This easy apple cake is just four ingredients and tastes like a French apple cake. There is no butter or oil or baking powder needed. The end result is a fluffy and moist cake full of apple pieces. It’s perfect to make for a party.
Here is an easy cake recipe now that apples are in season – right now, it’s the perfect time to make this easy apple cake.
I love serving apple desserts for Thanksgiving, so if you’re looking for ideas this recipe is great. In the past, I’ve made Invisible Apple Cake, Apple Rose Tarts, and Apples Pies Baked in Apples. This cake tastes very similar to classic French apple cakes I’ve made in the past but with a simplified ingredient list.
Ingredients
- Honeycrisp apples
- Room temperature eggs
- Light brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
Just four ingredients – that’s all you need.
How to Make a 4 Ingredient Apple Cake
The key to this cake rising and having a fluffy texture is beating the eggs. The eggs and sugar are beaten for about eight minutes on high speed until the batter turns pale and thick.
I’ve used a similar technique for my 3 Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter cake and 2 Ingredient Flourless Nutella cake.
Once the eggs have reached the desired consistency, the flour is gently folded in with a spatula. Make sure to use a spatula and gently fold in. If you stir too vigorously, you will deflate the eggs too much and your cake will not rise properly.
Finally, the apples are lightly folded in. This cake is baked in a springform pan and takes just over an hour to bake at 350°F.
Variations
I think this cake tastes great on its own. Even though it only has a few ingredients, it still has a good flavor to it. However, if you wish to add even more flavor, you can add some cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter. Both spices pair well with apples.
You can also change the apple variety for more flavor contrast. I used sweet Honeycrisp apples but you could replace them with granny smith for something a little tarter.
I do recommend sticking with brown sugar even though most apple cakes use white sugar. Brown sugar adds a caramelized flavor to the apple cake, which is why it tastes so flavorful even with just four ingredients.
When you take a bite of the cake it’s hard to believe it’s made with so few ingredients. It’s fluffy and each bite has fresh apples. It is the perfect cake for the fall season.
More Easy Recipes with Apples
4 Ingredient Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3 medium honeycrisp apples about 6 oz each
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pan.
- Peel apples and remove cores. Slice apples to 1/2 inch cubes.
- Add eggs and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on highest speed for about 8 minutes or until mixture turns a very pale brown and is very thick.
- Add in flour and gently fold in with a spatula until just mixed.
- Add in apples and gently fold in so that they are evenly spread out in the batter.
- Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes in the middle row of the oven or until cake is done. Top will be dark brown and toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Let the cake cool for about 20-30 minutes before dusting top with powdered sugar and slicing and serving.
Notes
- Recipe slightly adapted from Food52.
- Make sure to the beat the eggs long enough as they are the key to the cake rising.
- Make sure to gently fold in the flour and apples. If you mix too hard, you will deflate the egg structure and your cake will not rise or be fluffy.
- I recommend sticking with brown sugar as it adds more depth of flavor to the cake
- You can change the apple variety, like using granny smith for a more tart flavor
- You can also add nutmeg and cinnamon to the cake as the spices will pair well with the apples
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I’m looking forward to trying this cake.
Should the brown sugar be packed?
No, you don’t need to pack it.
Kirbie,
Regarding the apples for the 4 ingredient apple cake, what affect do you suspect unpeeled apples will have as the skins are high in pectin? Also, what vendors do you know sell pre-cut parchment 8 inch rounds for the bottom of the spring form baking pan?
We haven’t tried the cake with unpeeled apples, so can’t say for sure how that might affect the cake. Guessing there won’t be much of a change of the texture, but can’t say for sure. As far as the precut rounds – we get ours on Amazon
I don’t have a hand mixer, either…can this high speed whisking be done in my Ninja NutriBlender?
Without trying it, not sure how the eggs would whip up in a blender. Sorry, wish we had a better recommendation!
I don’t have a stand mixer…advice?
You can use an electric hand mixer instead.
Very nice cake as is including the grated cinnamon and nutmeg! Bravo!
Thank you!
Would a tart pan work?
It depends on how deep it is – some tart pans are shallow which will not hold all of the batter while the cake bakes. If your pan is as deep as a standard 8-inch springform pan it may work.
Can i make this cake gluten free please? If yes what flour can i use please?
You can try using a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour, but we haven’t tested it and can’t say for sure how it will work.
This cake was: Easy to make, smelled really good baking in the oven and tasted even better after we let it cool off and had some for dessert tonight!
We’re happy you enjoyed it!
This cake is amazing! I added 3/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg and used a bundt pan. I baked it for approximately 50 minutes. It came out light, fluffy, moist and delicious. I shared it with friends and everyone loved it and was surprised by how few ingredients. This recipe is a definite keeper. Just to add, I did not sprinkle it with the confectionery sugar, it was sweet enough on its own.
Thanks for letting us know! We’re happy you love the recipe –
I love the fact that this is easy and has only 4 ingredients. However, it does not make a big batch at all. I ended up making one tray of muffins out of it.
The cake is meant to be baked in an 8-inch springform pan – it makes a decent-sized cake.
What can I use if I don’t have a springfoam pan?
You can try an 8″ round cake pan.
This cake came out great. I only cooked mine for an hour and it was done.
I’m glad it worked out well for you! Thank you for sharing your experience
I only have 2 apples in the fridge. Do u think I can add some applesauce to the apples?
The recipe will work with two apples, it just won’t have as many pieces spread throughout the cake. We don’t recommend adding applesauce because that will change how the cake turns out – the batter could be too wet and the cake won’t bake properly.