Mom's apple cake from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home Cook (page 239) by Deb Perelman

View complete recipe

Ingredients

ground cinnamon
Buy Now
all-purpose flour
Buy Now
- King Arthur Baking - United States
- Hayden Flour Mills - United States
Show all ingredients...

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

eliza on May 01, 2026

I made this cake for a friend’s birthday, and as I loaded the batter into the pan, I realized I’d not put in the sugar. So I then had to tip it back into the bowl, add sugar, and proceed. Still, it came out very well and everyone at the gathering seemed to like it. Will make again as instructed.
rosasharne on April 07, 2026

made w charoset
rosasharne on March 16, 2026

I almost always use too many apples, and almost always cook it for double the suggested bake time.
sscholl on October 26, 2025

“UNBELIEVABLE,” per my husband, who requested it for his birthday.
anya_sf on October 28, 2024

I made 1/2 recipe, intending to bake it in a 6-cup Bundt pan, but it looked like it would be too small, so I used the full-size tube pan. That made for a very thin layer of batter, which is probably why the cake stuck to the pan - sugar from the apples seeped through and caramelized. But this was just for family and we were able to cut individual pieces out of the pan just fine. The cake was really delicious with tons of apples, which I cut into slightly smaller chunks (still pretty big IMO).
kshell on October 25, 2024

Family loves this cake. Will absolutely make again. I worried the OJ flavor would be detectable but it's not.
lholtzman on October 19, 2024

Delicious. Use a mix of apples. Great for high holidays.
Apollonia on April 20, 2024

Aside from cutting and peeling apples, a perfect easy cake to make with kids. Pleasingly sturdy and moist.
dsbingham on September 11, 2022

GF note: I've made this several times with the Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 GF flour. It was great, though sometimes soft in the middle, structurewise. I am going to try it with Authentic Foods' GF Cake Flour because it tends to produce drier baked goods.
Astrid5555 on October 02, 2016

After watching DP last week on Facebook making this cake, I finally gave it a try and it did not disappoint at all. Love the fact that no stand mixer is needed. Just combine wet and dry ingredients, add apples and that's it. Only made 3/4 of the recipe, still produced a very large cake that can easily feed 12+ people.