I was chatting with a friend and somehow, we got on the topic of her brother’s birthday cake. Her family has an old-fashioned apple cake recipe that has been passed down for generations.
It’s their favorite cake recipe and they all love it. As my friend was telling me this story, I knew I had to try it!
Luckily my friend’s mom Katie was sweet enough to send me a copy of the original recipe card!!
The Origin of This Old Fashioned Apple Cake Recipe
I can’t tell you how big of a smile I had on my face when I was looking at the photo of the original recipe card.
You can tell it’s been around for years and been put to good use. Something about that makes me feel so nostalgic.
I didn’t grow up baking or cooking with my parents or grandparents, so I don’t have a box full of family recipes.
Something about trying a recipe that has a story behind it makes it feel so much more meaningful.
It also encourages you to try new things!
If you told me to make a cake batter that’s half apples (see below!), I would have said you were crazy. Yet here we are 🙂
The History Behind this Apple Cake Recipe
When I said this recipe has been passed down through generations, I’m not kidding.
This recipe is from Grandma Eubanks, from way back in the 1920s!! It’s from the great depression which might explain why it’s so unique.
It’s also why I’m dubbing this cake an old-fashioned apple cake!
Katie’s Favorite Story About This Cake
Katie also shared her favorite memory of this cake recipe. Katie has 5 kids and this cake never lasts long in their house.
One time she made the cake and left a fork in it because everyone loves sneaking a bite.
That particular night, about half the family woke up and had it as their midnight snack.
When she woke up the next day, half of the cake was eaten!
A Recipe Without Instructions
One thing that made this recipe a bit of an experiment was that the recipe card didn’t have any instructions.
It was just that list of ingredients, the bake time, and temperature.
I also wasn’t quite sure what size to cut the apples or if I should shred them.
These were the questions I should have thought of before I was in the middle of making the batter!!
I didn’t want to bother my friend or her Mom after they’d already gone out of their way to send the recipe.
So, I made some educated guesses and surprisingly things worked out quite well.
The other thing I was unsure about was what size the cake layers should be, and how many I should make.
Making an Educated Guess
Once the batter was made, I thought it was just enough to make 3, 6-inch cake layers.
The cake layers ended up rising more than I thought they would though. In hindsight, this recipe could easily be used to make 3, 7-inch cake layers or 2, 8-inch cake layers.
I also think I might try it with my cream cheese buttercream so that I can have more fun with the decoration of the cake 🙂
What Makes This Recipe Unique
Like I mentioned above, this recipe is about half apples in volume.
Luckily I have a handy dandy little apple peeling machine which made the process a lot easier.
When I was making the batter, I was convinced I had done something wrong. The batter was so thick, I felt like the layers would never bake through.
But I knew the recipe worked. Sure enough, they baked up beautifully!
I was blown away by my first bite. The cake was insanely good!!
The apples inside the cake add a ton of moisture which contrasts perfectly with the crunch walnuts.
The cake layers are also packed with warm cinnamon and have delicious caramelization around the edges.
It reminds me of a cross between an apple crisp and a spice cake. This cake almost feels like a breakfast cake because of all the apples!
It looks pretty odd, but trust me and the Eubank family on this one. This recipe is a real keeper.
My Tips for Making the Best Old-Fashioned Apple Cake:
- Note from the family: you can add an additional egg if you want! They sometimes do to make the texture a bit lighter.
- Be sure to peel and cut your apples into uniformly sized pieces so that they bake evenly in the oven. Aim for 1 cm cubes.
- Use tart apples like a granny smith or honeycrisp that bake up well.
- Make this cake in advance! The recipe card says it’s best the 2nd day.
- I added a touch of salt to this recipe (based on my preference), but the original recipe doesn’t call for any.
Let Me Know What You Think!
If you try this old-fashioned apple cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and rating below.
And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so I can see your delicious creations.
Old-Fashioned Apple Cake
This old-fashioned apple cake is made with loads of fresh apples, crunchy walnuts, and frosted with a cream cheese frosting! It’s a tried-and-true family recipe that you’re sure to love!!
Ingredients
Apple Cake Recipe
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (225g)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature (168g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (8g)
- 1 tsp baking soda (6g)
- 1/2 tsp fine salt (2g)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (125g)
- 1 1/3 cups granny smith or honeycrisp apples, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes - about 5 large apples (585g)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature (113g)
- 1/2 cup salted butter, room temperature (113g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (4g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar (250g)
Instructions
Apple Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C, and line and grease 3, 6-inch or 2 8-inch cake pans.
- Add 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup vegetable oil into a large bowl. Whisk together until incorporated.
- Next, mix in 3 eggs until combined.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Add half of the dry ingredients and 1 cup of chopped walnuts into the wet ingredients. Mix together with a rubber spatula.
- Mix in the remaining half of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fold 1 1/3 cups of cubed apples into the batter with a rubber spatula.
- Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Place the pans on a wire rack to cool fully.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat together 1/2 cup of room temperature cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter with a hand mixer or whisk attachment of a stand mixer.
- Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and mix on a low speed.
- Mix in 2 cups powdered sugar on a low speed until combined. Cover and set aside.
Assembling This Old-Fashioned Apple Cake:
- Once the cake layers are fully cooled, assemble this old-fashioned apple cake by frosting and stacking the cake layers with the cream cheese frosting.
- Cover the outside of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.
- If desired, use a spoon to make some swooshes around the cake.
Notes
My Tips for Making the Best Old-Fashioned Apple Cake:
- Note from the family: you can add an additional egg if you want! They sometimes do to make the texture a bit lighter.
- Be sure to peel and cut your apples into uniformly sized pieces so that they bake evenly in the oven. Aim for 1 cm cubes.
- Use tart apples like a granny smith or honeycrisp that bake up well.
- Make this cake in advance! The recipe card says it’s best the 2nd day.
- I added a touch of salt to this recipe (based on my preference), but the original recipe doesn't call for any.
Nutrition Information
Yield
16Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 515Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 7gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 57mgSodium 235mgCarbohydrates 65gFiber 3gSugar 48gProtein 5g
50 Delicious Apple Recipes - Simple and Seasonal
Tuesday 30th of August 2022
[…] Old Fashioned Apple Cake […]
Kellie
Sunday 3rd of October 2021
I grew up with this cake too but we cooked it in a cake pan and served it with a sauce so it was more like a cake pudding desert.
Olivia
Thursday 30th of September 2021
Greetings from Berkshire, UK!
One question- Is it important to peel the apples? I have cooked before with the skins on and it was OK, but this obviously differs between recipes. I am in part being lazy but mostly I do just like to keep as much of the goodness in the bake as possible.
Am looking forward to baking this cake tonight or tomorrow with my partner for our best friends birthday on Saturday. Look forward to hearing from you- Olivia
Sheryl
Thursday 9th of September 2021
This cake is the best apple cake I've EVER MADE! I hate to say this, but my recipe has just been replaced!! I've been baking for about 45 years and this will go in the recipe box as the BEST! Thank you for sharing!! Sheryl Becker
Cynthia Howe
Monday 30th of August 2021
I made this cake exactly per recipe except I diced the apples a little smaller than 1cm. I spread the thick batter in 2 9” cake pans, with just about 1/2” to top of pan. I baked at 350 for about 28-30 minutes, and my layers were done. I checked with toothpick and also touched center of cake. I used the cream cheese frosting recipe. My husband was oh so pleased with the cake! It was very very moist, and had a wonderful apple cinnamon flavor! I will definitely be making this again and again! Thank you for sharing!