Jewish Apple Cake
This Jewish Apple Cake is a wonderfully dense and moist cake batter studded with tons of cinnamon-sugar coated apples. It's the perfect fall dessert for any occasion, especially if you are celebrating the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
This Jewish apple cake recipe was sent to me years ago by a reader, Linda, who said she had been making it for years and that it's a big family favorite.
Linda said that this particular recipe is from Chef Robert Bennett of Classic Bakery in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; when I Googled "Jewish apple cake" I found tons of recipes nearly identical to this one, so it may be one of those recipes that have been floating around in grandmas' kitchens for decades!
Why We Love It…
The crumb of this cake is compact but OH SO velvety smooth and super moist.
Linda talked about how much her family loved the crust on this cake and I agree - I think it was my favorite part!
The texture of the cake really reminded me of the Russian pound cake that my aunt and grandma used to make around the holidays.
When It’s Served
Jewish apple cake is a popular dessert during Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year); since the cake is made without any dairy products (see the ingredient notes below), it can be eaten as a dessert with meals made with meat, keeping with Jewish dietary laws of not mixing meat and dairy in the same meal.
If you need something a little extra special in the dessert department this fall, give this Jewish apple cake a try - it's dessert comfort food at its best.
Key Ingredients
This cake does not require any fancy ingredients, but let’s talk through some of the key ones you’ll use and potential substitutions:
- Apples – The star of the show! This recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but Gala apples and Honeycrisp apples are also wonderful alternatives. Instead of sliced apples, this recipe calls for chopping them, which I love! I feel that they are better dispersed through the cake and it’s easier to eat.
- Vegetable Oil – This cake uses vegetable oil instead of butter, which keeps the cake dairy-free and kosher, as well as produces a wonderfully moist crumb.
- Orange Juice – This takes the place of milk (keeping the cake free of dairy products), and adds a punch of flavor to the cake batter. A store-bought orange juice with no pulp is a great option! If you need to substitute, pineapple juice is a wonderful choice; otherwise, water will work.
How to Make Jewish Apple Cake
Below is a quick overview of how this recipe comes together:
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
- Toss the chopped apples with cinnamon and sugar, then set them aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine with a rubber spatula.
- Add the eggs one at time, mixing well after each.
- Layer the cake batter and chopped apples in a 10-inch tube pan.
- Bake until a skewer comes out clean (takes around 90 minutes).
When Linda emailed me the recipe, she said that she intentionally "ribbons" her batter in layers over the apples without covering them completely so that the cake has apples all throughout and not distinct layers of cake and apple. I just loved having chunks of apples in every single bite!
Recipe Notes
A few quick tips on making a wonderfully delicious Jewish apple cake:
- I used a slotted spoon to transfer the apples from the bowl to the prepared pan so that not too much accumulated juice was transferred, but there still was some and it didn’t appear to negatively affect the cake at all.
- The Pan – A 10-inch tube pan is perfect for this recipe, but you can also substitute a standard 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan. I would recommend a standard-style pan and not one that is overly intricate; the chunks of apple throughout the cake could cause some sticking in those fancy pans.
- To Serve – This cake is absolutely delicious standing on its own, but you could certainly serve a slice of it with a dollop of whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.
- Storage – Once completely cool, leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezing – This cake freezes wonderfully! Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and then a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Enjoy More Apple Recipes:
- Classic French Apple Cake
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie
If you make this Jewish apple cake recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Jewish Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the Apples
- 6 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped (about ½-inch pieces)
- 5 tablespoons (62 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the Cake
- 2¾ cups (358 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (198 g) vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (60 ml) orange juice
- 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
- Prepare the Apples: In a large bowl, toss the chopped apples with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Prepare the Cake Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir to combine with a spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the eggs to the mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition (the batter will start out very thick, but will get looser and easier to mix as you continue to add the eggs). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Add a thin layer of the cake batter to the bottom of the pan, then add one-quarter of the apples on top of the batter. Ribbon one-quarter of the remaining cake batter over top of the apples; the batter should not completely cover all of the apples (it will spread when baking). Repeat three more times with the remaining apples and cake batter, ending with a layer of cake batter, but again it will not totally cover the apples, that’s okay!
- Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and for 20 minutes, then invert the pan and remove the cake. Cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Apples – This recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but Gala apples and Honeycrisp apples are also wonderful alternatives.
- Orange Juice – This takes the place of milk, and adds a punch of flavor to the cake batter. A store-bought orange juice with no pulp is a great option! If you need to substitute, pineapple juice is a wonderful choice; otherwise, water will work.
- I used a slotted spoon to transfer the apples from the bowl to the prepared pan so that not too much accumulated juice was transferred, but there still was some and it didn’t appear to negatively affect the cake at all.
- The Pan – A 10-inch tube pan is perfect for this recipe, but you can also substitute a standard 12-cup Bundt pan. I would recommend a standard-style pan and not one that is overly intricate; the chunks of apple throughout the cake could cause some sticking in those fancy pans.
- To Serve – This cake is absolutely delicious standing on its own, but you could certainly serve a slice of it with a dollop of whipped cream, a dusting of powdered sugar, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.
- Storage – Once completely cool, leftover cake can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezing – This cake freezes wonderfully! Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and then a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Has anyone replaced vegetable oil with applesauce? I always make that substitution in other recipes. Wondering how this will taste.
Should it cool in pan a bit before inverting onto a serving plate ?
DELICIOUS!
I baked with 1/2 cup less sugar and added pecans! Used 2 loaf pans.. mixed all ingredients together and it was delicious!
Moist and delicious. I went against tradition and baked it using convect at 325 x 60 mins..
I love this recipe. Any tips to prevent it from sticking to the pan? Made it twice Delicious but the cake separated in half toward the bottom. I had to stick it back together. Nobody cared bc it was delicious. I’m a skilled baker and this has me flummoxed. Thank you
Peg, I smack the pan up, down and all around quite a few times and this makes the cake release intact.
Crisco make a flour based version of their non-stick spray for baking. Do NOT use the cooking spray, look for the baking version w/ flour.
I can not get the cake out of the pan.
I sprayed and floured the bundt pan well.
Is there a trick I don’t know about?
Thanks
I had the same problem of the cake separating horizontally while turning it out of the pan (even after watching every YouTube video on the topic) so I decided to try parchment paper in the bottom of my Tube pan…Just trace around the bottom of the tube pan onto parchment paper with a pencil and cut the donut shape a little smaller so it fits right in the bottom … before placing the parchment paper, spray the whole pan with nonstick baking spray (This helps the parchment to stay put while adding the batter) I also flour the sides of the pan a little…After baking I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then gently scrape down the sides of the pan including the center circle with a narrow thin plastic flat scraping tool that actually came with my vita mix…I actually just tried this yesterday when I made two Jewish apple cakes for neighbors and the cakes came out perfectly both times!!! Definitely cause for a happy dance! Hope this helps
I started using the Joy brand of nonstick spray with flour on all of my cakes and to this day have never had a problem with sticking. Just a tip.
This may be one of the best cakes you’ll ever make. My Aunt and Mother used to make it now I continue making it as a meof them. them.
Thank you so much!!! I made your Jewish Apple Cake. I went exactly by your recipe. It was absolutely the BEST!!! I loved the crunch to the outside of the cake. I sprinkled a little sugar and cinnamon on top. This cake recipe is delicious!!!!!
I have made this three times in the last few weeks. Today it is for the library bake sale! Delicious. I did cut sugar to 1 and a half cups. No problem with pouring batter as I bake with extra large or jumbo eggs so that gives plenty of liquid to the mix. And yes, use the tablespoon of cinnamon in the apples, you won’t be sorry.
It’s in the oven right now. Am interested in how long you allow to cool before attempting to remove it from the tube pan. Please???
This apple cake is delicious. It is by far the best apple cake I have ever had !! So moist and flavorful. I normally make 2 pans by doubling the recipe. I share with friends.
I made this for the first time. I split it into two loaf pans it worked great except you have to decease the bake time.
I did not remember that my nephew has allergies to oranges so today I am going to try lemon juice and make it in a bundt pan. He could not eat the other
It is a wonderful cake.
have been making Jewish Apple Cake for about 40 years and it is always a fave
I have never baked with orange juice before… silly question, but can I just the juice of an orange, or do I need to buy store bought orange juice?
Yes, you can totally use the juice of an orange!
Does anyone know if you can replace some of the white sugar with brown sugar? I notice many of the comments say it was too sweet, so I wonder if I do 1 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar if that would taste good?
Thank you! Hoping to make this for Rosh Hashanah this year!
I cut sugar to 1/3 of what’s in a recipe. Used 1/3 of brown sugar and 2/3 of white sugar. Came out great
The recipe doesn’t say how long to cool IN THE PAN before removing cake…only to cool to room temp before serving.How long before removing from pan?
I don’t own a tube pan or a bundt pan. Would this work in a loaf pan? I think a regular round pan is probably too wide, and the edges would overcook by the time the center would be done.
I split this between two loaf tins. Works great.
It would be too much for one loaf pan, but you might be able to make two!
Thank you so very much for the lady locks(cream Horns). I literally got the chills over it. It took me back to those days. (Told you before, I’m goofy). I don’t remember putting water in it, and I used the whole eggs. Sometimes people change things a little I also didn’t use kosher salt. Otherwise it seems close to what I had. Don’t remember the measurements of the ingredients. I want to start making them right now!!!!! Have to get clothespins and a few ingredients. Can almost taste them now. Yes, they were very popular for weddings. Fantastic. Thank You. God Bless you.
Michelle—I’ve made this cake for over 30 years and its origins go back many years before that. Look at this discussion https://trustforce.wordpress.com/2018/05/08/jewish-apple-cake/ which delves into a lot of the history of this cake.
I would disagree with you about mixing the apples throughout the batter. I’ve tried both the two layer method I describe which is much more authentic and the mixed throughout method, and the cake tastes much better with the two apple layer approach.
Given the similarities between my recipe, your version, Deb Perelman’s version, Joan Nathan’s version, etc, etc; there is probably some point of common source many years ago, but all my research has turned up is frayed 3 by 5 inch recipes written by grandmothers or great-grandmothers or synagogue sisterhood cookbooks. I have not found the true original recipe or its creator. I would like to give credit to whoever came up with this recipe, because it is such a wonderful cake and has given countless generations pleasure!
Hi Michelle, I was looking for an apple cake that didn’t have any butter and that’s when I found your website. I made this apple cake today and it’s delicious. It’s very similar to my mom’s Italian apple cake. I guess in every nationality we each have their favorite apple cake recipe :-) Thanks so much for the recipe.
This Jewish Apple Cake recipe is excellent. The taste was very close to my mother’s recipe. I’ve made it twice now and the second time I reduced the sugar to 1 • 1/2 cups. The cake was moist and very flavorful. Less sweet makes it a nice cake to have with coffee or tea in the morning. I used a tube pan and used bakers spray to coat the inside. No trouble at all removing the cake.
This cake is amazing! Followed recipe exactly. Used a bundt pan.
It’s been years since I’ve had a Jewish apple cake and after seeing this recipe, I really want to try it!
I thought this cake would be a departure from the usual for Xmas. However, despite being an experienced home baker & following your recipe exactly, (even used the exact pan you did), the cake was very difficult to release. When I could finally unmold it, 25% stayed in the pan. This meant I could not possibly serve it to guests. Also, I thought the cake was way too sweet, but that, of course, is a matter of personal taste. Where did I go wrong? Many thanks & happy holidays.
The same thing happened to me.
Same thing happened to me too, I couldn’t serve it to my guests
1 tablespoon of cinnamon sounds like an awful lot,is that measurement correct
This was the best apple cake I’ve ever baked! I didn’t layer the apples with the batter. I sliced my apples and mixed them into the batter. So moist and so delicious!
Absolutely the BEST. I changed the OJ to Meyer lemon juice because I didn’t have orange juice. It was fabulous. I only baked mine about 50 minutes, not 90, but this may have taken less time to vabake because I used a tube pan. Rave reviews from all who ate it.
Can this cake be made in advance and frozen ?
Hi Daveda, Yes, this cake freezes well!
This was delicious! I could almost have reduced the sugar because it was quite sweet. But it was absolutely delicious. I halved the recipe and made it in a 9″ round pan (reduced cooking time to approx. 45 min.) The apples were so tender and wonderful. I also used some Fuji apples a little past their prime instead of Granny Smith — perhaps that’s why I could have reduced the sugar a bit. Terrific, easy recipe. I’ll definitely make this again.
Dont know what went wrong but, batter was so thick could barely get it off the spoon. Had to drop globs of batter over the apples.