Apple walnut cake is a moist and tender cake that you will love including in your fall baking lineup. It's brimming with apple chunks and crunchy walnuts, and cozy with warm spices. This easy cake is a delicious dessert, a snack with coffee or tea, or even for breakfast.

A slice a apple walnut cake on a white plate with a silver fork.

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It's apple season and I'm lucky to live where there are orchards galore, and even though I don't have my own apple trees, fresh apples are abundant. This old-fashioned apple walnut cake is one of the recipes I love to make with them. Along with my apple ricotta cake, it's a family favorite.

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Why you'll love this apple cake
Ingredient Notes
How to make it, step by step
Tips
More apple dishes
Recipe
Comments

Why you'll love this apple cake

Easy to make. You can stir together this walnut apple cake in 15 minutes and the most time-consuming part is peeling and slicing the apples.
Simple ingredients. This is the best apple cake because there's nothing complicated, just readily available ingredients that you probably have on hand.
Delicious fall flavors. This fluffy and moist cake with the delicious crunch of walnuts is a perfect fall dessert.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredient quantities and complete instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Eggs. I use three large eggs.
Olive oil. You can use any vegetable oil, but I like the subtle flavor that olive oil imparts.
Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds moisture and a nice caramel flavor.
White sugar. White sugar gives the apple walnut cake a crisp exterior.
Vanilla extract. For another layer of flavor.

The wet ingredients for this recipe in glass bowls.

Flour. When I first published this recipe in 2018, I used regular all-purpose flour. I have tested this recipe with almond flour. However, I'm now using a one to one ratio, all purpose gluten-free blend, which contains xanthan gum. The result is pretty much identical to the original, which was perfect. So, feel free to use all-purpose wheat flour.
Baking soda. The acidity of the apples and the walnuts work with the baking soda to make carbon dioxide. This creates air bubbles, which make the cake rise and become light and fluffy.
Spices. The walnut and apple flavor in this cake is elevated with warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

The dry ingredients in glass bowls on a wooden board.

Apples. You can use any apple variety, but the best ones for baking are the slightly tart, firm textured varieties. I'm using Granny Smith apples. Other good choices are Honey Crisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, or Jonagold. Avoid using softer types like Red Delicious or McIntosh apples, which can end up becoming mushy in baking.
Walnuts. If you buy walnut pieces, you won't need to chop them, but if not, give them a rough chop.

Four green apples and a dish of walnuts on a wooden board.

How to make it, step by step

Peel, core, and chop the apples.
Add the eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer. (Or use an electric mixer in a large bowl.
Beat on low speed for one minute.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

The first for steps showing the recipe process labelled one through four.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir together.
Fold in the apple chunks and walnuts.
Spread the batter in the pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The last four steps showing the recipe process, labelled five through eight.

Tips

Eggs. For best results in baking, have eggs at room temperature. If you forget to take the eggs out of the fridge, just submerge them in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
Nuts. I prefer walnuts in this particular recipe, but pecans, (not candied pecans) are also perfect for this cake. Other nuts that will work are hazelnuts, slivered almonds, or even macadamia nuts.
Apples. For the best cake texture, be sure to peel the apples.
Spice. This is a lightly spiced cake. You can leave out the spices if you prefer, or you can add ginger, cardamom, or cloves. Use just a quarter teaspoon. Apple pie spice, or even pumpkin spice can be used instead, too.
Cake pan. I'm using a 10 inch round cake pan here. I have made this cake in the past using a ten inch bundt cake pan, and it turns out perfectly, although you will need to increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes. You can also use a nine inch springform pan, or a nine inch square pan. For these two pans, you will have a deeper cake, and will again, need to increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
High altitude. Recipes on this site are baked at an elevation of 1100 feet. Baking times and temperatures will be different at high elevations. Learn more about making those adjustments, and others in this post at King Arthur baking.com.
Allergens. This cake is gluten-free if you use a gluten-free flour blend, (as I did). The recipe is also dairy-free. Make it nut free by omitting the walnuts, or replacing them with raisins or dried cranberries. You can replace the eggs with flax eggs for an egg-free and vegan cake. (I haven't tried it with this recipe).
Frosting. This cake is perfect with just a dusting of powdered sugar. (use a small sieve to dust the top of the cake). However, you can make a glaze with powdered sugar mix with a little bit of apple juice, lemon juice or apple cider. We love it with caramel sauce, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Storage. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days, after that store it in the fridge for a maximum of 3 days.
Freezing. This cake freezes well once it's completely cool. Freeze either the whole cake, or individual slices, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and then in a large re-sealable bag for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake, at room temperature in the wrapping to prevent drying out.

A slice of apple walnut cake on a black plate.

More apple dishes

Celebrate apple season with more apple desserts, like this air fryer apple crisp, apple and blackberry crumble, or apple ricotta cake.

Or try apples in a salad! These ones are delicious: kale and beet salad with apples, and shaved brussels sprouts salad with apples.

Try making your own homemade unsweetened applesauce. Or, for a delicious fall side dish, try braised red cabbage and apples.

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!