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.
can i make this a day in advance, or should it be made the same day it’s served? thanks!
One day in advance should be fine. I’d keep it refrigerated.
This cake was good. But it tastes oily because of the amount of oil. Next time I make it I will sub butter or possibly coconut oil for a better flavor. The “oil” taste only hits you for couple bites, and with coffee it wasn’t bad. Everything else about the cake was wonderful!
Superfine sugar is like Redpath one it’s refined
And works perfectly for this recipe . It’s in the oven
Now cooking for my guests tomorrow hope it
Turns out great . Smells lovely ! I added a 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg to the recipe .
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was great but after it sat for a day or two the oil seeped out and pooled on the plate. I ended up throwing over half of it away. I just think it’s way too much oil. I think it could definitely be cut down some.
I made this over Thanksgiving! It turned out great! People have raved. I used a cinnamon sugar grinder I had instead of making the one in the recipe to sprinkle over the apples though. I wonder if that’s why my pie was still slightly tart (but still good!) I wish I had spring as I layered until the end. This recipe was totally worth buying a spring pan! I will be making this again!
I made this for Thanksgiving and it looked and smelled wonderful. However, it had an oily taste and after sitting for 1 day, it had oil in the bottom of the pan. Not sure why it would taste so different. May try again with a different batter.
Lori me dear, what a brilliant creation! Since my dear wife passed away I’ve had to learn how to cook… so recipes with pictures helps this dumb guy… as does easy to follow instructions (read three times with tongue sticking out in concentration). The end result was unbelievably good! I had a piece for my dinner and another (burp – pardon me) later for dessert. I shall return to this site often! Thank you very much.
I am happy to hear it was a success for you!
I made the apple cinnamon apple Pie/Cake for Thanksgiving…wonderful!! I love it. It is so moist – reminds me of a good bread pudding! I love it and will make again!
Thanks for sharing!!
Does the parchment paper matter that much? If I just spray will it still come out?
It helps keep the cake together. You can try without!
I am making this for thanksgiving but won’t have time tomorrow to bake it. How do you think it will hold up if I make it 2 days in advance?
Hopefully it will be okay… might dry out a bit though.