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.
Can I make this in a bundt pan?
I haven’t tried a bundt pan with this cake, so not sure.
Can you use a boxed cake mix for this
I have not tried that.
Can you use box cake to make it easier?
I have not tried this.
I always wonder if recipe creators are annoyed by everyone making changes or if it’s inspiring or otherwise interesting to them. Anyway, I don’t eat eggs, so I made this vegan by substituting a commercial egg replacer for the eggs and this dessert is deliciously addictive. I think I’ll add vanilla to everything I make with cooked apples! I chose this recipe to use some of the apples from my tree. I don’t know what variety they are. They basically cooked down into apple sauce. Not sure if it’s because of the type of apple or maybe I sliced them too thin. In any case, it was still delicious and it’s even more delicious the next day!
I wonder if this could be made with peaches?
I’ve never thought about that, so I’m not sure. Worth a shot?
What if I don’t have a spring form pan?
That’s the only pan I’ve made this cake in– read through the comments and you might find a suggestion for baking it in another pan.
Would you be able to use a sugar free yellow cake instead of making one
I have not tried that, so it would be an experiment!
Can this be made with melted butter instead of oil?
Haven’t tried it!
I made this at a holiday house then realised the Oven Was broken so I dated to transfer it to a microwave safe dish and cook it in the microwave… and it worked beautifully!!!! I just told my kids it was pudding 😉 perfect!
Wondering if 9×13 pan would work instead of springform
Have only tried this in a springform pan.
I made this with 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar because I used Honeycrisp and Red Delicious apples. I loved the crunchy, crisp crust of the pie cake upon the first night, but I reheated it in the oven on the second night to get the crispy crust. The vanilla is very good with the apples and smells delicious. It looks and smells so good out of the oven. This will be my go to recipe when I have extra uneaten apples. Thank you for the easy recipe although it took time to peel and core the apples. I made the batter first to avoid the apples browning.
I felt it needed 1/2 t. of salt but I loved this, almost like a German apple cake. Yum, just yum! Lori, I’m a retired flight attendant and I actually met your husband many years ago on a flight. He told me about your blog and all of your fabulous recipes.
Thanks! I’ll have to tell him you stopped by 🙂
Any chance you have a gluten free version of this recipe??
I don’t, sorry!
Everything in this is gluten free, (except) flour. Just use gluten free flour in place of regular flour. I’ve done that with other recipes.
What if there is no apple sauce available..is there any substitute for that?
Can I replace the sugar with Splenda to make it sugar free?
I haven’t tried it, but if you’re familiar with how to bake with Splenda then it might work.
The recipe was easy to follow and looked just like the picture, however it did not meet my expectations on overall taste. I was not a fan of the strong vanilla flavor and the cake batter just didn’t have enough flavor to compliment the tart apples. If I were to make again, I would decrease the vanilla, increase the cinnamon and possibly add a little orange juice to batter in replace of applesauce.
Can this cake or pie be frozen after baking and then defrosted for serving later?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure!
Has anyone ever made this with almond flour (or any other gf flour)? Thanks!
I’m not sure!
What can I replace the apple sauce with ?
Thanks
You need the applesauce!
Hi , just wondering if I mix the sugar and cinnamon with the apples in a bowl. Then add them to the pan??? I love cinnamon and apples great combo. Thanks
No need to do that- just follow the instructions and the photos. Apples first, then cinnamon/sugar.
first time I made this recipe, my apple pie cake looked like your photos 🙂 Today when I made the cake, using brown sugar instead of raw sugar, I found the batter didn’t reach the rest of the tin, but was just a thick layer on top and brown liquid had leaked under the pan.. can’t think what it could have been.
Would it make much difference if brown sugar is used compared to raw sugar?
What would cause the brown liquid to leak?
I have no idea what went wrong- sorry!
there is no b powder or b soda in this recipe? is this correct?
yes
This is baking right now and we can’t wait, but we messed it up. The mention of sugar 3 times, threw us off. I’d like to make a suggestion for the recipe. Maybe leave a space after Apples, sugar, cinnamon. A very small change, but I think it may make things clearer for us already confused people:)
I do not have unsweetened applesauce on hand.
Without an extra trip to supermarket, would you just cut back on sugar? By how much?
I think it will be fine with regular applesauce. I wouldn’t change anything.
I’m making this now.
Easy so far. Hopefully it tastes great.
Could almond flour be used
I haven’t tried using almond flour.
The cake came out looking just like the picture, however even though the tester came out clean, we found the batter to be gummy, the apples were perfect. Since there are many recipes that allow you to substitute applesauce for the oil, is it possible that it should have been either/or and not both? Surprisingly, the cake was not very sweet which makes it perfect for serving with ice cream or possibly a caramel sauce. I plan to try it again, using half oil and half applesauce for a total of 3/4 cup and see how that works out.