This simple Dorset Apple Cake (Traybake) made with cooking apples (Bramley) and gently spiced with cinnamon is incredibly moist & delicious. Perfect on its own with cup of tea or slightly warm with ice cream or cream for dessert.
Moist & buttery apple cake that smells of cinnamon must be one of my favourite things about the autumn! Apple & cinnamon combination is without a doubt marriage made in heaven, it just works so brilliantly well and this lovely cake celebrates it in its full glory.
My Apple and Cinnamon Muffins would be another recipe worth trying if these are flavours you love! Or check out my Polish version on apple cake - Szarlotka.
Majority of traditional Dorset Apple Cakes I've come across are baked in round cake tins but as I do like my traybakes, rectangular one it is! It is also so much easier to cut into portions or sneak a little piece out to pop into the lunch box or straight into your mouth... Not that I've ever done that!
Ingredients to make Dorset Apple Cake (Traybake)
Apples - I would highly recommend using tart cooking apples like Bramley or Granny Smith which work fantastically well against the sweetness of the cake providing perfect balance! Using windfalls is absolutely fine, in fact that is exactly what I used for this particular cake. Make sure you cut off all the blemishes etc. You will need approximately 750g apples to get 500g after peeling and coring.
Self-raising flour - If all you have at home is plain (all-purpose) flour then you can make your own self-raising one by mixing it with baking powder. Simply sieve or whisk together 3 teaspoon of baking powder with 250g of plain flour required in this recipe.
Baking powder - Don’t skip baking powder, even if you’ve made your own self-raising flour. Add it as per recipe.
Cinnamon - my very favourite spice to bake with, EVER! You simply cannot beat combination of apples and cinnamon in my opinion. I've added two teaspoons in my recipe but if you are not a huge fan feel free to reduce it to 1 tsp. You could also try using 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 teaspoon mixed spice.
Unsalted butter - I would not recommend substituting baking spread for butter in this particular cake as butter gives it a lot of lovely flavour.
Milk - Either semi-skimmed or full fat milk would be fine.
Light Brown Sugar - It gives the cake lovely caramel like flavour.
Demerara Sugar - Its large crystals sprinkled on top of the cake before baking will give you a little bit of lovely crunch. You could substitute it with light brown sugar but the crunch will simply not be there.
Lemon juice - Squeezing some juice over the apple slices straight after they've been peeled and sliced will slow down oxidation process preventing them from browning too quickly.
Serving suggestions + storing and freezing Dorset Apple Cake
I think this cake is simply perfect lightly dusted with icing sugar but if you're after more elaborate dessert try serving it gently warmed with a splash of cream or scoop of good vanilla ice cream!
This cake can be stored in the airtight container on the kitchen counter for up to 2 days providing your kitchen is not too warm. Otherwise, as it's such a moist cake, I would recommend to keep it in the fridge and warm it gently in the microwave or low oven once you are ready to eat.
This cake is also freezer friendly. Simply wrap it tightly in the baking paper and some aluminium foil and pop in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Do I need to use rectangular tin/tray to bake Dorset Apple Cake?
Absolutely not. Feel free to use round cake tin instead. I would suggest 23cm/9inch one as it would be a rough equivalent of the rectangular one I use 28x18cm. You can try and use bigger or smaller size as well but make sure it will fit your cake mixture with the room to raise and of course adjust the baking time accordingly. The taller the cake the longer it will bake so make sure you keep a watchful eye and do the skewer test to check if your cake is baked and not still raw.
How to make Dorset Apple Cake (Traybake) - Step-By-Step Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare your baking tin by greasing it generously and lining the bottom with some baking paper.
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Put the flour into the large bowl, add baking powder and cinnamon and give it all a good mix with a whisk. Alternatively, feel free to sieve your dry ingredients into the bowl.
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Add softened butter.
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Rub butter into the flour with your fingers (you could use mixer or food processor if you wanted to) until the mix resembles wet sand.
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Add sugar and give it all a light mix. Set aside.
- Peel, core and thinly slice your apples and place them in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of half lemon over them to prevent them from getting brown. Set aside.
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Add lightly beaten eggs into the flour/sugar and mix them in gently.
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Start adding milk and mixing it in slowly bit by bit until it's all gone and you have thick, batter like mixture.
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Add most of your sliced apple to the cake batter saving some slices to put on top. Mix them in only just and pour the mixture into prepared cake tin.
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Smooth the surface of the cake mixture with spatula and arrange your saved apple slices on top in any fashion you want.
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Sprinkle demerara sugar on top and bake in preheated oven for 50-55min until nice and golden brown and the skewer inserted into centre of the cake comes out clean.
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Important! Once you take your cake out of the oven, let it cool in the tin for good 20 minutes before you take it out onto the rack to cool completely.
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Serve dusted with icing sugar or slightly warm with cream or ice cream. Enjoy!
📋 Recipe
Dorset Apple Cake (Traybake)
Ingredients
- 250 g self-raising flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon see notes
- 150 g unsalted butter softened
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 100 ml milk
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 500 g cooking apples (Bramley, Granny Smith) weight after peeling, coring and thinly slicing
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoon demerara sugar
- icing sugar to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare your baking tin by greasing it generously and lining the bottom with some baking paper.
- Put the flour into the large bowl, add baking powder and cinnamon and give it all a mix with a whisk. Alternatively, feel free to sieve your dry ingredients into the bowl.
- Add softened butter.
- Rub butter into the flour with your fingers (you could use mixer or food processor if you wanted to) until the mix resembles wet sand.
- Add sugar and give it all a light mix. Set aside.
- Peel, core and thinly slice your apples and place them in a large bowl. Squeeze the juice of half lemon over them to prevent them from getting brown. Set aside.
- Add your lightly beaten eggs into the flour/sugar and mix them in gently.
- Start adding milk and mixing it in slowly bit by bit until it's all gone and you have thick, batter like mixture.
- Add most of your sliced apple to the cake batter, saving some slices to put on top. Mix them in only just and pour in the mixture into prepared cake tin.
- Smooth the surface of the cake mixture with spatula and arrange your remaining apple slices on top in any fashion you want.
- Sprinkle demerara sugar on top and bake in preheated oven for 50-55 min until nice and golden brown and the skewer inserted into centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Important! Once you take your cake out of the oven, let it cool in the tin for good 20 minutes before you take it out onto the rack to cool completely.
- Serve dusted with icing sugar or slightly warm with cream or ice cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per ⅛ of the cake and should be treated as guideline only.
- You will need roughly 750g apples to give you 500g after peeling and coring.
- Feel free to reduce the amount of cinnamon to 1 teaspoon if you are not a fan or perhaps use 1 teaspoon cinnamon +1 teaspoon mixed spice.
- Store in the airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze wrapped tightly for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Some more delicious fruity cake recipes you might enjoy:
Raspberry Cake (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Gluten-Free Orange & Almond Cake
Easy Blood Orange Upside-Down Cake
Chocolate Banana Cake (Traybake)
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alex says
for those of us in usa, can you please show the measurements also in inches as well as centimeters. as well as temperatures as i think you did. it's a chore to convert, really . thanks
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Alex, I try and provide both but occasionally might forget however there are plenty of easily accessible converters available online.😊
Kate Bush says
Really great recipe. Highly recommend!! Darker the top the better, especially when the apple slices caramelise 😊
joskitchenlarder says
So pleased you enjoyed it Kate! 😊
Barb says
Delicious. Used windfall eating apples. Worked well.
joskitchenlarder says
So glad to hear it! Thank you for taking the time and rating the recipe, I really appreciate it! ☺️
Gillian says
Is the oven temperature for a fan oven
joskitchenlarder says
Hi, Yes, temperature is for fan oven.
Margaret says
Can I use pears in this recipe as my husband & myself cannot eat apples.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Margaret, I don't see why not. I would recommend using pears that are ripe but not soft and mushy so that they hold their shape during baking.
Alternatively, you might want to take a look at my Pear and Fresh Ginger Cake instead - https://www.joskitchenlarder.com/easy-pear-fresh-ginger-cake/
Jude says
Hi Jo,
Could I cut the apples into small chunks instead of slices ?
Thanks
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Jude, Are you thinking about chunks that you just stir into cake batter? I don't see why not. It's quite a thick batter so it should be fine.
Jude says
Yes Jo, that’s what I had in mind, just small chunks, stirred through the batter.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks
joskitchenlarder says
Please do 🙂
Linda van Tilburg says
Ignore previous comment about milk, Saw it on my phone and due to how the page loaded could not see it
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Linda, No worries at all. I hope you enjoyed the cake! 🙂
Kathy Ruddy says
Hi Jo, Can I make the apple cake without eggs? What could I use as a substitute? My boy has many allergies, and I've baked for years so am taking on new challenges now!!
Thank you,
Kathy
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Kathy,
This cake is on my list to veganise and hopefully I'll get to it this summer. 🙂 However, to help you out here and now I would say substitute 2 eggs with 150g (roughly half a cup) of plain yogurt. I would go for non-dairy (soya works best) as we're fully plant based now but if you eat dairy then of course feel free to use plain dairy yogurt. I hope it helps. Please do let me know how it goes if you decide to try it. Jo 🙂
Tricia Hilder says
Hi - I’m looking forward to trying this at Easter when (finally!) the family come round. We’re in Dorset so it’s a particularly appropriate recipe. My question is just to double check that the oven temperature 180C is based on a fan oven? I’ve been caught out before with other recipe sites hence the query! Many thanks.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Tricia, I'm super pleased you chose this apple cake to make at Easter! As for the oven temperature, yes it is for the fan oven. I do use oven thermometer though just to ensure the temperature is what I want it to be as oven thermostats are not always very reliable. I hope you enjoy the cake! 🙂
Jo says
Interesting to read this. I made this recipe today and adjusted for fan oven as assumed the temp stated was for standard electric oven. cooked for 55 mins at 160 and it came out perfect.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Jo, All of my bakes are done in a fan oven so 180C was for the fan oven but I'm really glad your cake came out perfect after adjusting temp down. Ovens do differ and are often temperamental so it's good to make temp or timings adjustment according to your oven. 🙂
Viv says
Help!!! My friend has just dropped off a huge bag of apples from her tree.
Your dorset cake recipe sounds really lovely, only the apples she's left are cox's can I still use them in the recipe?
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Viv, If Coxes are what you've got go for it, I'm sure it will be fine. 🙂
Zoe says
I've been loyal to one very successful Dorset Apple Cake recipe for years, but mislaid it recently and decided to look for another. What a bit of luck that turned out to be! This recipe worked perfectly, yielded a beautiful looking cake (I made mine in a round loose-bottomed tin) and - most importantly - tastes wonderful! Lovely and light in texture with just the right balance of fruit, sweetness and spices. Inspired to try more of your recipes.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Zoe, You have no idea how pleased I am to hear that! I couldn't ask for nicer feedback, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy trying some other recipes on here as well. 🙂
Rosemary says
This looks like a great recipe. I've got a few recipes for apple cake but haven't thought about doing a tray bake!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you, I'm glad you like the look of it! 🙂 The beauty of this cake is that you can make it suit your needs and requirements. If I'm baking it just for us at home I find traybake easier to divide and sneak into lunchboxes etc.
Jenny Walters says
I am baking my apple socks off at the mo with bramleys from my tree. Love the blinkin things especially with cinnamon. It makes the end of summer totally worth it! I love your recipe, devastatingly delicious!#BakingCrumbs
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks so much Jen! 🙂 Oh you lucky girl, you've got the tree! Proper apple baking galore it is then 🙂 Fab! x
Lesley Garden says
Apple and cinnamon has to be one of my favourite flavour pairings and this tray bake looks delicious. Perfect at this time of year.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Lesley! 🙂 I love autumnal baking!
Corina Blum says
Cinnamon and apple is one of my favourite combinations too and this sounds absolutely delicious!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Corina! 🙂
Laura - Mummy Lauretta says
This looks so good, I bet it would be amazing with custard. Also brilliant for using up apples from the garden.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Laura! 🙂 Oh yes, custard would work really nicely here! This cake is perfect for using up those bruised windfalls.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
My favourite kind of bake I love apple cake in all forms
joskitchenlarder says
Same here Jacqui! 🙂
Donna says
This looks fab. We've got about a million apples on our tree so will definitely be giving it a go! I love the combination of apple and cinnamon. Especially in a cake!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Donna!:) I absolutely adore apples & cinnamon too & so wish I had an apple tree in my garden! 🙂