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 cookbooks I have on my shelf: Monday Morning Cooking Club. I’ve now been making it for many years!
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.
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.
Take 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 love this recipe. It’s really different than any apple pies or apple cakes I have made before, and it’s always a hit to serve to guests. 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
Ingredients
PIE- CAKE:
- 6 to 8 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1¼ tablespoons granulated white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups superfine white sugar (see NOTES below)
- ¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
TOPPING:
- 1¼ tablespoons granulated white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a 9½ 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 ⅔ 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was a delicious recipe! I took your advice of 3/4 c. applesauce & 3/4 c. oil and was very happy I did. I got several compliments on it at my office’s potluck today, as well as a few “is this a cake, or a pie?” comments 😉 my personal vote would be cake!
I have been making a version of this cake for years! This one has more apples then cake, so I’ll be trying this one for sure. However the cake I’ve made had an amazing caramel sauce that got pour over the cake right from the oven. When you pull the cake from the oven, you poke holes in the cake then pour the sauce on. Incredible! I’m pinning this recipe for sure!
I made this today and I followed the recipe exactly, turned out perfect! I served it with a scoop of ice cream. Husband loved it. Going into my favorites.
Hi there! I see it’s been a few years since this was posted. During that time have you tried the recipe using half oil/half applesauce? Which did you prefer–all oil or half and half? Thanks!
I have not tried it that way, but I believe that others have… and have had success with it!
This recipe was a complete disaster. Way too much greasy oil. We could not eat it.
Looks better than it actually is. Yes, I followed the directions EXACTLY as they were written.
Sorry you did not enjoy… many others have commented that they’ve had success with it. My family loved it. There are other commenters who have adjusted the amount of oil with success, so perhaps try that too.
I have made this twice already. I did, however, use more cinnamon because my family really likes cinnamon. The amount of oil almost made me hesitate so what I did was substitute a portion of it with applesauce. I think I did I substituted 1/2 of the oil. Really delicious. Will definitely make it again.
Mine is in the oven now. I liked how easy this recipe was and how few ingredients were needed. My batter looked like yours but was oily & lumpy. In the oven it’s leaking oil so I put a cookie sheet under it. I’m hoping it turns out but I’m worried.
Hi!
I made this cake pie last week and it was an absolute success!! OMG!! So moist and delicious.
I made some modifications like adding cinnamon to the batter and cut the apples in cubes instead o slices…and I also added a little of bourbon.
I will definitely bake this again.
THANKS!!!!!
Just tried this with a removable bundt pan with foil on the bottom to prevent leaking (i dont have a spring pan) – added some almond extract as well and it came out SUPER good. Thank you!!
That’s pretty good German ApfelKuchen (or apple cake) recipe. Thanks for sharing!