Originally published in 2014, this deliciously moist and spiced apple Bundt cake is smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Use your favorite apple variety such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. It’s like a denser, more cinnamon-y (technical terms!) version of this fresh apple cake.
I love old-fashioned desserts. The kinds of desserts grandmas make so well, often memorized in their heads. Like buttery homemade caramel corn, banana bread, and apple pie. Or peach cobbler, cornbread, and teeth-rotting sweet chocolate fudge. Yum.
Today’s recipe is just that. It’s like a big, sweet hug from grandma’s kitchen.
If you’re a regular reader, you know what my favorite dessert is. Do I talk about it all the time? Probably too much. Apple pie, apple pie, apple pie. And I’ve even written extensively about the pie crust that accompanies this holy grail of desserts.
Let me continue. Today’s apple Bundt cake was inspired by my Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Bread recipe in my cookbook. The first recipe in my cookbook because it’s the best. Soft, dense, and absolutely packed with apples. It’s the kind of bread you bake on lazy Sundays not only because it’s so good but because it makes your house smell so good.
And this cake is exactly like it. It’s a combination between buttery pound cake and apple pie. It is, simply put, the quintessential recipe to make in the fall season. Sweetened mostly with brown sugar, this cake will melt in your mouth. Cinnamon spice and apple chunks are in every bite. Seriously, I do not skimp on apple chunks in my apple dessert recipes. They’re the best part, yes? The cascade of brown sugar glaze was an afterthought, but might just be the best decision I’ve ever made.
Because the Bundt cake is so large, it will take a good amount of time in the oven. Larger recipes like this have bake times that vary greatly between ovens, but I find 1 hour and 10 minutes is the perfect number. Your bake time may be higher or lower and that’s normal, so don’t get discouraged as you watch the clock.
What Kind of Apples to Use in Apple Bundt Cake?
You can use your favorite apple variety in this apple Bundt cake. Some friends and I went to the apple orchard a couple weeks ago and picked some juicy Jonagolds and Granny Smiths. If they had Honeycrisps available that day, I would absolutely have made this cake with those. All hail the Honeycrisps! For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties, and when to use each, you can visit my post on the best apples for baking.
Enjoy, my fellow apple dessert lovers. See all my apple recipes and a list of 30+ fall cake ideas.
More Bundt Cakes to Love
- Peach Bundt Cake
- Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
- Apple Bundt Cake
- Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Marble Banana Bundt Cake
- Hummingbird Bundt Cake
Glazed Apple Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Tender and moist homemade apple Bundt cake smothered in a buttery brown sugar glaze. Your new favorite cake for the crisp fall weather.
Ingredients
Apple Bundt Cake
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, 1 full Tablespoon)
- 3 cups (360g) peeled and chopped apples, about 2–3 large apples
Brown Sugar Glaze
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spray a 10-to-12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, yogurt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until combined and creamy. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and slowly whisk until no large lumps remain. Try to avoid over-mixing. Carefully fold in the apple chunks. If you feel 3 large apples is too much, feel free to cut down to 2 apples. I like a lot of apple chunks in my cake!
- Spoon/pour the thick batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 55–75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. The baking times may vary depending on your oven, if you used a 10 cup bundt pan or 12 cup, or if you used less apple chunks. Keep your eye on the cake after 55 minutes. Feel free to cover the cake loosely with aluminum foil about halfway through to prevent heavy browning on top. Allow the cake to cool in the pan set on a wire rack, then invert onto a serving plate once cooled and ready to serve.
- Make the glaze: As the cake cools, prepare the brown sugar glaze. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter has melted, and then stop stirring and let the mixture come to a rapid boil. Boil for 1 minute. Turn the heat down to low, give it a quick stir, and let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Allow glaze to cool and slightly thicken for at least 10 minutes. Spoon glaze over the cake right before serving. (Cake can still be warm when glazing.) If your glaze thickened up too much as it cooled, warm in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir until smooth.
- I like this cake warm, at room temperature, and even cold. Cover leftovers and store at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Flavor is outstanding on day 2!
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cake freezes well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 10- to-12-Cup Bundt Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack | Saucepan | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Nuts: For some texture, add 1 cup of your favorite chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts.
- Yogurt: I prefer plain Greek yogurt here, but regular plain yogurt or sour cream works as well.
- Apples: I prefer a mix of tart and sweet in my apple dessert recipes. Here are the best apples for baking.
- Sheet Cake or Cupcakes: Try my similar recipes for apple cake or apple spice cupcakes.
Hey Sally and Team!!
Any chance this recipe would work with mini-bundt pans? And if so, would I just decrease the cooking time?
Thanks in advance
Hi Franny, definitely! Bake time will depend on the exact size of your mini Bundt pans. You can use the baking time from these mini vanilla pound cakes as a guide.
Hi Sally! Do you think I could replace some of the flour with cocoa powder? My son loves a chocolate apple tube cake I make but I want to use your recipe. I don’t want to screw it up because it’s for a birthday. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Chanda, we haven’t tested that swap, and it may take some experimenting since cocoa powder is a very drying ingredient and isn’t necessarily a 1:1 swap. If you decide to try anything, please do let us know how it goes!
The cocoa version turned out great! It was very moist. I replaced 1/2 cup of flour with cocoa powder and added an extra egg and a T. of water. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Excellent and easy peasy!
Another wonderful recipe! I usually share and took this to the gym this morning . My trainer called after I left begging another piece!
I use your site for most of my baking even though I don’t usually write reviews but that I had to share as he normally eats the baked products without comment .
I made a few minor changes, just reducing the sugar. With the butter glaze I only had milk on hand so that wasn’t really deliberate. When cooked it left a glaze like the kind you find on donuts…yum! You are so right the glaze takes the cake over the top.
I made this cake last year for Rosh Hashanah and it was delicious! My only problem was that the brown butter glaze was grainy. I’m making it again this year, and was wondering how to avoid a grainy glaze? Thanks!
Hi Kim, if your glaze is a bit grainy you may simply not be cooking the brown sugar for long enough. Next time cooking it for even a minute longer should help (this will help it thicken up also). We’re so glad it was a hit!
Can a cream cheese filling be put in this cake
Hi Teresa, We haven’t tried that here, but you could try using the cream cheese filling and instructions from our Chocolate Cream Cheese Bundt Cake. Let us know how it turns out if you do!
Delicious and so quick and easy.
Hi Sally
Can this be baked in a 9 x 13 glass pan
Hi Jim, Absolutely, bake time in a 9×13 will be similar to our spice cake recipe, about 45-50 minutes.
Would the icing recipe, from your Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins, work on this Glazed Apple Bundt Cake?
Vanilla Icing (Optional)
1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream (or milk for a thinner consistency)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Definitely, if you prefer a simple vanilla glaze.
I use 3 granny smith apples and reduced the sugar, it turned out really well!
– 230g Brown sugar
– 80g Caster Sugar
I didn’t make the icing because it’s sweet enough. My husband and I love this cake and definitely will make it again! Thanks!
I had some Granny Smiths to use up and found this recipe by good luck. I added probably around 4 cups of apples because I really love apples. It turned out wonderfully. My husband isn’t a big fan of nutmeg, so I halved it. I didn’t add the glaze as it was perfect without it. This will be my go-to apple cake. Thank you for sharing it.
I know it’s an autumn recipe but it’s so good at Easter! My family ate every crumb at our early Easter dinner – the icing is amazing and the cake is so good.
What do you place around the bottom of the cake after you glaze it to keep it from it overflowing over the cake pan?
Hi Michael! We’re not sure we understand your question. Some glaze falling off the bottom of the cake is normal! You can glaze it over a wire rack or piece of parchment paper if you prefer, then transfer it to a serving plate/stand.
Are there changes for high altitude?
Hi Debbie, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I made this cake yesterday with dairy free yogurt and vegan butter in the glaze. It was insanely good and 6 of us ate almost the whole cake! I love that you don’t need to use a mixer and I might just make another to put in the freezer. All of your recipes are winners!
Completely lived up to the description & the glowing reviews. Used 3 c. Apples, and it was perfect. Used maple cream cheese frosting b/c I ran out of brown sugar. Thanks, this cake will be in my regular Bundt rotation!
Oh my!!! This Apple Bundt Cake is going to be a favorite in our family. I had a caramel topping for ice cream made in frig and used it as my glaze. Can hardly wait for day 2!!!! Thank you, Sally. I love every one of your recipes that I’ve made.
My family absolutely Loves this cake!! I made it for a Christmas dinner party and have made it a few more times since! Now my son is requesting it for his birthday!! Thanks Sally!
Is the quantity of baking soda correct here? Despite following directions exactly, this cake didn’t rise correctly and is absurdly dense, not in a good way.
Hi Laura, yes, the recipe reads correct. I wonder if you over-measured your flour? Did you spoon and level it, or scoop it? (Or weigh it?) Also, the cake could have been under-baked and when flipped over, could weigh itself down.
Great recipe! The family all thought it was huge hit and want it added to the holiday menu! I didn’t think it needed the powdered sugar but used it anyways so I got the baseline recipe. I ran out of nutmeg but added a smidge more cinammon and a bit of allspice instead. Tasted great!
I made this cake for Christmas, substituting canned coconut milk for the cream in the glaze. I then “glued” (with reserved glaze) little gingerbread Christmas trees around the perimeter of the cake. I also “painted” the gingerbread trees with glaze and then sprinkled a little powdered sugar over the cake to look like snow. Then I surrounded the cake with pieces of real evergreen. The greenery added some color and flair and the whole thing was DELICIOUS!!!! We ate it in its entirety in just a few days. The coconut milk in the glaze worked well; you could not taste the coconut. My dad is super picky and did not detect any coconut, either. My husband thought it was super moist.
Every one loved this cake. I’m making it again for Christmas
So good! Such a hit at out house. Moises and delicious! I didn’t sift the powdered sugar but next time I will. It left little white balls that I couldn’t break down on top but it didn’t do anything to the taste.
Would I need to adjust any of the other ingredients if I used apply pie filling in place of fresh apples?
Hi Erin, I don’t recommend apple pie filling as it’s too moist/liquid-y to fold into the wet cake batter.
Do you freeze the cake before adding the glaze and then add the glaze after thawing?
Hi MJS, you can freeze it with the glaze on! Just be sure to follow the thawing instructions in the recipe notes. Enjoy!
I will try this recipe. My husband love apple cake and it looks so good
This cake has the best flavor. However , I am having a problem when it comes to slicing- it is moist but yet it crumbles. Can you help? Usually when a cake is crumbly it is dry but this one is moist and still won’t hold together when slicing. Could it be the flour?- I use a winter wheat flour which has less gluten and works well for pound cakes.
Hi Donna! We suspect the flour may be the culprit. We recommend all purpose flour here.
If possible what ap flour would you recommend?
King Arthur or any brand you choose should work just fine.