Fresh Apple Cake
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Fresh Apple Cake smells so amazing when it’s cooking, you’ll want to make one everyday. It’s filled with honey crisp apples, pecans, and cinnamon.

What’s Special About This Cake?
Autumn has made its way into our mountains, and that means it’s time to make Fresh Apple Cake. Not just any cake mind you, but the beloved recipe of Mary Lois, who was like another mother to me when I was growing up.
It seems like I spent more time at Lisa’s house than I did my own during my childhood. Lisa and I were best buddies…and still are after all these years! Mary Lois was Lisa’s mom, and I have fond memories of eating her Fresh Apple Cake with a big ole’ glass of milk at her kitchen table.
Lisa and I needed our sustenance before we performed gymnastic routines on picnic benches, created haunted houses to scare our friends, and ran through the neighborhood like a bunch of wild animals. Our bare feet were dirty, but our bellies were always full with some sort of treat from Mary Lois’s oven.

How to Make Fresh Apple Cake
To make Fresh Apple Cake, start with the tartest apples you can find. I like to use Honey Crisp, but any tart apple will do. Small apples yield about 1/2 cup, so you’ll need at least 6 small or 3 large apples for this cake.
Peel the apples first, then dice them and set aside while making the batter.
You’ll need vegetable oil to make this cake moist, plus white sugar, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon for the dry ingredients. Gather three eggs, a teaspoon of vanilla, chopped pecans and powdered sugar to dust the cake after it cools.
Step by Step Instructions
Beat the oil and sugar together first, then blend the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add eggs to the oil mixture, then alternately mix in the dry ingredients. Finally, fold in vanilla, apples and pecans, and pour the cake batter into a bundt pan (ad) that has been greased and floured.


Bake the cake at 300 degrees for one hour and fifteen minutes. And guess what? It turns out perfectly! Just the smell alone takes me down memory lane in an instant.
I bet Mary Lois is looking down from heaven and laughing at the flour clouds that exploded from my mixer (ad) while making her cake. I always loved her laughter…and the fun times Lisa and I had back in the day.
More Vintage Cakes to Love
- Granny Tag’s Prune Cake
- Vintage Strawberry Cake
- Double Chocolate Chip Cake
- Beryl’s Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Loaded Carrot Cake
- Pumpkin Spice Flip Cake

Fresh Apple Cake
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Ingredients
- 3 cups tart apples peeled and diced
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Peel and dice apples, set aside.
- Beat oil and sugar together in a mixer. (ad)
- Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients alternately with beaten eggs to the oil and sugar mixture.
- Fold in vanilla and mix well.
- Stir in apples and pecans.
- Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt tube pan.
- Pour cake batter into bundt pan (ad) and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Cool cake for 10 minutes and invert pan onto serving plate.
- Remove cake from pan, then sprinkle with powdered sugar once cooled.
Notes
- Fresh Apple Cake tastes even better the day after it's been baked!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
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Thanks Debi for the yummy memories baked by mom! Best fall cake ever!
Everybody who had a bite of this cake loved it! Yay for Mary Lois!
Yummy! Love making a cake that my husband enjoys and this was it! Had the perfect amount of sweetness. We had to indulge before it even cooled. I’m thinking it will be even better (if that’s possible) after it cools. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Debbie! I love to eat it in the morning with a hot cup of coffee! 🙂
This looks fantastic! Pinning. Also, I love your blog name. It made me laugh. Very clever!
Haha…Michelle, I love my blog name too. Thanks for stopping by!
Looks amazing Debi! Thanks for sharing at the Fabulous Friday Linky Party!
Thanks Erin!
Made this cake last night! I subbed walnuts for the pecans and melted butter for the oil. Hubby insisted on taking some to work with him. This cake is delicious and perfectly moist! This one’s a keeper! Thank you for an awesome recipe!
Thank you Mary! So glad you tried this cake and loved it! 🙂