Apple Traybake with Cinnamon

This apple traybake cake is sweetly spiced and topped with crunchy demerara sugar. It can be in the oven within 20 minutes, feeds a crowd and keeps fresh for days. Leftovers even go well with custard.

If you are in need of a quick and easy bake to satiate plenty of appetites, look no further than this spiced apple traybake. Each slice comes loaded with plenty of chunks of fresh eating apple. To add an extra dimension to the texture of this cake, demerara sugar is sprinkled on top prior to baking, bringing an element of crunchiness with it.

This delicious apple cake tray bake can easily serve 15 people, making it a great option for bake-sales, school fêtes or parties. It’s particularly suited to Halloween and Bonfire Night parties as apples are in their prime in the autumn.

What is a traybake cake?

In the world of baking, a traybake cake (or tray bake cake) is a cake that is baked in a square or rectangular tin and cut into portions once baked. Unlike typical sponge cakes, where layers are sandwiched together, a traybake cake comprises one layer.

They are usually decorated simply, perhaps with a little water icing, a quick slurp of buttercream wiped across the top, a crumble topping or, in the case of this apple cake tray bake, a dusting of crunchy demerara sugar.

This form of bake is popular because they are usually quick & simple to make and feed a crowd. This apple cake tray bake serves around 15 people.

Why you’ll love this apple traybake recipe

There are so many reasons to love biting into this apple and cinnamon tray bake:

• The sponge cake is soft and delicate.
• The spices are sweet and warming.
• Juicy apple is the star of the show – and it’s very evident in the presentation.
• The demerara sugar topping adds a gorgeous crunch to proceedings.
• This recipe is also quick and easy to make.
• No fancy decorating skills are required.

All in all, this rather humble-looking bake is an absolute winner. Trust me, fancy adornments and icings are not necessary and, in my opinion, would spoil this easy apple traybake.

If you were hoping to add a little visual decoration, you might be more suited to my cinnamon apple cake or my apple loaf cake. Both come topped with some lip-smackingly good maple syrup buttercream. And for something sweet without apples, try my vanilla tray bake or my school cake.

Ingredients

This apple traybake recipe consists of a selection of easy-to-find common baking ingredients. I’ve broken my notes into 2 sections to enable me to tell you more about the type of apples that are best for this recipe.

What apples should I use?

This recipe has been devised using eating apples. Cooking apples are not a suitable substitute as they emit alot of liquid during cooking which would soak into the sponge cake and affect the consistency.

Though any eating apple can be used, my preference for this apple cake tray bake is to use apples with a crisp bite and zesty flavour. My top choices would be:

• Braeburn
• Pink Lady
• Jazz

I recommend using fruit that has a colourful skin, since it will add extra interest to the final presentation of this cake. If you are still unsure which apple you might like to try in this recipe, take a look at British Apples (and Pears) for a little extra information about each type.

Other key ingredients

Flour & raising agents: a mixture of plain flour (all-purpose), baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) have been used in this recipe. Use this combination of ingredients if you can for the best results. Failing that, you may substitute self-raising flour for plain flour, but remember to add only the baking soda and leave out the baking powder.

Sugar: I chose to use light brown sugar to add both a warming colour to the bake and a hint of caramel to the flavour of the sponge. Demerara sugar is also needed for the topping – it adds a tantalising crunch to the texture of the cake as it is eaten.

Butter: it’s up to you whether to use real butter or baking margarine. Both will work equally well. Butter will give a richer flavour, whereas margarine tends to give a lighter, fluffier cake. Hand on heart, I’m a bit of a fan of using Stork baking margarine in my cakes. Whichever one you decide upon, ensure it is brought to room temperature as it will be easier to work with.

Spices: This apple sponge traybake pairs beautifully with my choice of spice here: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. You can, of course, use pumpkin spice or chai spice instead.

Soured cream: a little splodge of soured cream (or full-fat Greek yoghurt) works wonders in cakes, giving them a soft and velvety texture.

Lemon juice: this is essential to stop the apple from browning once it has been sliced.

Instructions

Full instructions and measurements are given in the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Follow these steps and it should take no more than 15-20 minutes to get this easy apple and cinnamon tray bake into the oven:

1. Measure the demerara sugar into a small bowl.
2. Mix the spices together in another bowl.
3. Add 1 teaspoon of the mixed spices to the demerara and stir in.
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining spices together in a bowl.
5. Cut each apple into eight wedges. Remove the core, then slice each wedge into chunks approximately ¼cm thick. Put into a bowl and toss with the lemon juice to prevent browning.
6. Using electric beaters, cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.

8. Mix in the soured cream.
9. Sieve the flour mix into the batter and beat, on medium speed, until combined and the batter is smooth.
10. Spoon the batter into the baking tin and use a blunt knife to spread it out evenly.
11. Drain the apple slices and scatter them over the top of the batter.
12. Reserve 1 ½ teaspoons of the demerara sugar and sprinkle the rest over the apples.
13. Bake for around 30 minutes until the cake is golden, well risen and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.
14. Once baked, remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining sugar over the top. Leave to cool in the tin.

Expert Tips

The recipe for this spiced apple traybake is incredibly easy and straightforward. There are a few tips I have to share with you though:

• Take time to grease and line your baking tin well. The more precise you are when it comes to lining your tin with parchment, the neater your cake will turn out.
• There is no need to remove the skin from the apples. In fact, leaving it on is preferable as it adds a great burst of occasional colour to the top of the cake.
• Cut your apples around ¼cm thick. Not too thick but not too thin.
• Don’t be tempted to slice apple rings onto the top of the cake. I did this once and found that they slide off during the first bite. Chunks are far better.
• Use a serrated knife to cut through this spiced apple traybake neatly.
• If the baked apple proves tricky to cut through, use some clean scissors to carefully snip through the problematic bits to ease the cutting of the cake (just take care not to cut into the sponge itself).

Frequently Asked Questions

How to serve apple cake tray bake

There are two ways you can enjoy devouring this cake:

• Serve it just warm with a glug of fresh custard or a scoop of ice cream (vanilla or cinnamon win my vote).
• Let it cool completely and serve in generous portions just as it is, preferably alongside a good cup of tea.

Variations

Try altering the base recipe in the following ways for a slightly different take on this apple sponge tray bake:

• Fold some chopped hazelnuts or walnuts through the cake batter just before spooning it into the baking tin. Around 60g should work.
• Alternatively, fold through chopped dates for a little extra sweetness. Try 90g.
• Scatter flaked almonds over the top of the batter prior to baking.
• Turn it into a ginger and apple traybake by replacing the ground cinnamon with ginger and folding 2 tablespoons of chopped crystalised ginger through the batter.
• Fold in around 100g of raisins, sultanas or a mixture of the two.

More tempting apple recipes to try:

If you make this easy apple traybake recipe then I would love to hear how you get along. If you get a chance please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment. I hope this cake becomes one of your go-to recipes. 

📖 Recipe