This really is The Best Jewish Apple Cake Recipe! It features the texture of moist pound cake, plus the ribbons of gooey cinnamon sugar you'd find in coffee cake. This is my family's favorite dessert!
Hands down, this Jewish apple cake is the most beloved dessert that's ever come out of my kitchen. This is no run-of-the-mill apple cake, people.
It features the texture of moist pound cake, plus the ribbons of gooey cinnamon sugar you'd find in coffee cake. A hint of fresh orange juice flavor shines through, and a brown, crunchy crust wraps its sweet goodness around the edges.
I've made this fresh apple cake nearly 75 times over many years, and to say it's a family favorite is an understatement.
I first saw the recipe published in the Plain Dealer, and the article described how it came from Columbus caterers Paula Levine Weinstein and Julie Komerofsky Remer, who claimed it was their customers' favorite dessert.
That point really struck me, because I never thought apple cake was anything to write home about. I mean, out of all possible desserts, for people to say this was their favorite...well I just had to investigate.
I'm so glad I did. This is the best-ever apple cake!
Recipe ingredients
Jewish apple cakes are parve, which is Hebrew for kosher food that doesn't contain dairy or meat. So there is no milk and no butter. But this does have eggs, and oil replaces the butter.
The original recipe didn't specify the types of oil, apples or flour to use, but through experimentation, I've arrived at my preferred varieties of each. If you want to replicate this cake as it comes from my kitchen, here's what you need to know.
Use olive oil (not extra virgin). While vegetable oil is typically found in a Jewish apple cake recipe, I use plain olive oil instead. It elevates the cake to a whole new level of deliciousness.
Use Fuji apples. I'm not a fan of tart apples, soft apples or apples that smell like perfume. So, the sweet, crisp and sturdy Fuji is my go-to apple for all snacking and baking.
In the past, I've subbed in Gala apples when I couldn't find Fuji, but always was a bit disappointed. Now, if I can't find Fujis, I just don't make the cake.
I know, so picky! But trust me.
Use King Arthur Flour. You might be thinking, "Flour is flour." To that, I say, bake a cake with King Arthur Flour (affiliate link), and you'll never go back.
After my mother-in-law tipped me off to this years ago, I made the switch. The apple cake's texture improved noticeably, to the point that family members were commenting this cake was better than ever.
The crusty edges are to die for!
Slicing the apples
Peel, core and slice the apples into half circles about ¼-inch thick. I use an apple peeler/corer/slicer (affiliate link) for this, but you can use a knife.
Tip: Tossing the apples with a little flour helps to absorb excess moisture so you don't have a soggy cake.
How to assemble Jewish apple cake
- Add half the batter to a greased 10-inch tube pan (affiliate link).
- Sprinkle on a fourth of the cinnamon sugar.
- Place half of the apple slices in the pan.
- Sprinkle on a fourth of the cinnamon sugar.
- Repeat steps 1-4, so you have two full layers of batter and apples.
Time to bake!
Frequently asked questions
I like Fuji apples best, but if you enjoy the taste and texture of another variety, you can substitute them.
Extra-virgin olive oil has a strong flavor that will be overpowering here. You need a mild-tasting oil. If you don't have regular olive oil, substitute vegetable or canola oil.
Yes! You can freeze it by the slice or freeze a whole or partial cake.
So, there you have it. This really is the best Jewish apple cake recipe, and the best apple cake recipe, period.
Children will request this cake for their birthdays, and teenagers will cut themselves huge slabs for servings. Guests will line up for seconds (or fourths) and relatives will ask you when you're going to make it next.
I hope you give it a try!
And if you love apple desserts but want something guilt-free, don't miss this Cinnamon Apple Smoothie. You also might light this easy Gluten-Free Pear Crisp with Oats. Oh, and you have to try this Easy Apple Pie Moonshine!
More desserts to try
- Amaretto Pear Cake with Canned Pears
- Chinese Chews (Date-Nut Bars)
- Orange Creamsicle Cake
- Single-Layer Carrot Cake without Nuts
- Angel Food Cake with Raspberries and Cream
- Italian Panettone
Enjoy!
The Best Jewish Apple Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Apples
- 3 Fuji apples (peeled, cored & sliced ¼-inch thick)
- 1 heaping teaspoon all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Batter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (preferably King Arthur)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
- 4 eggs
- 2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup orange juice
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice the apples into crescent moon shapes that are ¼-inch thick. (If using an apple peeler-corer-slicer, make sure to remove any stray peel or parts of the core remaining on the slices.) In a medium bowl, gently toss the apples with the heaping teaspoon of flour to absorb any moisture and prevent sogginess.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Use baking spray to grease a 10-inch tube pan (that ideally has a removable bottom), making sure to grease the tube as well. In a small bowl, prepare the cinnamon sugar by tossing together the ¾ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- In a large mixing bowl, place all of the batter ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, olive oil, eggs, vanilla and orange juice). Beat until smooth. (If using a stand mixer, you will need to stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl halfway during the process to make sure everything gets mixed in.)
- To assemble the cake, pour half of the batter into the greased pan. Use a spoon to divide the cinnamon sugar into four equal quadrants in your bowl. Sprinkle a fourth of the cinnamon sugar evenly onto the batter, making sure to reach all the way to the edges of the pan.
- Arrange half of the apple slices in a circular pattern on the batter, overlapping as needed. Sprinkle another fourth of the cinnamon sugar evenly onto the apples. Pour the rest of the batter on top.
- Sprinkle on another fourth of the cinnamon sugar, again making sure to reach the edges of the pan. Arrange most of the remaining apples (pick the best slices) in a circular pattern on top of the batter. You also can arrange a few of the broken slices around the hole in the center. Sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon sugar evenly.
- Bake at 300 degrees F for 90 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes. (Check after 90 minutes for doneness by inserting a cake tester or toothpick into the cake to see if it comes out clean. If not, continue baking until it is done.)
- Let the cake rest for 20 minutes on a stove rack or wire rack before trying to remove it from the pan (or else it will stick and crack). Then, place a dinner plate face down on top of the cake. Wearing oven mitts, carefully invert the cake onto the plate (using one hand to firmly hold the plate in place and the other hand to flip the pan over, onto the plate). If the pan has a removable bottom, carefully remove it.
- The cake will be upside down at this point. Place a wire cooling rack on the cake surface and invert it again, so that the cake is right-side up and can finish cooling on the rack. When the cake reaches room temperature, transfer it to a serving platter or cake stand by inverting it onto a plate and then inverting it again onto your serving platter or cake stand.
- Store the apple cake at room temperature, covered with foil (plastic will create too much moisture.) The cake should keep well for up to four days. The apple cake also freezes well.
Notes
Nutrition
(Recipe Source: Adapted from Paula Levine Weinstein and Julie Komerofsky Remer. Originally published on November 20, 2014 and updated now with new photos and additional text.)
Liz says
Can you use cinnamon emulsion and if so how much? Would you substitute vanilla extract with vanilla emulsion?
Mamma C says
Hi Liz - I've never used the emulsions, so I can't advise you. I'm guessing the vanilla would be okay to use, although extract will provide truer flavor. I wouldn't try the cinnamon emulsion here, but let me know if you do.
Cathy says
So moist and delicious. My husband told me the best cake he ever ate was Jewish Apple Cake from a bakery in our old hometown. Our local store had a sale on apples so I had an overabundance and decided to do a little baking. All he could say was "excellent, this is even better than the bakery's cake". I received compliments every time he help himself to another piece. I suggested making it to take to Thanksgiving. He said OK, but we have to bring the leftovers back home with us.
Mamma C says
Hi Cathy - Wow, what a compliment! I'm so happy you both enjoyed it.
Cat says
I’m getting ready to make this for my sons birthday which is tomorrow I’ll come back and let you know how it turned out I got every one of the ingredients that you said to have I’m actually making two one for us and one for him can’t wait to see how it turns out. I didn’t substitute not one item I got the Fuji apples even.. I’ll let you know how it turns out 😃
Mamma C says
Hi Cat - That's great. Happy Birthday to your son. Enjoy!
Alissa says
Made this exactly as the recipe stated and it is excellent! After it had cooled a bit, we tested a piece and it was so good with a little bit of crunch on the edges. Yummy!
Mamma C says
Hi Alissa - We love that crunch! I'm so glad you enjoyed this.
Tallulah says
Have you ever baked this recipe in a loaf pan /loaf pans? Do you know if this recipe would be split between two loaf pans and what the baking time might be?
Thanks!
Mamma C says
Hi Tallulah - I haven't tried using loaf pans for this recipe. It would take 2 or 3 pans, depending on their volume. You'd have to use greased parchment paper to line the pans so the cake won't stick and you can easily remove it from the pans. You could try filling the pans no more than halfway. You'd have to experiment with the bake time. Maybe check after 35 minutes and get an idea. Let me know if you try it!
ODonnell Diane says
Cake is great . I love how it came together. I did think 300 degrees was low but did it anyway . My background is home economics.
But I had to bake another half hour and up the oven temperature at 350 degrees not 300 degrees at stated.
Was this a typo ? Maybe my oven although I haven’t been having any trouble .
Anyway my kitchen smelled great and cake came out fine.
Mamma C says
Hi Diane - I've always baked this cake at 300 degrees F, and I've made it close to 100 times. Some people bake theirs at 325. Maybe that would work best for your oven. I'm glad you enjoyed this!
Ellen says
I don’t have that kind of pan. Can I adapt to make on a Bundt pan or regular cake pan?
Mamma C says
Hi Ellen - I haven't found a good substitute. This calls for a 10-inch tube pan, which has a capacity of 16 cups. A Bundt pan would be too small, and the batter would probably stick in all of the crevices.
Cathy says
I made mine in a bunt pan and it came out perfect. My husband, who normally does not eat sweets, raved about the cake.
Mamma C says
Hi Cathy - Good to know!
Susan Silverman says
My batter is super thick and not pourable. What could I have done wrong and how could I fix it, if fixable.
Mamma C says
Hi Susan - The batter is supposed to be thick, but does pour when helped with a spatula. See the video that is included in this post, so you can compare yours. If yours is thicker than what you see in the video, it sounds like you may not have used enough oil or eggs. If you need to fix it, I'd try beating in another egg and maybe a tablespoon or so of olive oil. You'd have to experiment to get it to the right thickness.
Helen says
Hello! This sounds great but I have one question - I'm allergic to orange. If I leave out the orange juice, do I need to substitute it with anything else? I'm ok with lemon juice or alcohol(!) but not other fruit juices.
Mamma C says
Hi Helen - You could use sweetened lemon juice. Just add a little sugar to it.
shelly says
I made this today and it was a hit! I tossed the apples in the cinnamon sugar instead of layering the apples between the cinnamon sugar just to save time. I also chopped the apples into cubes so they would be more spread throughout the batter. Delicious!
Mamma C says
Hi Shelly - I'm glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing your tweaks to the process.
Antoinette says
Okay I’m one of the holdouts. I tried another recipe (posted in Costco’s recipes) for this cake and it turned out fine but I was anxious to try this one based on its content. I was disappointed with my results. I agree with Shelly who combined apple with cinnamon and sugar and then layering since that was less laborious to me but since I am not a person who digresses with a recipe, I did not do that even though I thought of it. I also thought about using much less sugar in this combination (but didn’t do that either) and found that, as a result, the cake, for me and my family, was much too sweet. Lastly, I do not, as a habit, use baking spray (accustomed to butter/flour combo to grease pans) and, as a result, had too much spray flying out of the can, which necessitated wiping excess off with paper towelling. Went back to the recipe to see if I had missed something and I hadn’t in the written content, but I would have benefitted from watching the video. Not sure I will attempt again.
Mamma C says
Hi Antoinette - I'm a firm believer in modifying a recipe to suit your family's tastes. You could try decreasing the sugar, and of course, use what you prefer to grease the pan.
Antoinette says
Thank you for responding! I am old, old school, having learned baking in junior high where we were instructed never to digress; I’m slowly learning that it can be done without impacting the recipe. I do have a question, though. I think the tube pan I have may have been pre-treated anyway so would it be necessary to grease if this is the case?
Mamma C says
Hi Antoinette - I'd at least line the pan with parchment paper, unless you're willing to take a chance that the cake won't stick.
Jill Earl says
Wooooowzer!!!
Made exactly as written!!!
Thank you for all the positive reviews because this is Too Die for!!
I think lining, as another reviewer suggested, the top with parchment would be the only addition I would incorporate!!
Heavenly!!! I am making another one to share tomorrow!!!! Fuji apple!! King Arthur flour! Beautiful 🤩 pS Mama C you Rock!
Mamma C says
Hi Jill - Aw, you made my day! I'm glad you trusted me enough to follow my recommendations.
Diana says
Best cake I have ever made...and I have made a lot of them! Must be the King Arthur flour and olive oil secret. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I now have to buy an apple peeler so my cake looks as pretty as yours, small investment for best cake ever!!
Mamma C says
Hi Diana - Wow, what a compliment! I'm so glad you agree this is the best!