Apple picking on a picture perfect autmun day, with endless blue sky? That scene could only be improved with the sight of luscious Macintosh apples exploding off of every branch. New England rocks when it comes to the beauty and bounty of this fall season. The only way to celebrate is with chunky pple cake made with just-picked apples.
Apple picking can be such fun. There’s always the one kid, though, who helps themselves to the booty on the sly, and starts chomping down like it’s their full-time job. It’s not stealing, though, is it? We paid for the bag, therefore, whatever goes in the bag is paid for. At least, I think she took this from the bag. Um, forget it. You don’t know me…and I don’t know that kid in the pink shirt…
Ingredients for Chunky Apple Cake
The recipe, which I adapted from the Noble Pig , claims to be an very old recipe from a neighbor long ago. Now, that is my kind of recipe – decades old and family-approved. I made a few adjustments in the name of maximizing nutrients. It’s what I do 
I can’t help it, it’s genetic – my grandmother was a dietitian too!
As a result, this chunky apple cake is lower in fat and sugar than your usual apple cake, and boosted with fiber thanks to whole wheat flour. It still delivers bigtime on apple flavor, sweetness, and a good dose of warming spices. Ingredients details include:
- Flour – I use a combination of all purpose (AP) and whole wheat flour, but you can make this with all AP flour, you could use gluten-free AP flour, or you could use whole wheat pastry flour for the entire recipe. I don’t recommend using all whole wheat flour, though, as it will weigh down this cake.
- Sugar – white sugar is the only sugar I’ve tested. It’s a very moist cake already, due to the large amount of fresh apples. Therefore, I would not recommend substituting brown sugar or maple syrup, which would add even more moisture.
- Cinnamon and cardamom – the perfect spice blend for apple desserts! Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, and love ginger, too, try substituting the cinnamon/cardamom for 2 1/2 teaspoons of chai spice blend.
- Eggs – large, and preferably at room temperature
- 6-8 Macintosh apples – while Macs are not traditional baking apples, they work great in this recipe. They’re my go-to because we always have them on hand for eating. Baked into this cake, they keep their shape and soften without becoming mushy. However, you could definitely use a classic baking apple, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Pink Lady apples.
- Walnuts – finely chopped, or substitute with finely chopped pecans. This cake would not suffer greatly without nuts, but I love the flavor and texture they add.
How to Make Chunky Apple Cake
This is your basic mix-and-pour type of recipe. You put the dry ingredients together and set aside. Then, you combine the wet ingredients, and stir them into the dry. Simple! A few tips to ensure your success:
- Prep the apples first, as this probably takes the longest. I prefer peeling apples with a vegetable peeler, which preserves most of the flesh compared to peeling with a paring knife. But, either way you do it, just get the peeling, coring, and chopping done and out of your way.
- Put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. When you add the 4 cups of apples plus the walnuts, you’re going to appreciate that extra wiggle room while you stir it all together.
- When you first add the apples to the batter, you’re going to think, “Oh no, something is wrong. There are WAY TOO MANY APPLES here.” Don’t panic – it’s exactly as it should be. The apple-to-batter ratio looks lopsided, but it’s perfect. I’ve made this a dozen times and it never fails.
- As you prepare to mix this chunky batter, expect it to be quite thick, I find the easiest way to get everything combined is to use your hand, and just keep pressing the apples through the batter until all the chunks are incorporated. If that’s not your thing, a large wooden spoon and a little elbow grease works, too. Press those apple chunks through and through until it looks like the photo below.
Serving Ideas for Chunky Apple Cake
My family all love this cake, and at all times of the day. It’s not unusual for me to go to bed secure in knowing there’s a full pan of chunky apple cake on my counter, only to wake up to it being half gone! That’s what I get for being a classic early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of gal.
Enjoy this as a breakfast treat, a snack, or dessert. There are a gazillion ways you could serve it up. Here are some of our favorites:
- Warmed and served with a pat of butter and a side of cold-brewed coffee.
- Drizzled with peanut butter
- Warmed and topped with ice cream
- Drizzled with caramel
- Topped with honey cinnamon butter
Chunky Apple Cake
Packed with apples and spices, this chunky apple cake will hit the spot whether it's for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. It's especially decadent when drizzled with caramel or peanut butter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups Macintosh apples peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with spray oil.
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Peel, core, and chop 6-8 Macintosh apples. You should have about 4 cups of chopped apples when finished. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, and baking soda. Combine with a whisk and set aside.
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In a small bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs. Whisk in the canola oil and vanilla until well combined.
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
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Add the apples and chopped walnuts. Mix with your hand, or a large spoon, until well combined. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, and spread evenly in pan.
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Bake for about 50 minutes at 350F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Flours: you have the option of making this either entirely with all-purpose flour, or with a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour as I suggest in the recipe. You could also use whole wheat pastry flour if you have that on hand. I do not recommend using only whole wheat flour, without combining it with a lighter all-purpose flour, as this will make the cake heavy.
- Apples: while Macintosh is not a traditional baking apple, it works great with this recipe. However, other class baking apples you could use include Pink Lady, Braeburn, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp.
- Nuts: I prefer the walnuts called for in this recipe, but chopped pecans would work nicely, too. You can omit the nuts altogether if that is your preference, with only subtle alterations to taste and texture.
- Spices: the combination of cinnamon and cardamom is beautiful in this cake. However, if you do not have cardamom, just increase the cinnamon to 2 1/2 teaspoons. You could also swap out these spices for 2 1/2 teaspoons of chai spice seasoning, for a slightly different twist on this cake.
I made this gluten free with a variety of flours and it turned out great! I’m printing it out and adding it to my recipe collection. I put in extra apples (I cut up too many) and ending up mixing it with my hands. Could use less sugar. I typically double all spice amounts (not extracts) in all recipes. Habit I got from Mom! It made a lot. I froze it. Will defrost in air fryer. Hopefully it will be fine.
Mmmmhhh – yum. Too many apples sounds OK to me 🙂
I am going to try this this weekend. Has anyone tried using Splenda instead of the sugar? I am trying to cut down on Carbs and every little bit helps. Thanks.
Hi Darlene – thanks for checking in. I have not ever baked with Splenda, but ive heard it produces good results. If you are hesitant to take a chance, you could replace just half the sugar with Splenda to start?
Just so happens I had McIntosh apples…my fav.
I made this but forgot the spray oil!
Went to use some chopped walnuts, but they tasted “off” (who knows how long they were in the cabinet. Promptly tossed out the back door…at least the squirrels liked them. Oh, well. Scooped and scraped with a spoon…still tastes great.
That’s the way we do it 🙂 Just make it work, every day. Way to go, Heidi!!
It’s in the oven now. Few tweaks, of course:)
Well?? How’d it turn out? And what tweaks 🙂
In the oven now…I was so glad to get this because I am hosting a committee meeting this evening. I was skeptical that I had enough liquid (tried to call you) but once it was all mixed, it looked right. By the way, avoid the temptation to mix it with your hands — too sticky and I was afraid I would lose too much batter! Smells yummy, can’t wait to try it.
I hope it was a hit! Thanks for trusting me 🙂
They LOVED it. I thought it was a bit too sweet last night, maybe because I hacked it and used partly brown sugar…but this morning, after it had mellowed it was AMAZING. I resisted the temptation to substitute butter for the oil to get a better crumb — might, or might not, play around with it next time. Last night it got raves from the other 4 women in the group. One of them told me she was leaving her office (as a pediatrician), having inhaled lunch and rushed through dinner, to come to the meeting and was looking forward to meeting at my house because I usually bake for the group. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes — especially the dry rub grilled chicken.
I can’t WAIT to try this!
What?? My non-baking Amazon friend is going to BAKE SOMETHING? I’m so honored 🙂 Hope you love it!
This cake tasted so good, I wanted to drink it.
Haha 🙂 Glad you loved it. I purposely hand out samples so my friends will be guilted into leaving nice comments, obviously.
Oh man!!!! I wish this recipe was up on your site earlier this week, I would have chosen this one since we just went apple picking and I have a ton of apples to use up!!! Oh well another one on the list to make, I like that it’s different than the average “apple crisp” We get sick of the regulars around here!! Thanks for sharing Momma!
I think I like this better than apple crisp, honestly. I hope you make it soon! Thanks for stopping by to comment, Momma 🙂
I just had a privilege to taste this heavenly cake!!! It was delicious! The huge amount of apples made that cake very moist and cinnamon and sugar delighted my taste buds to no end! I might even count that as a serving of a fruit for today! Definitely I am making this over the weekend. Thank Julie!!!
Glad you loved it. Thanks for coming by to comment 🙂