Looking for a birthday cake with natural and hearty flavours? Look no further with this Cinnamon Apple Birthday Cake! Served with tart cream cheese and freshly baked honey nut granola, this cake is a treat to behold!

My inspiration behind this Cinnamon Apple Birthday Cake is the flavours my sister like! Since my family tend to be afraid of creams and overly sweet cakes, I thought incorporating natural flavours would be a good touch this year.

To achieve this, I brainstormed for the incorporation of a fruit flavour. Thereafter, I reached my conclusion to use apples which pair so well with cinnamon! Thanks to the natural sweetness of apples, I am able to cut down on the amount of sugar used in the batter. Next, I topped it off with a lower in sugar cream cheese frosting. Because I only needed a thin layer for spreading, it allows me to control the amount of sugar.

Finally, I top it off with freshly baked Honey Nut Granola. Naturally, there are many contenders for the crunch option atop your cake. Some other options include chopped toasted nuts or apple chips!

The making of this cake is simple and requires just a single bowl. The challenging part is to follow the recipe to the T to ensure that your apples are well-distributed across the batter (as opposed to sinking). I achieved this by coating my apples nicely in the dry mixture before folding it in.

Additionally, caution is needed to ensure that the batter is well-mixed. However, with patience and close observation, mixing all ingredients in shouldn’t be a trouble at all!

Without further ado, the recipe!

Cinnamon Apple Birthday Cake Recipe
by Javier Tan September-11-2022

Inspired by the flavours of nature, this hearty Cinnamon Apple Birthday Cake is sure to please people of all ages!

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 1/4 Cup or 60g of Butter, Melted
  • 1/4 Cup or 60g of Flavourless Vegetable Oil, Melted (use Canola or Sunflower)
  • 1/3 Cup or 80g Milk, Room Temperature
  • 1 Large Egg, weighing approx 60g including shell, Room Temperature
  • 1 Tsp or 5ml Vanilla Essence (2.5ml if using extract)
  • 2 Tbspns + 1/2 Cup or 130g of Granulated White Sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 Cup or 190g of All-Purpose / Plain Flour, Sifted
  • 2 Tsp or 8g of Baking Powder, Sifted
  • 1.5 – 2 Medium Apples, chopped to 1/2 to 1 inch cubes (180 – 200g, only the flesh of the apples were weighed)

Low Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 and 1/3 Cup or 160g of Softened Cream Cheese (Room temp)
  • 2 Teaspoons or 10g of Softened Butter (Room temp)
  • 1 Cup or 120g of Powdered Sugar, Sifted (Can reduce to 120g if not piping and less sweet)
  • 1 Tablespoon or 15ml of Milk (I start with 10ml first and then see the consistency)

Honey Nut Granola

Instructions

  1. Line the 8 inch round baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 160 degrees C or 300F.
  2. Mix together the melted butter, oil, and sugar. 
  3. Then, whisk in the egg, milk and vanilla until the mixture is of a single consistency.
  4. Then, fold in the sifted flour, sifted baking powder and apples. Mix in cinnamon if not preparing the cinnamon sugar topping. Transfer the batter to the baking tray.
  5. Next, prepare the cinnamon sugar topping by stirring all ingredients together.
  6. Spread the cinnamon sugar topping over the top of the cake as a layer.
  7. Then, bake for about 40 – 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with only a couple of small crumbs at most.
  8. Cool for about 30 minutes before frosting.
  9. While waiting to cool, make the cream cheese frosting by mixing the softened cream cheese and butter at low speed for a min.
  10. Then, add in the sifted powdered sugar and milk (5ml at a time), and mix at medium speed until it achieves the desired consistency.

Details

  • Prep time: 35
  • Cook time: 45
  • Total time: 1
  • Yield: 1 Impressive Cinnamon Apple Birthday Cake!

Notes:

  1. If you would like to be updated for more recipes which I strive to create to perfection for sharing and for free, do check out my Instagram, Facebook Page, or YouTube 🙂 Thank you so much for all of your support! Feel free to tag me or link back here!
  2. Best eaten within 5 days, stored in refrigerator!
  3. Feel free to ask if you need help!
  4. Its possible to use an 8 inch square pan (approx 3-5 minutes longer) or 9 inch square pan (same baking time).

Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan