Baked Apple Surprise – Inexpensive Simple Apple Cake Recipe

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Baked Apple Surprise is a surprisingly simple apple cake recipe. The ingredients are easy, and it’s baked in a pie pan making it a quick dessert or breakfast to get on the table. Plus, your kitchen will have the aroma of fall with hints of apple and cinnamon.

Baked Apple Surprise is a surprisingly simple, old fashioned apple cake recipe. The ingredients are easy, and it's baked in a pie pan making it a quick dessert or breakfast to get on the table.

Baked Apple Surprise Recipe

Fall is our favorite time of year for desserts, especially anything featuring apples. We’ve been on a roll baking up any apple recipe we can find in our vintage cookbooks. This easy apple cake is unique because it’s baked in a pie plate. It’s a thin cake that bakes quickly. The batter is thick and sticky, and absolutely tempting to eat on your finger!

This easy apple cake is unique because it's baked in a pie plate. It's a thin cake that bakes quickly. The batter is thick and sticky, and absolutely tempting to eat on your finger!

Ingredient List

The ingredients for this baked apple surprise are super simple and you may have most them already in your kitchen. If you aren’t a fan of walnuts, use pecans instead or just leave the nuts out altogether.

  • All Purpose Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Brown Sugar
  • Salt
  • Large Eggs
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Diced Apples
  • Chopped Walnuts

How to Make Quick Apple Cake

Step by Step Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; add brown sugar and salt and stir to combine. Add eggs and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix well.
  2. Stir in chopped apples and walnuts.
  3. Pour mixture into a well greased 9 inch pie pan or small baking dish.
  4. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Serve hot or room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with caramel sauce too.

For the full instructions for easy apple cake, scroll to the bottom of this post.

This easy apple cake is unique because it's baked in a pie plate. It's a thin cake that bakes quickly. The batter is thick and sticky, and absolutely tempting to eat on your finger!

Recipe FAQs

  • Baked apple surprise is essentially a quick apple cake recipe that’s baked in a pie dish. It’s super fast to toss together and absolutely delicious.
  • This easy apple cake calls for cake flour, but in a bind, use all purpose. It may just be a little more dense.
  • Don’t have a sifter? Use a mesh sieve and shake the dry ingredients through it. This is another step that can be omitted. The cake will be more dense but still yummy.
  • For this easy apple cake recipe, I used Granny Smith apples, but you can use whatever you have on hand such as Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, etc. That’s what Grandma would do.  Wash, peel and dice the apple.
  • This baked apple surprise recipe calls for chopped nuts, and we recommend using pecans or walnuts.  These could also be omitted.
  • The batter for this baked apple surprise is very thick and sticky.
  • Use a 9 inch or 10 inch pie plate. If you use a 10 inch, it may cook a little faster.
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This easy apple cake is unique because it's baked in a pie plate. It's a thin cake that bakes quickly. The batter is thick and sticky, and absolutely tempting to eat on your finger!

What is cake flour?

Cake flour is a type of flour that has a higher amount of protein.  It has a finer, softer, more delicate texture. When used in baked goods, it results in a more tender texture which makes it great for cakes. You can use either cake flour or regular all-purpose flour for this easy apple cake recipe.

Our Favorite Apple Recipes:

Linking up to Weekend Potluck.

Baked Apple Surprise

Baked Apple Surprise is an old fashioned apple cake recipe.  The ingredients are easy, and it's baked in a pie pan making it a quick dessert or breakfast to get on the table.  Plus, your kitchen will have the aroma of fall with hints of apple and cinnamon. 
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Apple Surprise, Baked Apple Surprise, Easy Apple Cake, Quick Apple Cake
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 303kcal
Author: Barbara

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 3/4 cups apples, peeled and diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

  • Sift flour, baking powder, and cinnamon; add brown sugar and salt and stir to combine.
  • Add eggs and vanilla to dry ingredients and mix well; stir in diced apples and chopped nuts.
  • Pour into a 9 inch pie pan that has been greased very well.
  • Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Serve warm or room temperature, with whipped cream or ice cream.

Notes

  • Baked apple surprise is essentially a quick apple cake recipe that’s baked in a pie dish. It’s super fast to toss together and absolutely delicious.
  • This easy apple cake calls for cake flour, but in a bind, use all purpose.  It may just be a little more dense. What is cake flour? Cake flour is a type of flour that has a higher amount of protein.  It has a finer, softer, more delicate texture.  When used in baked goods, it results in a more tender texture which makes it great for cakes.
  • Don’t have a sifter? Use a mesh sieve and shake the dry ingredients through it.  This is another step that can be omitted.  The cake will be more dense but still yummy.
  • For this easy apple cake recipe, I used Granny Smith apples, but you can use whatever you have on hand.  That’s what Grandma would do.  Wash, peel and dice the apple.
  • This baked apple surprise recipe calls for chopped nuts, and we recommend using pecans or walnuts.  These could also be omitted. 
  • The batter for this baked apple surprise is very thick and sticky.
  • Looking for more apple recipes? Try Grandma’s Easy Apple Crisp, Sour Cream Apple Squares, Apple Crisp Crock Pot Pork Chops.
  • The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used. It should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 99IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 1mg

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