Every bite of this Dutch Apple Cake is sweet and juicy thanks to layers of thinly sliced Honeycrisps, baked up in a no fail batter with a touch of spice. This easy coffee cake has a nice crisp sugary crust that makes it irresistible.
Dutch apple cake is made with Honeycrisp apples
Once early Fall hits I can’t bake with apples fast enough. I love to cycle through the different varieties and taste the subtle differences in the results. Today’s Honeycrisp was sweetly juicy, and even after baking the thin slices retained that famous crunch they’re known for. This cake will take any apple you want to throw at it, so go with your favorite. (It doesn’t cook long enough for any variety to get mushy, so you’ll be good to go.)
“Everyone I have made this cake for absolutely loves it! It’s such a great, light cake perfect for mornings with coffee. I’m so glad I came across this blog!!“
~ jes
it’s everything you love about apple pie, in cake form!
Every country, every region really, that supports apple trees has their own favorite apple cake, and this one happens to be inspired by the way they do it in the Netherlands…the sliced fruit is folded right into a buttermilk cake batter. The thinly sliced apples create a delicious layered effect in the baked cake, making it almost like a cross between apple pie and cake.
I’ve only lightly spiced this cake with a touch of cinnamon and a little nutmeg so as not to overwhelm the delicate apple flavor. You could spice it more aggressively if you like with a combination of allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
what you’ll need
Nothing too unusual in this list, although the sour cream and buttermilk are worth the trip to the market if you don’t usually stock them.
- apples
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- sour cream
- buttermilk
- vanilla extract
Like most of my recipes, this Dutch apple cake is super simple to throw together. It’s moist and not too sweet, which means it’s ideal for a morning or coffee break treat.
we love apple cakes!
One way or another I think everybody loves to make at least one apple cake each fall. If you’ve got the itch, I’ve got several others on the blog for you to try ~
Irish Apple Cake ~ a similar cake using sliced apples with a crumble topping.
Honeycrisp Apple Cardamom Cake ~ the unexpected warmth of cardamom makes this cake so special.
Apple Cider Doughnut Cake ~ no whole apples in this, but applesauce and apple cider flavor it beautifully.
Spiced Apple Cake ~ rich spicy apple butter provides the apple flavor in this cake.
Apple Walnut Zucchini Bread ~ chunks of apple combine with shredded zucchini to make an impressive bundt cake.
tvfgi recommends: USA 9-inch Spring Form Pan
A spring form pan is handy for a recipe like this because the cake is very delicate, and removing it from a regular cake pan would be impossible. With a spring form pan you can release the sides so that even the most delicate cakes can be presented and sliced perfectly. I use my spring form pan for cornbread too because I love to be able to remove it and serve it on the table beautifully sliced. USA makes a whole line of bakeware and I’m slowly replacing all my pans. Plus, they’re made in the USA!
“I made this cake yesterday and it was a HUGE hit! Easy, moist, and full of that great apple taste. Enjoying another piece right now with my morning coffee. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks for sharing it.”
~ Yvonne
Dutch Apple Cake
Equipment
- 9 inch spring form pan
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated is the way to go!
wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling later
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 14 ounces thinly sliced peeled apples Note: best to weigh them, but that is approximately 2 and 1/2 cups. That's going to be 3-4 apples.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Lightly spray a 9 inch spring form pan. If you like you can line the bottom with a round of parchment.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices, and set aside.
- Cream the soft butter and sugar together in a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl a couple of times.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then beat in the vanilla.
- Stir the sour cream and buttermilk together, and then add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until combined, but don’t over mix.
- Fold in the apples and turn into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top. Sprinkle the surface of the cake liberally with granulated sugar.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake no longer jiggles in the center and the top is golden and slightly crackled. The exact cooking time will depend on the pan size you use. You can insert a toothpick in the center to test. Note: if the top seems to be browning too quickly cover it loosely with a sheet of foil.
- Let cool briefly, and then unlatch the spring and remove the outer ring. I like to run a spreading knife along the edge first to loosen any parts of the cake that are sticking to the pan. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Notes
-
Top the cake with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar for a different effect.
-
You might want to try this with custard sauce, the way they love it in the British Isles.
Nutrition
Hi Sue. I usually make my apple cake in the instant pot and am interested re your guidance for making it in that as well! Thanks in advance Pat
I’ve never baked a cake in the IP Pat, so I have no idea, sorry! Please let us know if you try.
Sue, this is perfect timing, was at Apple Hill on Saturday and brought home a box of honey crisps, my favorite. Now AI know what I’ll be doing later today.
Aren’t they so good? Usually I’m all about heirloom varieties, but they really hit the nail on the head with this one.
Followed it verbatim and it came out perfect. Everyone in my family came back for seconds. Thank you for sharing.??
Hello! I’m about to make this cake (excited!) and just wanted to clarify if it’s 1 stick+1/2cup of butter or 1 stick (or 1/2 cup) of butter? Im in Australia and I googled that 1 stick = 1/2 cup! Thanks so much!!!
It’s one stick, which is 1/2 cup of butter. Hope you love it!
Just made this cake and it was very good. Nice and moist and not too sweet. I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top after it cooled. Perfect!
I didn’t have a springform pan so I tried to make do with my Emile Henry pie dish plus parchment paper. Well the top browned in like 35 minutes and it wasn’t jiggly so I took it out. Twin paper in a pie dish was completely fine. But the inside was totally uncooked. I had even tried the toothpick test but I think because there were so many apples in it every toothpick I inserted came out clean even though the center of the cake was still just batter. I put it back in for 10 minutes and then six minutes. Still the inside had the same consistency. It was as if it hasn’t cooked anymore at all. There are just some sections of the inside of this trapped between apples that absolutely would not cook. It was incredibly frustrating! I’m sure it’s because I useD the wrong kind of dish. But not everyone has a springform pan just sitting at home. It would’ve been helpful to have a recommendation for what would be the best thing to use if you didn’t have that.
Sorry you had trouble Emily. Some cakes really do require a springform pan to work properly. This might work in a 9 inch square baking pan, but I’ve only made it in the springform.
Emily, before my mom got a springform pan she used a 9″ square pan to make her cheesecakes.
I was searching for a simple apple cake recipe and this is it! It’s fantastic even though I cut down on sugar and used only 1/2 cup (for our European taste it’s just way to much sugar which then I think overpowers the spices and apples); I added cardamom to the batter and generously sprinkled cinnamon sugar and nutmeg on apples and at the end created an additional layer of apples on the top which I also sprinkled with cinnamon sugar … it’s the most delicious apple cake I have ever eaten …. thanks for the recipe 🙂
I do the same thing, I cut the sugar on most American recipes…and almost always use Cardamon.
I’m afraid I cannot get buttermilk or sour cream, any suggestions for alternatives? I often use Greek yoghurt for sour cream but never know what to use for buttermilk!
You can easily make a buttermilk substitute by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to a cup of whole milk, and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can also use yogurt, sometimes I’ll just thin it slightly with milk if it’s very thick.
Made this today – delicious!!! Thank you for your advice
Thank you for asking this! I’m currently in lockdown in the UK and I can’t go out for sour cream or butter cream! Thank you sue and Victoria x
Everyone I have made this cake for absolutely loves it! It’s such a great, light cake perfect for mornings with coffee. I’m so glad I came across this blog!!
Glad you found us Jes!
I don’t have sour cream, can it be substituted with more buttermilk or other things?
You might use yogurt, if you’ve got that.
Can this cake be baked a few days ahead before serving? or can I freeze it?
You can make it a day ahead, and yes, it should freeze well.