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Italian Apple Cake

Italian apple cake with a tender, dense crumb studded with diced apples and a golden top baked at 350°F. It’s mixed with eggs and sugar, folded with flour, and finished with a generous powdered sugar dusting.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Apples
  • 3 apples large, peeled, cored, and diced
Dry ingredients
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 3 eggs
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup vegetable or sunflower oil
  • 0.25 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
To finish
  • 1 powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer

Method
 

Prep the oven and pan
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, then grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line it with parchment. Visually ensure the parchment covers the bottom so the cake releases easily.
Mix the dry ingredients
  1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Stop when the dry mixture looks evenly speckled.
Beat the eggs and sugar
  1. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until pale and thick, about 3 minutes. The mixture should look lighter in color and fall back in ribbons.
Add the wet ingredients
  1. Stream in the vegetable or sunflower oil slowly while mixing. Watch for the batter to stay smooth without any oily streaks.
  2. Add the whole milk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, mixing until combined. The batter should appear glossy and uniform.
Fold and bake
  1. Fold the flour mixture into the batter just until combined. Stop as soon as you don’t see dry flour to avoid a tough crumb.
  2. Fold in the diced apples until evenly distributed. You should see apple pieces throughout the batter.
  3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then bake 40–45 minutes at 350°F. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden.
Cool and finish
  1. Cool the cake completely before serving. The crumb should set and slice cleanly without crumbling.
  2. Dust the cooled cake generously with powdered sugar. Finish with a visible, even snowy layer over the golden top.

Notes

Pro tip: dice the apples to small, even pieces so they bake into the cake without sinking. Store covered at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 4 days; freeze slices for up to 2 months (thaw overnight in the fridge). For a lighter profile, use half granulated sugar and half a 1:1 baking sweetener if desired (texture may be slightly less springy).