Apple Dapple Cake
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This old-fashioned apple dapple cake recipe is the darling of fall baking. Every moist bite is positively infused with chunks of juicy apple, toasted pecans, and an amazingly sweet and buttery brown sugar glaze.
Mama has been making this old-fashioned apple dapple cake for as long as I can remember. It’s always signaled the arrival of apple season for us! So this apple season, pick some fresh apples and bake this easy apple cake recipe. All you need is typical baking ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, milk, and butter), plus some chopped pecans for extra crunch.
The wonderful thing about Mama’s vintage apple dapple cake recipe (and I do mean WONDERFUL) is that the resulting flavor is a perfect blend of fresh apples and buttery brown sugar. With the special caramel-like brown sugar soaking sauce poured over the cake and allowed to soak in before removing the cake from the pan, it is by far the moistest and densest cake I’ve ever baked.
As if the flavor (and smell) were not enough, the slices are gorgeous too. Thick slices showcase bits of apple and the slightly granular texture around the edges of the tender crust is brought on by the brown sugar. Don’t you just love the taste of brown sugar? I mean, all on its own, I just love brown sugar. Whenever I am baking with it, I can’t help but get a pinch out for myself. Lucky is the day when I find a few precious lumps within the bag!
If you’ve ever wanted to win someone over through their stomach, THIS cake is a home run. All of our cake recipes are to die for so make sure you check out some of them like Apple Crumble Cake, Chocolate Sundae Cake, Coca-Cola Cake, Red Velvet Bundt Cake, and Sams Club Strawberry Cake (Homemade Recipe).
Recipe Ingredients
- Apples
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Pecans
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Unsalted butter
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Apple Dapple Cake
In your mixing bowl, place oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until blended.
You can do this by hand or using an electric mixer. Go with your mood.
In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add this to your wet ingredients and mix until blended again.
Like this.
It’s a nice thick dough at this point.
Peel and chop apples into little chunks.
Add chopped apples and pecans to the cake batter.
Stir those together until they are fully incorporated.
Prepare your pan either by greasing with shortening and flouring or by using one of those handy, dandy cooking sprays.
Spoon your apple dapple cake batter into your pan.
My mother uses a tube pan but whenever I bake this I just use a bundt pan. Either one is fine.
Bake this in the oven at 350 for one hour.
Making the Brown Sugar Sauce
About 10 minutes before your cake is done, you need to make this AMAZING sauce to pour over the cake while it is still hot in the pan.
Place milk, butter, and brown sugar in a saucepot.
Stir this together on the stove eye at medium to medium-high heat, bringing to a gentle boil.
Once it starts boiling gently, keep stirring and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Remove hot delicious cake from the oven.
Look at that beauty!
While the apple dapple cake is still piping hot in the pan, pour the sauce over it and let it all sit until it soaks it up.
OH MERCY!
I mean, LOOK AT THAT CAKE!
The sauce will soak up, just be patient.
Leave the cake in the pan until it has cooled completely.
Have you ever seen a more beautiful apple cake?
I hope you get to make it soon!
Might oughta make two 😉.
Storage
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Double wrap them in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to avoid freezer burn and thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- For extra flavor, add 2 teaspoons of your favorite seasoning. That might be 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of nutmeg, apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice. All work well with this apple cake recipe.
- If you want to add more texture, some apple dapple cake recipes include 1 cup of flaked coconut and 1 cup of raisins as well. Fold them in when you add the chopped apple and pecans.
- Speaking of, feel free to substitute the chopped pecans for chopped walnuts instead. If you like, toast them for about 5 minutes in the oven beforehand for extra crunch and texture.
- Another substitution you can make is to swap the milk in the glaze for heavy cream.
Recipe FAQs
What kind of apples should I use?
As pictured, I always use Granny Smith apples due to how the tart flavor combines well with the sweetness of this dish. You can also use Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Jonathan, Jonagold, or even Golden Delicious works.
Where does apple dapple cake originate?
The origin of apple dapple cake is unknown, as Amish, Southern, and Jewish cultures all make their own version that are very similar to this recipe.
You might also enjoy these appetizing apple recipes:
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups fresh apples, peeled and finely chopped
Sauce
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup butter (1.5 sticks)
Instructions
- Spray a bundt cake pan or a tube pan liberally with cooking spray and set aside.
- Mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl.1 cup vegetable oil, 2 cups granulated sugar, 3 eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda. Then add this to the wet ingredients before folding in the pecans and diced apples.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup chopped pecans, 3 cups fresh apples, peeled and finely chopped
- Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
- Place sauce ingredients into a small saucepot over medium-high heat. Stir constantly and bring it to a gentle boil. After it begins gently boiling, continue to stir and allow to cook for about 3 minutes.1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 3/4 cup butter
- Pour the sauce over the hot cake while it's still in the pan. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Nutrition
Hello, this looks delicious! What type of apples are best for this recipe? My family prefers more tangy apples to sweet ones. Please let me know. Thank you very much!
Marion
Hey! I noted in the recipe that I just use my favorite or what I have on hand. I have used every apple under the sun for this and it has been wonderful every time. Hope you get to make it soon! I prefer a little bit of tang in my apples, as well! (You can’t tell if they are tart or sweet when you use them in this cake though).
This is my favorite cake. My Mom would make it for me whenever I visited from Atlanta. My sister gave me Mom’s handwritten recipe several years ago when she visited us but I never tried to make it. They have both since passed away. This may be the year I finally try my hand at it. Maybe for the holidays. I know it will bring good memories and Mom & Cissy will be saying “about time!”
Selina, I hope you do make it!! What wonderful memories it will bring as well as having a wonderful cake to enjoy!!
Can I use walnuts or almonds instead?
I never have but I suppose you could. No guarantees on how it will change the taste.
You can use what ever you taste likes. My mom used walnuts for it over 50 years.
I was considering Walnuts and Almonds, as well as Hazelnuts Donna, since Pecans are not a nut I enjoy as much. Will probably try with pecans first as they are chopped small, I’m sure it will be delicious.
Are the 3 cups flour White Lily? A recipe made with White Lily requires a bit more flour than one made with regular (not southern) AP flour. There is a bag of WL in one of the pictures, but the recipe doesn’t specify winter wheat or regular AP flour.
Thanks. It sounds yummy, and I want to be able to make it soon.
I’ve made it with several different brands of all purpose over the years and have never had an issue with the measurements – I always use the exact same ones as called for in the recipe. I’ve never noticed any difference when using White Lily in any recipes though.
Hope you get to try it soon! You’ll be so glad you did 🙂
I like being able to print the recipes at bottom better than downloading all the junk.
Can this be made in another pan other than a bundt or tube pan? I don’t own either.
Please let me know if you get an answer as is like to know too.
Another reviewer stated that her step-grandmother made her apple dapple cake in a regular pan so I am assuming probably a 9 x 13 pan to hold all of the batter. You would just need to adjust the baking time and start checking for doneness earlier than stated. I just compared this cake with the recipe I use for Apple Nut “Bread” and the ingredients and amounts are identical except this one does not have the teaspoon of cinnamon that my bread calls for and this one has an additional cup of apples. With that being said, my recipe for “bread” is baked in two loaf pans for 1 hour at 325. Since the ingredients are the same for this cake I am assuming you might could even bake it in two loaf pans. Hope this helps.
I’ve made it many of times in the 9×13 pan and i spray it with butter Cisco. And yes adjust to 350 for 45 minutes.
Hi Christy! I was wondering where you got this recipe? I got it from my mom and she made this over 50 years ago. But she never made the sauce for it. It taste just as good without as it does with it. I’ve made it many of times in the 9×13 pan and I spray it with butter Cisco. And yes adjust to 350 for 45 minutes. Also I wet my hands with water and pat the thick batter (cookie dough like batter) down. And if you let the batter set a little with the apples in it for a few before pouring it, it makes the batter a little wetter. You also can use any nuts your taste desires. I don’t use any. When we moved I thought I lost my moms recipe. I knew the ingredients just forgot the measurements. I looked all over on the internet hoping to find it but had no luck. So I cried! Then one day I found it on the same cardboard paper she wrote it on. I’ve share this on FB hope many will try it. Hope to hear from you.
Going to try this tomorrow. Looks yummy and a great holiday cake! Thanks for making the recipe easy to follow.
I hope you love it as much as we do Jan!!!
It sounds wonderful and we love everything made with apples. Just wondered after the cake cooks and the sauce is poured over cake in pan with the sticky sauce while it cools does it come out of the pan easily? I know the pan is prepared first but just wondered if the sticky sauce makes it tend to stick. I have another recipe that calls for pouring a sticky sauce on a different cake in this same manner and it has, on occasion tried to stick on me. I had to put it in the freezer for a short time to get it to pop out of the pan easily. Thanks…….your recipes sounds so good.
I use a nonstick Wilton brand bundt pan and also have a thick coated stoneware one and if anything I’ve found that the sauce helps it come out of the pan – if that makes sense :). I’ve never had this cake stick.
It’s delish! With all the cinnamon lovers in my family, do you think that would work? If so how much? Thanks, look forward to trying more of your recipes.