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.
I found this cookbook many years ago as well and this is one of my all-time favorite desserts. It’s difficult to categorize except for “delicious.”
Glad to hear!
This recipe is terrible. I ended up having to bake this for almost 3 hours, but even after that the skewer didn’t come out clean at all. the whole thing was a gross mess of mushy apples and uncooked batter, what a waste.
Oh dear, well… something obviously went very wrong. Did you use the whole amount of oil, or did you follow the tip and use half oil/half applesauce? As you can see from my photos, I didn’t have any problems with the recipe as written from this cookbook. I’m sorry it did not work out for you.
Hi there,
Thank you for this recipe, it looks verry good.
Only i have a problem i’m from the Netherlands and my english is not so good to translate the recipe to my language do you now a site where i can easy translate it to my language.
I hope that you can help me, because i like this recipe verry much.
Friendly regards,
Tanja Passier
I’m not sure, but you can use Google to help you find a site that can help you.
I’ve made this pie/cake (using this recipe) at least 8 times – friends and family love it! It’s not too sweet as others have pointed out, and pairs well with ice cream. I have, however, made some modifications. I’m not a fan of Granny Smith apples (personal taste only), so I’ll either use a mixture of Granny Smith and a sweeter apple, or all sweeter apples. I noticed several people asking if a box cake mix can be used – yes!! After the first time, this is actually the only way I’ve made it and it turns out perfect every time. I’ve tried Spice Cake, French Vanilla and Butter Pecan mixes – all are good; I prefer the Butter Pecan (but can’t find it everywhere). I’ll be visiting my parents later this month and they’ve already asked if I’ll make this while I’m there. Great recipe!
thank you for sharing your experience… and for the tip about the boxed mix too!
Did not like this receipe at all. It was tasteless and mushy. Will not make it again.
I made this cake a few days ago. It was delicious and I’ll definitely keep the recipe, but I’ll try tweaking it a little the next time. I didn’t think the cake tasted too oily, but when I was serving it, was slightly repulsed by how greasy the parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. I like the suggestions from other commenters to substitute applesauce or mashed banana for some of the oil– might try a combination of both. Also, while the cake did not taste burnt or overcooked, the top came out looking unappetizingly black (I frantically took it out at 1h10 when I realised how black it was). Next time, I think I’ll watch it more carefully starting at about 50 minutes and cover it with aluminum foil when the top starts looking dark enough. Can be improved upon, but all in all, I was very happy with this cake.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. What size springform pan is best? Also does this need to be refrigerated or kept at room temp. What’s the best way to serve it? Cold or hot?
I just use a standard 9-inch springform pan. It should probably be kept refrigerated. I served it cold… or warm… with ice cream!
I made this and it is fabulous. Will definitely make again. My question is how to remove the parchment paper after as I don’t want to split the cake. I am using a plastic spatula to slide cake off but would like to bring to a potluck and worry people may cut into the parchment.
I usually just slide a spatula or anything large and flat underneath to slide the cake away from the parchment.
You got me with the picture…. had to try it. But being the adventurist I too did not like all the oil that the recipe called for so I thought about what you and others said & omitted it & used 1 cup of applesauce, & 1/2 c. plum puree. I certainly was not disappointed it is fabusational… in fact this is a good fit for those who eat Pie but never the crust… this ‘Pie Cake really…. REALLY! will knock your socks off…. I highly recommend it and well to all my friends…. but of course after I make it few time and take partial credit 🙂 LOL
I used half oil half yogurt, worked really well! and I added some cinnamon, ginger, and about a half teaspoon of salt to the batter…super delicious