A high altitude apple fritter cake made with an easy vanilla cake batter and cinnamon apples baked right on top, then drizzled with sweet vanilla icing. This cozy fall cake is best served warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream!
You might also love these apple hand pies with cinnamon sugar, apple blondies and baked apple cider doughnuts.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easier than Apple Fritters. Apple fritters are a type of deep-fried donut, made with yeast dough and cinnamon apples, then dredged in vanilla icing after frying. Today’s apple fritter cake has all the flavor of an apple fritter doughnut, but requiring just a fraction of the time and effort. All you’ll need to do is simmer some apples with cinnamon and sugar, spoon the apples over vanilla cake batter, and bake the cake. And just like the doughnuts, this cake has lots of nooks and crannies on top to soak up all the vanilla icing.
Serve Warm from the Oven. You won’t even need to wait for your cake to cool for long, since this cake is wonderful served still warm. Enjoy it plain, or top it with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Apples. My favorite type of apples for baking are Honey Crisp and Granny Smith, since they both hold their shape well when baked, without turning mushy. You can use either for this recipe, but I used Honey Crisp.
- Sugar. You’ll need light or dark brown sugar for the apples, granulated sugar for the cake, and powdered sugar for the icing.
- Butter. Adds moisture and a rich flavor to the cake.
- Milk. I like to use whole milk for baking, which has a richer flavor and adds moisture to the cake.
- Flour. All purpose flour gives the cake structure and strength.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises as it bakes.
- Egg. Adds moisture, but also strength to the cake batter.
- Spices. You’ll need ground cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract and salt.
Instructions
Apples
- Peel and core the apples, then chop them into quarter inch sized pieces.
- In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Over medium heat, bring the apples to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the apples soften and the liquid becomes syrupy. Some of the liquid should evaporate so that there is no more than about 3-4 tablespoons of syrupy liquid left in the pan.
- Set the apples aside to let them cool for 30 minutes.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Melt the butter, then brush about 2 teaspoons of the melted butter over the bottom and sides of your pan. I used a 7×11 inch oval baking dish, but a 9×9 inch or 10×10 inch square baking dish will also work. Baking times will vary slightly for different pan sizes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the rest of the melted butter with the milk, egg and vanilla.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together, then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth, about 15 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the apples over the batter, including all the syrup left at the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before adding the icing.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth, then drizzle the icing over the warm cake.
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes, then serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. When the cake is warm from the oven, the edges will be crisp and slightly chewy, with a soft, cakey center.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftover apple fritter cake is best enjoyed hot from the oven, but it can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
The cake will be more dense when it cools to room temperature. You can warm up leftover portions of cake in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds on 50% power for a soft, just-baked texture.
You should use a firm baking apple that holds its shape when baked, rather than turning to mush. Honey Crisp is my choice for this recipe, but you can also use Granny Smith if you want a more tart flavor.
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High Altitude Apple Fritter Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 7×11 Oval Baking Dish, or 9×9 Square Baking Dish
Ingredients
Apples
- 1 lb honey crisp apples (2 large apples or 3-4 small/medium apples)
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
Cake
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup whole milk, slightly warmed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Apples
- Peel and core the apples, then chop them into quarter inch sized pieces.
- In a saucepan, combine the chopped apples with the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Over medium heat, bring the apples to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until the apples soften and the liquid becomes syrupy. Some of the liquid should evaporate so that there is no more than about 3-4 tablespoons of syrupy liquid left in the pan.
- Set the apples aside to let them cool for 30 minutes.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Melt the butter, then brush about 2 teaspoons of the melted butter over the bottom and sides of your pan. I used a 7×11 inch oval baking dish, but a 9×9 inch or 10×10 inch square baking dish will also work. Baking times will vary slightly for different pan sizes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the rest of the melted butter with the milk, egg and vanilla.
- Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together, then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth, about 15 seconds.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the apples over the batter, including all the syrup left at the bottom of the pan.
- Bake the cake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester or sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before adding the icing.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth, then drizzle the icing over the warm cake.
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes, then serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. When the cake is warm from the oven, the edges will be crisp and slightly chewy, with a soft, cakey center.
Tried this cake out for the first time and it was absolutely DIVINE!!!!! I loved how soft, fluffy and moist it was. The apples were such a special touch.
Hi Heather – this recipe looks incredible! I plan on making it for an office event and was going to double the recipe for a 9×13 pan, what do you suggest for cook temp and time?
The same temperature, and it may take a few minutes longer to bake, but I couldn’t give you an exact time. I hope you love it!
This was one of the most delicious cakes I’ve ever made! It was a HUGE hit on Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for the recipe.
I’m so glad to hear it!