Last Updated on November 1, 2021 by Sabrina Currie
The key to the best apple cake ever is lots of apples, some oatmeal and a secret ingredient I will soon reveal. This cake is easy, moist and quick to mix up and I promise you'll get rave reviews from your family.
This post is sponsored by Cosmic Crisp Apples but recipe and ideas are all my own.
Crisp Sweet Apples Perfect For Baking
I have partnered once again with Cosmic Crisp apples to showcase these beautiful and versatile apples. Classically bred at Washington State University, these non-GMO apples are crispier and sweeter than other varieties. These are now available across Canada at most major retailers.
I've done a few recipes with Cosmic Crisp because they align so well with my values and are such a high quality apple. If you like them too, try my Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling, Apple Walnut Salad and Crisp Apple Fennel Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing. Using apples gives instant fresh flavor to every recipe.
Love fruity desserts as much as I do? Check out my The Best Peach Cobbler Pound Cake, Easy Homemade Cherry Fritters, and Easy Plum Flan too! And for a special fall cookies, these Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Thumbprint Cookies are delicious and perfect for Thanksgiving treats.
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An Apple That Doesn't Brown As Quickly
You might have tried my Crisp Apple Fennel Salad recipe made using these apples. Cosmic Crisps are perfect in raw recipes because they take longer to get brown after cutting but they also make a beautiful baked apple too! A cross between Honeycrisp and Enterprise, they have taken on the best qualities of each of these apples.
Pantry Staples
I almost always have apples in my crisper (the best place to store them). They are versatile in school and work lunches, handy for salads (dress up your usual coleslaw with some shredded apple!), and always a crowd favourite in desserts from cake to pie, French Apple Beignets to crumbles and everything in between.
For an apple cake without oatmeal, check out this apple coffee cake recipe.
A Moist And Tender Cake
I developed this recipe with a few things in mind. Most importantly it has to be tasty, tender and moist! Next, I like to have a few healthy ingredients in my dessert. It makes me feel better enjoying it with coffee midday or adding to my daughters lunch bag. In addition to apples (full of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber), this apple oatmeal cake is enriched with eggs and oatmeal which add even more fiber and lots of protein while creating a moist cake with a good crumb.
The Secret Ingredient
Mildly spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and loaded with 3 cups of apples, this whole cake disappeared within 36 hours. I should mention that there are only 3 of us here and one of us is only 7. And now for the secret ingredient reveal.....apple cider vinegar! Just a tablespoon of this apple vinegar adds some acidity and an extra lift to the baking soda keeping the cake nice and light.
I have made this cake both with and without peeling the apples. I am sure many of you have strong feelings on this. The peels soften during cooking and hold much of the fiber and vitamins so I am happy to simply core and chop my apples. This is purely personal preference but I'd love to hear below what you all do-to peel or not to peel?
Everyday Ingredients, Extraordinary Cake
Simple right?! Normal everyday ingredients that most of us have in the pantry and fridge come together to make this luscious apple dessert. You can also bake this in a bundt pan, it will take approximately the same length of time.
Look for the Cosmic Crisp Apples and try them next time you're at the grocery store. Here's the link to Cosmic Crisp Washington Apples if you'd like to find out more about them.
(Did you know they got their name from the "cosmic" shaped little markings on them coupled with their crisp texture?)
Related Recipes
- Easy Apple Crumble Tartlets With Just 8 Ingredients
- Mom's Quick And Easy Cinnamon Apple Rhubarb Muffins
- Apple Kale Slaw With Maple Tahini Salad Dressing (V, GF)
- Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling
If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.
Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.
Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina
Cheers friends, Have a great day!
Sabrina
📖 Recipe
Best Apple Oatmeal Cake
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ½ c Butter, unsalted (Bring to room temperature) (If you use salted butter, reduce salt to ¼ tsp)
- 1 ½ c Brown Sugar
- 4 Eggs Standard size large eggs
- ½ c Milk I used whole milk, 1% and 2% work well too
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 c All Purpose Flour
- 1 c Quick Oats
- ¾ teaspoon each, Baking Soda and Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt (use only ¼ teaspoon if you've used salted butter)
- ¼ teaspoon each, Ground Cinnamon, Cardamom, Nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 3 Cosmic Crisp Apples, chopped in ¼" pieces (Peeled or unpeeled are both fine) (Approx 3 cups of chopped apples)
Instructions
- Place oven rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350'F. Grease and flour or line with parchment, a tall 9" D x 3" H round pan or a rectangle 9" x 13" pan. (Use a pan that will hold approximately 9 cups of batter.)
- In a bowl with mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, beating until combined, then add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat until mixed. ( Your mixture may be a bit lumpy looking if your milk and eggs are cold as they will firm up the butter. This is ok, but if you want to avoid this, you can bring all your ingredients to room temperature before starting.
- In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients except apple.
- Gently fold or beat dry ingredients into the wet until mixed. Take care not to overmix. Fold in apples. Pour batter into pan and put in oven. Bake 50 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Optional: Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar once cake has cooled.
Nutrition
Natalie says
What a delicious cake. I love how it's filled with apples and healthy oats. I must make this asap for my family. They will love this.
Wanda says
Oh I bet this is fantastic with those chunks of apple! We just made something similar and loved it. Bookmarking this recipe for later!
SabCurrie says
Awesome Wanda!
Kristen says
Apples and oatmeal are so great together and it totally makes this cake ok to eat for breakfast right? It’s delicious!
Julia says
What a beautiful cake! I love all the spices used in here, looks delish!
AmyG says
I made this apple oatmeal cake yesterday and I just wanted to come back and tell you how much my husband and daughter liked it. I'm definitely putting this on my baking rotary. Thanks for sharing.
SabCurrie says
Thank you so much for the feedback Amy! I truly appreciate it. Have a great weekend!
Judy says
Does anyone know of a Cosmic Cookbook?
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Judy, I am not aware of a cosmic crisp cookbook but you could reach out to the company to ask 🙂
Sean says
I'm fascinated by apple varieties, and by the non-browning apples in general. There are some interesting old-school apples that don't brown much, but many of them are very hard to come by. I haven't tried the Cosmic Crisp apples yet, but I'm eager to do so.
Great recipe, and I love the big pieces of apple. I find oatmeal cakes can be a little crumbly, and the big moist chunks of apple really help balance the textures out. Lovely recipe, and I'm so happy you shared it. Cheers!
SabCurrie says
Aw thanks so much Sean! The cosmic crisps are really a great all round apple for eating and baking with. Cheers!
Terri says
I had no idea that apple cider vinegar was the secret ingredient - great idea! This cake sounds delicious and since I was able to get my hands on some cosmic crisp apples recently, I'll be trying them in this one1
SabCurrie says
Awesome Terri!
Audrey says
My family loved this cake. It is perfect for fall!
Sabrina Currie says
Thank you Audrey! I’m so glad, I love it in fall too 🙂
Chef Dennis says
Yum! I wish it's in front of me now! Looks really good.
Mary M says
Is 1.5 cups of sugar correct? That seems like a lot.
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Mary, yes 1.5 cups of brown sugar is correct. This serves 8 generously so it’s not a lot per serving though I wouldn’t call it low sugar 😉
Thanks for reaching out to ask.
Leah says
I know this was a while back but in case it helps someone else- I cut out a full third of the sugar (so I used just one cup) and it was nicely sweet but not overly so.
Unfortunately, when you cut out that much sugar it can make it a bit dry, though it wasn't dense. In fairness, I didn't have quick oats so I used oat flour and replaced some of that with ground flax seed, both of which suck up liquid faster than the plain quick oats would.
All that is to say, if you keep everything else the same but cut out a third of the sugar, it'll be a pleasantly sweet cake perfect for breakfast with a slight risk of dryness (but that can be remedied by a cup of coffee or tea)!
Jody says
Cake is delicious only issue was I used a 9” cake pan as the recipe calls for and it overflowed in my oven.
Sabrina Currie says
Oh no! I guess I need to specify the height of the pan too. I'm so sorry. I will update that asap. Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you liked the flavour.
Anna S says
just baked this today, 2 thumbs up from the family. Full of apples and good stuff. Delicious.
Sabrina Currie says
Yay! Thanks so much for taking the time to offer your feedback, I truly appreciate it.
Yiolanda says
Can I use Old fashioned oats?
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Yiolanda, you can sub old fashioned oats if that’s all you e got on hand but the texture will be a little more coarse than the quick oats that soften up faster. Hope that helps!
Sabrina
Cindy Barnett says
Does the apple oatmeal cake need to be refrigerated?
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Cindy, no, oatmeal apple cake does not need to be refrigerated.
Nancy Michaelis says
I made this cake for a brunch and it went over great. I especially like its calling for four eggs—makes it even more breakfasty. I used Granny Smith apples since my local grocery didn’t have the kind called for. I liked the slightly tart whang they delivered. Being from Texas, of course I added pecans. Several asked for the recipe.
Sabrina Currie says
Wow thanks Nancy!!! Adding pecans sounds delicious, great idea. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. Cheers, Sabrina
Mary says
Am trying for church potluck tomorrow....had only old fashion oats so added an extra egg for moisture. Also added walnuts, raisins, & coconut. I am not a cook so hope this turns out ok! 🤔
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Mary, I hope it worked ok with the extra ingredients. I've made the cake with old fashioned oats before, the key is to let the batter sit for a bit after mixing, to let the thicker oats absorb moisture before cooking.
Thanks for sharing, let me know how it went!
Sabrina
Christie says
I made this cake for dessert and it was fantastic! I reduced the sugar to 1 cup and subbed 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce for 1/2 of the butter, which I think added some sweetness and moisture. I also used whole wheat flour. It checked all my boxes for a healthier dessert option: lots of fruit and I love the denser texture that the oats add to the cake. Next time I’ll try adding some nuts. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sabrina Currie says
Thanks Christie! So glad you liked it, I agree, the oats and apples make a great combination.
Janice Susanne Udell says
Hi Sabrina,
I can’t wait to try out this recipe! I’m new at baking and I find your instructions and photos inspiring. I’m also relieved to learn that I can use old fashioned oats as this is all I have on hand.
Sabrina Currie says
Awesome Janice! Good luck and let me know how it goes 🙂