Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake — The Recipe a Preacher’s Wife Gave My Mama
Some Recipes Never Go Out of Style
This old-fashioned apple cinnamon pound cake is proof. The recipe was given to my mama by the preacher’s wife when Mama was a young bride, and it has been a family staple ever since. It could easily be 60, 70, even 80 years old! Fresh chopped apples, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves bake into a moist Bundt cake, and a simple powdered sugar glaze gets poured right over the top. It’s one of my very favorite Sunday lunch desserts, especially in the fall.
🍰 This one’s in my collection of desserts for a crowd — the ones that travel well and feed a lot of people.
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Watch me make this apple cinnamon pound cake from start to finish, reveal and all, or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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See the complete shopping list ↓
Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake
Start CookingIngredients
- 3 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 1 cup pecan pieces chopped (optional)
- 3 Granny Smith apples peeled and chopped (or your favorite baking apple)
- shortening for greasing
- all purpose flour for dusting
- 2 cups powdered sugar 2 to 3 cups, plus more as needed
- 2 tbsp salted butter softened
- 2 tbsp milk 2 to 3 tablespoons, plus more as needed
Don’t Want to Plan? I Got You.Every Saturday I share a full week of dinners, sides, and a dessert — with the grocery list already done. Come grab this week’s Weekly Meal Plans!Equipment
Method Start Cooking
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a Bundt or tube pan really well with shortening, then add a little flour, shake it around and tap out the extra. Any clear spots show where you missed, so touch those up.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
- Add the eggs, avocado oil and vanilla and mix until you have a thick batter.
- Fold in the chopped apples and pecans until they’re worked all the way through.
- Drop the batter into the prepared pan in clumps, then smooth and flatten the top so the bottom of the cake is level when you turn it out.
- Bake for 1 hour, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 15 to 30 minutes. Gently run an icing spatula around the sides and the center tube to loosen it, then turn the cake out onto a cake stand or plate. Let it cool completely, covered lightly with foil if you’re glazing it later.
- Mix the powdered sugar, softened butter and milk until smooth. Add more milk or powdered sugar a little at a time until the glaze is easily pourable.
- Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the completely cooled cake and let it drizzle down the sides. Slice and serve!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Four Weeks of Family-Friendly FoodWhen people gather, I cook. Four weeks of the dinners my crowd asks for — planned, tested, and shopped for. Come see what’s in the cookbook →Why This Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake Works
This apple cinnamon pound cake is pretty much a mix and bake. The dry ingredients go into one big mixing bowl , then the eggs, avocado oil and vanilla go right in on top, so you only dirty up one bowl. I’m not one to dirty up an extra pan if I don’t have to! The batter comes out wonderfully thick, which is what holds three chopped Granny Smith apples and a cup of chopped pecans all the way through the cake instead of sinking to the bottom.
The flavor is all warm fall spice: a full teaspoon of cinnamon (hence the name), plus a little nutmeg, ginger and cloves. With the apples and pecans, this apple cinnamon pound cake tastes like fall. I use King Arthur all-purpose flour when I bake, and avocado oil , though any vegetable oil works.
It’s the dessert I reach for on a Sunday, and it fits right into the menus on my Sunday dinner ideas page. My newsletter subscribers got this recipe first, and now I’m so excited to finally share it with everybody.
A Few Things That Make Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake Even Easier
- Grease and flour the pan really well. I grease with shortening , add a little flour, give the pan a bang and shake it around. The flour shows you any clear spots you missed. King Arthur has a good guide on how to keep Bundt cakes from sticking if you want more tips.
- A thrifted Bundt pan works great. You can usually pick them up pretty inexpensively. Just make sure the inside isn’t too scratched.
- Drop the batter in clumps, then smooth it flat. The batter is thick, so spoon it in all the way around and then level it out. A flat top means a flat bottom when you turn the cake out.
- Wait about 30 minutes before you flip it. Gently run an icing spatula around the sides and down around the middle first, then turn it out.
- Glaze it the next morning if you want. Once the apple cinnamon pound cake is out of the pan, let it cool completely. I covered mine lightly with foil overnight and poured the glaze on the next morning.
Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake apple cinnamon pound cake?
Bake it at 350°F for 1 hour in a well-greased and floured Bundt or tube pan. Let it cool in the pan for 15 to 30 minutes, then turn it out and let it cool completely before you glaze it.
Is apple cinnamon pound cake really a pound cake?
That’s what it has always been called in our family! A classic pound cake is made with butter, but this one uses oil, which keeps it extra moist with all those apples. It bakes up dense and tender, just like a pound cake should.
What kind of apples are best for apple cinnamon pound cake?
I used Granny Smith apples this time, but I’ve made it with other apples too. Use three of your favorite baking apples, peeled and chopped.
Can I make apple cinnamon pound cake without pecans?
Of course! You can leave the pecans out. We usually add them just because they’re so good with the apple and cinnamon.
Can I make it in a tube pan instead of a Bundt pan?
Yes. The recipe works in a tube pan or a Bundt pan. Whichever you use, grease and flour it really well so the cake comes out clean.
How do I get the glaze the right consistency?
Start with a little over 2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of milk, then add milk or powdered sugar a little at a time until it pours easily. Don’t worry if it isn’t right off the bat. You just have to play with it. And if you end up with extra, it tastes really good on graham crackers.
How many slices does one apple cinnamon pound cake make?
One cake gives you 12 to 16 slices, depending on how generous you are. I like to slice this apple cinnamon pound cake right at the table.
🛒 Complete Shopping List
Everything you need to make this Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake — click any item to shop on Amazon.
Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour — for the cake, I love King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose — shop direct →
Equipment
More Crowd-Pleasing Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
- Pumpkin Caramel Sheet Cake — my favorite, favorite, favorite fall recipe
- Apple Pie Bites — everything you love about apple pie in one little bite
- Pecan Pie Bars — why I make these instead of pecan pie for a crowd
- Southern Butter Pecan Pound Cake — another Bundt cake loaded with pecans, worth every drip down my apron
- Desserts for a Crowd — every dessert I make when there’s a houseful to feed
📬 Come to the table on Saturday
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Apple Cinnamon Pound Cake — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.