Fall months in West Michigan are synonymous with “apple season” — and what’s better than a from-scratch, whole grain apple cake with homemade cinnamon yogurt whipped cream?
Not much!
Our family LOVES apples and we’re fortunate to have several amazing orchards within a short drive from our house (one of which has a bakery with amazing donuts!)
We hit up these orchards several times every fall and we make lots and lots of foods with apples this time of year.
You will love this apple cake recipe!
Many years ago, I shared our favorite Apple Cake recipe — but, as I’ve transitioned into eating more whole grains, I created a new Apple Cake with less sugar and 100% whole grains!
This cake is extremely delicious and could be served as a dessert, a coffee-time treat, or a fun breakfast/brunch side dish.
And it’s easy enough that the kids can help!
The oat + pecan topping really adds a nice crunch, and the cinnamon yogurt whipped cream has just the right amount of “tang” to perfect this yummy treat.
Are you hungry yet?
Ingredients for Whole Grain Apple Cake:
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c. applesauce (or vegetable oil)
- 2/3 c. buttermilk (or milk)
- 2/3 c. honey (or brown sugar)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 c. flour (I use 220 grams of freshly ground soft wheat or oats)
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. ground ginger
- 2 c. apples; peeled and diced
FOR THE OAT TOPPING
- 1/4 c. oats
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 c. chopped pecans (or additional oats)
- 1/4 c. cold butter
- 1 T. flour
- dash of salt
FOR THE YOGURT WHIPPED CREAM
- 1/2 c. whipping cream
- 1/2 c. plain Greek Yogurt
- 2 T. maple syrup (or brown sugar)
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. cream of tartar (to stabilize it)
How to Make this Amazing Apple Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9″ round or rectangular pan. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine eggs, applesauce, buttermilk, honey/sugar, and vanilla.
3. Add in all dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger) and stir, just until combined.
4. Add in diced apples and pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
5. In the same bowl, make the oat topping by mixing oats, brown sugar, pecans, flour, and salt.
6. Grate cold butter into oat mixture and combine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
NOTE: I use a cheese grater to grate cold butter into my topping. This method uses less butter and it’s faster/easier to mix together.
7. Sprinkle topping over cake batter and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the center is set.
8. While the cake bakes, whip cream and maple syrup (or brown sugar) in a medium bowl until fluffy.
9. Add in yogurt, cinnamon, and cream of tartar — whipping until thick and very fluffy.
10. Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to serve.
11. When the cake is finished baking, let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
12. Serve warm cake with whipped topping.
I have access to pretty great apples year-round, but there’s just something about fresh-from-the-orchard apples that makes this whole-grain apple cake even more delicious!
I always get rave reviews whenever I take it places or serve it to guests… and you can also make it in mini bread loaf pans to give away as a tasty fall gift.
This apple cake will stay quite fresh-tasting for a couple of days, but, as Dave would say, “it’s best fresh!”
Whole Grain Apple Cake
If you need a new apple recipe to try this Fall, give my 100% whole-grain apple cake a try!
The oat + pecan topping really adds a nice crunch and the cinnamon yogurt whipped cream has just the right amount of "tang" to perfect this dish.
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 c. applesauce (or vegetable oil)
- 2/3 c. buttermilk (or milk)
- 2/3 c. honey (or brown sugar)
- 1 t. vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 c. flour (I use 220 grams of freshly ground soft wheat or oats -- but you could use all-purpose if that's what you have)
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. ground ginger
- 2 c. apples; peeled and diced
FOR THE OAT TOPPING
- 1/4 c. oats
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 c. chopped pecans (or additional oats)
- 1/4 c. cold butter
- 1 T. flour
- dash of salt
FOR THE YOGURT WHIPPED CREAM
- 1/2 c. whipping cream
- 1/2 c. plain Greek Yogurt
- 2 T. maple syrup (or brown sugar)
- 1/2 t. cinnamon
- 1/4 t. cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9" round or rectangular pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine eggs, applesauce, buttermilk, honey/sugar, and vanilla.
- Add in all dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger) and stir, just until combined.
- Add in diced apples and pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
- In the same bowl, make the oat topping by mixing oats, brown sugar, pecans, flour, and salt.
- Grate cold butter into oat mixture and combine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle topping over cake batter and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until the center is set.
- While the cake bakes, whip cream and maple syrup (or brown sugar) in a medium bowl until fluffy.
- Add in yogurt, cinnamon, and cream of tartar -- whipping until thick and very fluffy.
- Refrigerate whipped cream until ready to serve.
- When the cake is finished baking, let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
- Serve warm cake with whipped topping.
Notes
I grate frozen butter into the oat mixtures for the crumbly topping -- this allows me to use less butter and more quickly incorporate the butter into the oats.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 279Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 53mgSodium 280mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 2gSugar 26gProtein 5g
Nutritional information is approximate and does not account for additional ingredients or added toppings.
More Delicious Apple Recipes:
- My previous Apple Cake Recipe
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Caramel Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie
- Apple Butter
- Apple Zucchini Bread
- Applesauce
- Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce
- Apple Bacon Pecan Salad
- Caramel Apple Dessert “Salad”
- Apple Berry Banana Smoothies
Is your mouth watering yet?
That ought to give you a few reasons to buy apples this week!!
How do you enjoy apples in the fall?
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family-friendly recipes!
Chris says
I recently made “homemade” apple turnovers, with homemade filling and bought puff pastry. They were very, very good! Apples = Fall. 🙂
Andrea says
I always “cheat” by using puff pastry for my turnovers too 🙂
Diana says
I made this last night, and even with the changes it turned out yummy! I used 1/4 cup brown sugar inside and 1/4 cup in the topping, and used regular unsweetened almond milk. Yum!!
Andrea says
on good — glad you enjoyed it! it’s one of our favorite apple cakes!
Jen says
I made this apple cake a few times this fall, and plan to make it each fall from now on. It’s a family favorite. Thanks!
Andrea says
yay — glad you enjoyed it! I actually just made it as muffins last week. I like the cake better, but the muffins were good.
Foteini says
Hello Andrea. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us. I would like to ask you. Although I think you explain this in the article, maybe I did not understand it. How do I keep the whipped cream fluffy? Say, if we eat three pieces in the morning and want to eat the rest of the pie later or the day after, what will happen to the cream if it stays for so long? Thank you!
Andrea says
You’re welcome, Foteini!
When I make this, we usually eat the vast majority in one sitting — however, I’ve had pretty good luck just putting the whipped cream in the fridge until later. It doesn’t go flat or liquidy on me (I’ve even left it in the fridge for 3 days).
Foteini says
Great! Thank you!
Rachel says
I finally got some buttermilk and am ready to try this recipe! I saw it from a photo you posted on your Facebook page and noticed you made yours in a bundt pan with a glaze on top. Was there anything you did differently for the cake when you baked it in a bundt pan? Did it need any more baking time? Also, do you have the recipe for the glaze drizzled on top? Also, I made a quiche based on your recipe for my kids, and they loved it!
Andrea says
HI Rachel!
Glad you kiddos love the quiche — it’s SUCH an easy breakfast when you need to feed lots of mouths at the same time!
Just an FYI, if you ever need buttermilk in a snap, just mix 1T. of white vinegar with 1 c. milk and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Done!
Also, the recipe I made in the bundt pan was different — you might not have enough batter with this recipe to fill the bundt pan. That said, if you want to try it, bunt pan recipes usually bake for 45-50 minutes (but definitely just watch it starting around 35 minutes).
As for the glaze — that’s just powdered sugar with enough milk to make it “drizzly”!
Rachel says
Thank you for that info! I took home some homemade buttermilk from a Home Ec class I was helping teach yesterday and knew I had a recipe waiting to use it. 🙂
My kids and I baked this cake today as part of our homeschool, and we loved it! The cake was just the right amount of sweetness, and the yogurt topping complimented it well. We used all oat flour per another reader’s comment, and my GF daughter was able to enjoy it as well. We also stayed with the 9″ pan instead of using the bundt just so I knew we were doing something right. Thanks for the recipe!
Andrea says
yay — so glad it turned out well! I LOVE the yogurt whipped topping!
Diana says
Yes, that is one reason I like your recipes 🙂
Andrea says
thanks so much Diana!
Diana says
This was tasty! I didn’t have pecans so used walnuts 🙂 I realized my pan was 8X8 so I scooped some out and baked it in a separate dish to make sure it baked all the way through. I didn’t end up making a whipped topping and it was fine without!
Andrea says
yes, definitely! I always try to share recipes that can be tweaked and altered a bit based on what individuals have in the house! no need to run out to buy a last-minute ingredient!
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Melissa says
Question: do you think it could be assembled the night before and baked in the morning? Curious if you have tried it that way before. And if so, how it alters the bake time/temperature.
Thanks for great content!
Andrea says
yes I do think you could make it in advance — just don’t put the crumble topping on until right before you back it. I would mix the crumble topping together and keep it in the fridge (so the butter stays cold) and then crumble it over the cake batter right before you put it in the oven.
Kari says
My mind was blown when I got to the picture of you grating the cold butter! I’ve never thought to do that, but will definitely be giving it a try!
Andrea says
haha — it’s such a SIMPLE tip! And works really well!
Kate says
Have you made this with only oat flour? Or do you usually combine oat and wheat flours?
Andrea says
I have not, but I think it would turn out just fine. You don’t really need gluten to make this recipe work, so I’d say give it a try!
Kate says
I tried it on Saturday with oat flour only- AMAZING!! I will definitely be making this cake again. Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Andrea says
oh yay — thanks so much for sharing your experience! It really is delicious!!
Chris says
Mmmmmm!
Cherry says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I would like to make it tonight! How much butter will I need? I didn’t see it on the ingredient list. Thanks!
Andrea says
sorry, I missed that — just added it to the recipe!
It’s 1/4 c. of butter 🙂
Cherry says
Thank you! I’m glad it’s not the whole stick I saw there!
Andrea says
definitely not the whole stick! You could probably get away with only 2-3 T. if you wanted to cut the fat!