I made it correctly, there’s only a few ingredients so hard to mess up. It looked beautiful, but I thought something was funny when I saw the ingredients. First there is no salt and it needs some. Most dessert have some salt unless maybe it has butter in it. Plus not sweet enough. I don’t like sickening sweet, and I already added more sugar and cinnamon than it called for, but it still needs more sugar. Also, I expect some more cake-ness to it. but without baking soda or baking powder it was just soggy apples. Its more of a stacked apple crumble. Sorry to say, but wanted to post.
Bummer you didn’t care for it- the recipe comes directly from the cookbook mentioned. It’s quite different than a typical American cake or pie. the apples shouldn’t be soggy at all- is there a chance you used a different variety? Some apples don’t hold up well to baking.
Just had this today at ladies’ Bible study! The gal who made it introduced me to ‘Recipe Girl’! SO happy with both! SO moist and APPLEY! You LOVE it!!!
This cake is awesome. I served it Saturday night and all I got were ooohs and ahhhs. I had to print it out and make copies for the ladies that attended. Wonderful. TX