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My Grandma's Fresh Apple Cake is the most delicious spiced cake loaded with grated apples and finished with a simple caramel sauce poured over the top. It's the fall dessert my family requests on repeat every single year.
Grandma's Special Apple Cake
This Apple Cake is one of my most treasured family recipes on this site. I love how food can link us with loved ones who have passed on.
You will love how easy this is to make–like no peeling the apples– just grate them skin-on, right into the batter. You can also use whatever apples are in your fridge, allowing you to make it practically anytime. Also, the caramel sauce is a non-negotiable! I can't wait for you to try this delicious apple cake recipe.
Take advantage of my recipes for apple season and try my Apple Crisp, Applesauce, Apple Pie, Baked Apples, Apple Crisp, Caramel Apples, and Apple Coffee Cake!
How to make Fresh Apple Cake:
Caramel Sauce (make ahead): You can use your favorite high quality store-bought sauce, but I recommend saving the money and making your own. It tastes better and is so easy and affordable. Just combine all caramel sauce ingredients in a glass bowl. Bring a couple inches of water to a boil in a small saucepan and place the glass bowl on top (or use a double broiler). Let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally for one hour – that's it! Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Make Batter: Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs, then stir in the grated apple. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients, then fold into the wet ingredients until just combined.
Bake: Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 45 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve: Let the cake cool for at least 10 minutes, then serve warm with the caramel sauce and whipped cream.
Apple Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter, , room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 6 small/medium apples*, , grated with peel on (discard the core)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, , optional
Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Easy Caramel Sauce (can be made ahead): Place all caramel sauce ingredients in a large glass bowl and stir to combine. Fill a saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring it to a boil. Turn it to a low simmer. Set glass bowl over the saucepan (or use a double boiler) and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Pour into a jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.1 cup heavy whipping cream, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wet ingredients: In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well blended. Add the eggs and mix well. Stir in the big pile of freshly grated apple.2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup butter, 2 large eggs, 6 small/medium apples*
- Dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves
- Combine: Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix, just until incorporated. Stir in walnuts, if using.1 cup chopped walnuts
- Bake in a greased 9×13 inch pan for 45-60 min, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm with caramel sauce and whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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*I originally shared this recipe November 2014. Updated November 2020, October 2022, September 2024 and August 2026.
This was excellent as is but not quite five stars because there was something missing…think it was salt? Next time I would add a little salt to the cake and/or the caramel. It was soft and decadent, kinda like a sticky toffee pudding.
Delicious and easy!! My new favorite. Thank you so much for sharing.
Have not even had time to get to the store to pickup the ingredients yet but my mouth is watering for this Apple Cake just looking at the picture!!!
Thanks for Sharing Lauren
It looks like there are raisins in yours. Is that the walnuts or did you add raisins?
Lauren used walnuts in her cake, but you could stir in raisins instead if you’d like.
Delicious 😋😋
Made it this afternoon
Was so Easy to make & super moist
Only thing I did different was to omit the cloves
My husband loved it😜😜👍🏼👍🏼
Denise
Made this recipe tonight exactly as written by the talented owner and author of it… IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE MOST AMAZING APPLE CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD! I say bravo to it’s owner and publisher,, and I very much appreciate you sharing your wonderful family recipe with the rest of us that are grateful to have discovered it! My family and friends that have had the pleasure of sharing this cake thank you very much. Sure we will be enjoying it for years to come!!
This has the beginnings of a good recipe but it’s too heavy on the sugar (esp. with the recommended toppings) and there’s no salt listed (the cake won’t rise at all without including both). I reduced the white sugar and the number of apples by half, I added a cup of currants rehydrated in bourbon, I used allspice instead of cinnamon, and I added 1 teaspoon of salt to activate the 2 teaspoons of baking soda. The texture of the cake was light and spongy as it should be, and the combination of flavors came through with less sugar to drown them out.
E.A. You have so many negative comments on this recipe, please let us know when your “Perfect Recipes” page is???
So you made an altogether different cake & only gave this recipe 3 stars?
I don’t have cloves, is there another substitution?
So good. Cut recipe by half and used an 8×8 pan. Cosmic Crisp apples were bomb in this. Will be making on repeat.
Very tasty Reminded me of old fashioned cakes yum!
The recipe you have for the caramel sauce on top of this apple cake says that you simmer it for one hour, is that a misprint.
I used a Pyrex bowl over boiling water, don’t have a double boiler. Let it simmer for an hour. Turned out great. It thickens as it cools.