Easy Apple Cake Recipe

Today I am sharing an easy apple cake recipe that’s so easy you can make it at home or away.

Post updated 2026: This recipe was originally a collaboration with a holiday brand who are no longer around. I’ve removed references to them but this remains a favourite recipe you can make with minimal equipment.

Really Easy Apple Cake Recipe

This is a really easy recipe – probably warming the oven and weighing the ingredients will take longer than mixing it. The flour is rubbed by hand with the butter as if you were making pastry, then the other ingredients are stirred in afterwards.

This easy spiced apple cake recipe is actually known as Dorset Apple Cake. I must confess Dorset is not somewhere I’ve spent much time but it’s firmly on my list after watching episodes of Broadchurch!

I’ve been serving it with custard in these little enamel dishes* – my husband said “why is it served in these – we’re not camping” and I said “no but they look nice don’t they”.

My little helper got fully involved today, this is an ideal recipe to bake with kids.

Steps Making Easy Apple Cake

Add the flour and cinnamon mix to a mixing bowl with butter that has been chopped into chunks.

Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Stir in the light brown sugar.

Beat in the egg followed by 6 – 8 tbsp of milk – you want to achieve a smooth, thick batter.

Scrape the batter into your prepared tin (here lined with parchment paper) and gently level out. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Baking equipment away from home

In my experience, self catering kitchens tend to have a fairly standard selection of equipment. If there isn’t a baking tin in your holiday accommodation you could improvise with a pyrex glass dish* or other oven dish lined with baking parchment paper. I’ve even been known to use washed out foil takeaway containers.

Although you might not have a steel mixing bowl* as such, you are bound to have a salad bowl of some description. Or you could improvise with a large saucepan. And you can mix this cake with an ordinary table fork.

Print Recipe

4.84 from 6 votes

Really Easy Apple Cake and Custard

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Baking

Cuisine: British

Servings: 8 + generous slices

Author: Sarah Trivuncic

Ingredients

• 225 g self-raising flour I used a gluten free self raising flour
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 115 g butter diced and chilled, plus extra for greasing
• 115 g light brown sugar
• 1 large eggs beaten
• 6-8 tbsp milk
• 225 g Bramley or Granny Smith apple peeled, cored and diced
• 100 g sultana
• 2 tbsp demerara sugar optional

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm cake tin with baking parchment.*
• Mix the flour and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour using your fingers, until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the light brown sugar. Beat in the egg followed by 6 - 8 tbsp of milk – you want to achieve a smooth, thick batter.
• Add the apples and sultanas and mix to combine. Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and gently level out. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool further. Best served still warm with a little custard.

Notes

If you do not have a baking tin, a pyrex dish lined with paper would suffice.

More Bramley apple baking recipes on Maison Cupcake

If you like this easy apple cake recipe try also:

• Apple Pound Cake With Pine Nuts
• Toffee Apple Tart
• Apple Loaf Cake With Nuts and Chocolate

Save this easy apple cake recipe to use it later – or share it with someone you know has an apple glut!