I make this apple harvest cake over and over again every fall. It’s an easy, delicious way to celebrate harvest season, and it’s definitely a family favorite.
I’m not sure exactly when I first discovered this delicious apple harvest cake, but it feels like I’ve been making it since the dawn of time at this point. It’s one I make over and over again after we go apple picking every fall, and it’s something everyone always seems to enjoy. It’s a soft, dense, golden-brown cake with a rich apple-cider flavor, and it’s a great all-occasion treat to have around on cozy fall days.
Another favorite to try next: Three Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients Needed for the Recipe
- Apples (I usually use Macintosh, but I’ve mixed it up a bit here and there, and it’s honestly good with all apple types, even Granny-Smith)
- Flour (I usually use whole wheat or spelt, and I think the texture is even better that way compared to white flour)
- Butter or a butter substitute
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg
- Sugar
- Eggs or chia seeds (Here’s how to use chia seeds instead of eggs in baking!)
- Vanilla
- Powdered icing sugar for dusting
- Water
This is one of those cakes that I can throw together at any point during the fall because these are all basic ingredients that I have in the house at all times. Yay for that!
See also: Homemade cake mix recipe to use in place of boxed mixes
Making the Apple Harvest Cake
So, like with all old recipes that have been made thousands of times over and over again, I’ve made a few tweaks here and there. My method might seem a little unconventional, but after making it so many times, The method outlined on the baking card below is the way of making this cake that seems to work out the best every time.
Also try: Homemade Shortcut Apple Cinnamon Pancake Syrup
Apple Cake Variations to Try
While this recipe is great on its own as a beautiful bundt cake, if you’re a baker who loves autumn apple desserts, then I’m sure you can already tell that this cake is just begging for a little embellishment to make it even more festive.
If you don’t have a tube pan or a cake pan like mine, you could definitely make this into a caramel apple layer cake with two small round cake pans and a layer of caramel frosting in between. Add a drizzle of easy homemade caramel sauce and garnish with a few beautiful dried apple slices for the perfect finishing touch.
This cake recipe also makes the best yummy apple muffins to take along with you on all your fall adventures. Adding walnuts, cranberries, and a streusel topping makes them even better, in my opinion, and really brings out that wonderful fresh apple flavor.
Here’s the full printable recipe!
I make this apple harvest cake over and over again every fall. It's an easy, delicious way to celebrate harvest season and it's definitely a family favourite!
- 3 apples peeled and chopped
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking-soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups melted butter
- 3 eggs or chia eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4-1/3 cup room temperature water
-
Combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the melted butter with the sugar and stir on medium speed until well-combined. Add eggs and mix a bit more. If using chia eggs, add the water just a few seconds before adding the eggs to the sugar and butter and mix very well until all ingredients are combined evenly.
-
Reduce speed to low and slowly add in the the flour mixture dry ingredients. Once everything is fully combined, add in the apples, then the vanilla.
-
The batter will be quite dry. With the mixer running on low, slowly add in the water, stopping when the batter looks a little more workable. Usually about 1/4 cup, but it may take up to 1/3 cup.
-
Fold the batter in to a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake is golden brown. You can also use two loaf pans and bake for about an hour.
-
When the cake is fully baked, cool it on a wire rack, then sprinkle it with powdered confectioners sugar and enjoy!
This cake freezes really well, so definitely feel free to make a double batch if you have a lot of apples to use up right now!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.