Easy Apple Cake with Olive Oil, the Best Recipe for Fall

This Easy Apple Cake with Olive Oil is the most delicious way to showcase sweet, tart fresh apples all-year, but especially when new harvest apples become available in the Fall. Because you already have all the ingredients, requires only one bowl, and is endlessly forgiving and flexible, it will become a go-to recipe in your kitchen! Shall we?

By the way, this Easy Apple Cake is a variation of one of, like, three dessert recipes I actually bake All. The. Time.

Explore More

• What is Olive Oil Cake?
• Does the Cake Taste Like Olive Oil?
• Can I Use Another Oil for Olive Oil?
• Olive Oil vs Butter in Baking
• Is Olive Oil Cake Healthy
• Ingredients You Need for Easy Apple Cake
• What Kind of Apples are Best for Cake?
• How Many Apples Make 1 Cup?
• What Kind of Olive Oil for this Cake
• How to Make Easy Apple Cake
• What to Make with a Lot of Apples
• Easy Apple Cake with Olive Oil Recipe

What is Olive Oil Cake?

An Olive Oil Cake is a cake made with, wait for it, olive oil as the primary fat component as opposed to butter or another vegetable oil. Oil in cakes, as opposed to butter, keeps them from drying out too quickly, so you don't have to add extra liquid like milk if you prefer not.

The Easy Apple Cake version is studded with fresh diced apples and flavored with an incredibly fragrant mix of spices. To level it up, you can also add optional paper-thin slices of apples to the top of the cake.

Because olive oil is a liquid, an Olive Oil Cake comes together in one bowl without having to wait to soften butter, or wear out your forearms to beat butter and sugar. The cake bakes as a single layer in a cake pan or a loaf pan. This is why Olive Oil Cakes are my favorite to make. Dump. Stir. Bake.

The simple blending method is forgiving so it's easy to stir in additional flavors in the form of herbs, spices, and nuts.

Best Olive Oil Cake Recipes

Here are some of my favorite versions of olive oil cakes:

• Lemon Olive Oil Cake is the lemon version of this cake, dairy-free and baked in an 8-inch round pan
• Orange Olive Oil Cake recipe, dairy-free, baked in 8-inch round cake pan
• Matcha Olive Oil Cake, dairy-free, baked in an 8-inch round springform pan
• Chocolate Olive Oil Cake, dairy-free, rich and chocolatey baked in an 8-inch round springform pan

Olive Oil Cakes are usually not overly sweet, so they do best served without a sugary, heavy frosting. A light dusting of confectioner's sugar with some fresh fruit on top is a perfect, simple adornment for visuals.

The cake is generally thought of as a dessert from the Mediterranean cuisines, in which olive oil plays an important role in food and culture. The first time I ever tasted olive oil cake was in an Italian restaurant. I was hooked because unsurprisingly, it was "not too sweet."

The olive oil flavor in the final cake will not stand out. Because many olive oils have an inherently fruity aroma and a "spicy" flavor, the cake will taste more like spicy apples than olive oil, or whatever other "flavor" ingredient you add to the cake like orange liqueur, herbs, nuts, or chocolate.

Can I Use Another Oil for Olive Oil?

Yes! You can absolutely substitute in any light, neutral-flavored oil for the olive oil like avocado oil, my first choice for substitution. Canola oil and grapeseed oil are other neutral-flavored oils that would work.

Olive Oil vs Butter in Baking

Aside from the fact that the two ingredients having very different flavor profiles, olive oil and butter render final products with different textures. Olive oil cakes are denser and moister, and stay moist for much longer than cakes made with butter.

Generally speaking, olive oil is considered a healthier fat choice over butter because of its omega-3 content, making an olive oil cake a more appropriate choice for people with certain health and dietary needs. However, cakes and other baked goods, even with olive oil, may have other ingredients like sugar, wheat flour, eggs, and dairy, that affect the nutrient density of the final dish. Which brings us to...

Is Olive Oil Cake Healthy

As a quick note, almost all of the Olive Oil Cake recipes I've shared so far are dairy-free, and it's partially by design because I don't usually keep milk, buttermilk or even yogurt on hand.

Everything else you need for this cake, you probably already have in your refrigerator and pantry.

Here are the nutrition details per serving (1 slice):

• Calories: 340
• Protein: 3.7 g
• Fat: 19.4 g
• Fiber: 1.6 g

Ingredients You Need for Easy Apple Cake

Because this Easy Apple Cake is something I spontaneously decide to make on some random Wednesday afternoon (usually as a way to procrastinate, surprise, surprise), I want to be able to bake it right away without having to go to the grocery store to buy additional ingredients. I almost always have flour in the freezer as well as sugar because it doesn't go bad. Of course, I always have oranges (for feng shui!), olive oil, and eggs. Here is a list of the ingredients you need:

Fresh/refrigerator ingredients:

• Apples, obviously! 3 large apples, about 3 cups diced
• Eggs, 3 large

Dry/pantry ingredients:

• Olive oil, obviously! 1 cup
• Flour, 2 cups
• Sugar, 1 cup
• Salt, 1 teasponn
• Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoons
• Cinnamon, 1 teaspoon
• Ground ginger, ½ teasponn
• Baking powder, 1 teaspoon
• Baking soda, 1 teasponn

What Kind of Apples are Best for Cake?

Use apples that have a firm, solid texture, with a good flavor balance between sweet and tart. I like Honeycrisp or Cosmic Crisp, both of which have the perfect balance of sweet tart, and hold up their shape in the cake. Because this Easy Apple Cake recipe relies on the natural sweetness of apples instead of a ton of added refined sugar, a little sweeter is better than a little more tart.

My second choice for baking apples is Fuji, which is sweeter and has a slightly less crisp/firm texture. Granny Smith have good structure, and work if you like tart.

How Many Apples Make 1 Cup?

Because apples come in different types, sizes, and density, it's generally better to "measure" apples by actual pounds or cups, not by number of apples.

According to the USDA (reference), an "average" apple weighs 5-6 ounces, or about ⅓ of a pound, but what is this? The 1800s? Have you seen apples in grocery stores? They have gotten MUCH bigger, and the average apple based on my own experience weighs more like 8 ounces, or ½-pound.

So 1 pound of apples, or 16 ounces is just about equivalent to:

• 2 large apples
• 3 medium apples

This recipe is fairly forgiving though, so it's ok to come close enough with the amount of apples and it's better to go a little over on the apples!

Pro-tip: larger apples will be easier to peel.

What Kind of Olive Oil for this Cake

Use the best-tasting (to you) olive oil you can afford. Though the flavor of the oil will be subtle in the final cake, it's best to go with extra virgin for quality, and an olive oil on the deeper, fruitier side rather than on the intense, peppery side. 

Avoid using "light" olive oil for this cake, which refers to the oil's flavor and color, not the calories. Light olive oil has been processed which makes it more suitable for cooking at high heat, but also results in fewer nutrients.

I like this California-grown olive oil, but it's also VERY expensive, so I am saving that for times when I am eating straight olive oil like as a dip for bread, and using this mild, organic olive oil for the cake.

Additional Ingredients Notes and Resources

1. Flour. You can use any form of wheat flour for Easy Apple Cake. I used this brand of organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour. I have made this cake with half whole wheat flour and as expected, it works perfectly well.
2. Cinnamon. I could write a whole blog post on cinnamon alone! But until I do, if you can, get your hands on specifically CEYLON cinnamon, which has a softer, more balanced spice flavor, as opposed to cinnamon in the cassia category, which is stronger and "spicier." This brand is a great resource for spices.
3. Ginger. This is a large bag of organic ground ginger I like for baking and also stirring into my coffee.
4. Other Spices. Feel free to add ¼-1 teaspoon of additional spices you like, including cardamom and nutmeg. I would avoid allspice and cloves, otherwise you're getting into Pumpkin Spice territory.
5. All other fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find what I need at the farmers' market.

How to Make Easy Apple Cake

Remove cake from oven, run a knife with a thin blade around the edge, and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Release cake from pan sides, and cool cake on a wire rack for at least 20 more minutes.

Pro-tip: Let the cake "rest" overnight, covered on the countertop for the apple and spice flavors to really come out. I don't know what the science is behind this, but it's real.

Tools and Equipment for Easy Apple Cake

There isn't any special tool or piece of equipment required for this Easy Apple Cake, and in fact, I highly encourage you to skip hauling out heavy stand mixers, or even a hand mixer for this. However, that doesn't mean there are a couple of things that might make this cake easier than it already is to get from pantry to plate.

• 9-inch round springform pan. The recipe here specifies a 9-inch springform pan and it's the one I used because that's the type of pan I have that's the right volume. You can also use other shaped pans, see below in the FAQ.
• Parchment paper to release the bottom of the cake without ripping off any of the orange slices.
• Y-peeler to peel the apples
• Chef's knife, this is the 7-inch santoku style knife that is my daily workhorse
• Large cutting board
• Glass mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Sifter

Pro Tips, Tricks, and Technique FAQs

• How many pounds is 3-4 large apples?? On average, one regular apple yields:
  • 1 tablespoon of orange zest and
  • ¼ cup orange juice.
    For this recipe, plan to use 3 oranges—2 oranges for the cake batter, plus 1 orange for the slices on the bottom of the cake—and grab an extra one or two just in case. You can never have too many oranges laying around your kitchen!
• Can You Use a Different Size Cake Pan to Bake the Cake? Yes! Because this Olive Oil Cake is so forgiving, you can use slightly different sized and shaped pans. A slightly smaller 8-inch round cake pan will yield a taller cake, and needs to bake for a longer time. Check the cake at 40 minutes.
• Can You Bake the Cake in a Loaf Pan? Yes! The cake will no longer be served "upside down," so skip the fresh orange slices in the bottom of the pan. In an 8-inch loaf pan, bake the cake for a little longer. The cake will have a slightly deeper golden "crust" because it's in the oven for longer, but it's still cake.

Ingredients Substitutions and FAQs

The recipe for this cake is called "fool-proof" because it is very forgiving in terms of ingredients and measurement precision. Here are the pro-tips:

• Can You Substitute Out the Olive Oil? YES! You can use any light, neutral flavored oil in place of the olive oil. It will generally have the same texture, but just taste different.
• Different Type of Flour? You can use any form of wheat flour for Easy Apple Cake. This brand of organic, unbleached, all-purpose flour is the one I use. I have made this cake with half whole wheat flour and as expected, it works perfectly well. For gluten-free flours... glad you asked! See next...
• Can You Make it Gluten-free? Yes! Two baking-ready gluten-free flours my gluten-free experts friends have recommended are Measure-for-Measure by King Arthur and Pamela's, both of which you can substitute into recipes 1:1.
• Can You Make it Vegan? If you replace the eggs with an appropriate plant-based egg substitute, the cake will be vegan. That being said...
• Can you Replace the Eggs? I have not yet personally made this Easy Apple Cake with an egg substitute, either store-bought or something like ground flaxseeds. If you do, please let me know how it turns out!
• Can You Use Other Fruit Besides Apples? Yes! Use fruit that has a similar texture to apples like pears or persimmons!

What to Make with a Lot of Apples

If you, like me, hoard apples by the bushel (which is actually 42 pounds), here are some of the best fun and unique apple recipes that aren't applesauce and pie:

• Harvest Salad with Apples and Walnuts
• Apple Cabbage Salad with Miso Mustard Dressing
• Apple Kimchi
• Invisible Apple Cake aka French Gateau Invisible

And yes, I love apples, why do you ask?

Food for Afterthoughts

Last week, we tried on Espresso Mocha Cakes for the uber sugar and spice and everything nice little girlie charade just around the corner and it fit quite perfectly. Not a single alteration required. This week, I’ve got Red Velvet in the dressing room.

“Oooohh! I adore red velvet cake!” they coo in their very cutest Hello Kitty voices, but I don’t understand why people, especially the ladies, get their tastebuds tangled up in knots over red velvet cake. It certainly can’t be for the taste, for red doesn’t taste like anything. It’s neither chocolate nor vanilla. It’s not fruit. Red velvet is named after...a fabric? It must only be the incredibly unexpected red color. Totally unnatural, because there is nothing in nature that could make a cake look that cherry Fanta red. *shrugs* But then again, there’s nothing natural about no. 1 fire engine red fingernails, either. Silly girls.

Left on Red

There are two tablespoons of cocoa powder in the recipe, but the cocoa is fairly unnoticeable, as it’s there less for function and more for fashion. The darkness of the cocoa powder tones down the brightness of the two tablespoons of red food coloring. I’m sure if I left the cocoa powder out, there wouldn’t be all that much difference other than the cake would be so glowing bright red it could work as a stop light. If it didn’t have the food coloring, it would simply be light beige and taste exactly the same – like nothing.

But logic doesn’t matter when we’re talking about platform sandals and red velvet cake, because when it’s in, it’s in, and everyone has to have one even if you couldn’t walk fifty paces without getting a blister the size of the Astrodome. So I am making red velvet.

Red Hot Lava

After adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, I almost shook the whole thing out into the garbage disposal in the sink because it looked like no cake batter I had ever seen before. Not only was it bright red, there was a fairly heavy ring of oil around the edge where the batter met the bowl, and little pools of oil gurgling across the surface. It looked like blood red lava.

But what the hell do I know? Maybe it’s supposed to look like some horrifying creature was about to emerge from the red sea in my mixing bowl. I ladled the oily batter into the cupcake holders and slid the wicked looking little babies into the oven. I was eventually going to have to taste one, so why not get a headstart on trying to undo the aftermath? I sure did a lot of situps in 17 minutes. But damn my burning abs were relieved when the timer went off.

Frosted

I’m not sure what I was expecting behind the oven door after the gurgling goo. Surprisingly, the ugly duckling batter had blossomed and baked into normal-looking cupcakes. Even the extraordinarily bright maraschino had toned down to a little more natural Bing cherry red. They tasted good (for red velvet) and I didn’t want to put frosting on them. The cake alone was pretty sweet and the most delicious part was the somewhat sticky, lightly crispy layer on top. I have absolutely no idea how that happened, but my guess is that with all that oil, the cake was basically oven-frying.

Well, fine, you can’t go naked to a tea party, and you can’t go unfrosted with cupcakes to a bridal shower, so I gave in and did the cream cheese frosting, which incidentally, was a little softer than I would have liked; more like an icing rather than a thick, stiff frosting. But *eh* who the heck cares when it’s just a test batch that you’re giving to your office?