Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake and The Secret to Making a Perfectly Moist Cake

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To me, the clear winner of the cake vs. pie debate is cake. Do we blow out the candles on pie on our birthdays? No. Do we eat pies at weddings? No. Cake is the food of celebration, and it happens to be one of my favorite foods. Now, cake may be the food of celebration, but that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated and fancy. My favorite cakes aren’t multi-layered or decorated, they’re the simple cakes, the ones that you serve up at family dinners or just because it’s Tuesday – like this apple cinnamon Bundt cake.

You heard about my love of Bundt cakes in this post. Bundt cakes are perfect. The pan makes them pre-decorated so they feel a little bit fancy. They’re easy to portion out, and they are moist and delicious. I’ve had this Fleur de Lis Nordic Ware Bundt pan for a long time. I think my mom has the same one, too. I was feeling fancy the other day and bought myself this little Nordic Ware number. It’s a little smaller than my other one (10 cups), but this recipe fits in it perfectly. If you don’t have a Nordic Ware Bundt pan, you really should jump on it. They cook evenly, wash up great, and are so pretty! They’re the best.

The Secret to Moist Cakes

Have you ever made a chocolate cake and the recipe said to boil the water and butter together and add the hot mixture to the dry ingredients? All of my favorite chocolate cakes are made this way. The result is a beautifully moist, perfect, delicious chocolate cake. No dry, crumbly nonsense. This got me thinking. Why do we do this boiling method? The only info I could find online said that the hot water blooms the cocoa, which is true, but that does not explain the drastic difference in texture between those made with the boiling water method and those made a different way.

I read one theory that says that the liquid fat from the hot water method coats the flour in a way that prevents gluten from forming, resulting in more tenderness. Maybe that’s part of it? Either way, I set out to test if the hot water method was useful for cakes other than the chocolate variety. You’ll see the success in the picture above.

Should we boil the liquid for all of our cakes? Maybe! You definitely should for this apple cinnamon Bundt cake.

How to Make Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

This recipe is very easy and very delicious. It’s packed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and general Autumn happiness. My husband and children had the great burden of helping me consume three of these cakes in the testing process, and they’re still asking for more.

First, get your water and two sticks of butter in a small saucepan set over medium heat on the stove. As soon as it boils, take it off the heat. In the meantime, prepare your dry ingredients.

The only trick with the dry ingredients is to mix your chopped apples into the dry ingredients before you add the wet ingredients. This coating of flour helps the apples to suspend evenly in the cake instead of sinking. Also, I like to use small apple chunks, about 1 centimeter cubed.

After your dry ingredients are mixed together, pour in your slightly cooled water and butter mixture, and stir a few times to cool the mixture down a little more. Then add your eggs, vanilla, and sour cream, stirring between additions. When the batter is evenly incorporated, pour it in to a very well greased Bundt pan. I use the baking Pan for this, and it had never done me wrong. Spray the heck out of that pan though. Place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet, and slide that onto the middle rack of the oven for about 45-55 minutes. Mine are done right around the 50 minute mark. The cake is done when a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

Let the deliciously autumnal cake cool for about 10-15 minutes in the pan, and then invert onto a cooling rack or serving plate. Let cool completely (or almost completely) before slicing, topping with whipped cream, and chowing down. Did I mention that this recipe requires no machinery? Just a bowl and a rubber spatula, baby

.No one will judge you if you eat this for breakfast. It has fruit in it, for crying out loud!

If you liked this post, will you please share it on social media? Also, please tag me in your pictures! I love to see all of your wonderful creations. Until next time!

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake

Gracious Cooking

This delightfully autumnal cake requires no mixer, comes together in about 15 minutes, and will make you feel very cozy and happy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 slices

Equipment

• Bundt cake pan

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Slightly less if you're using freshly ground nutmeg.
• 2 large apples, diced into 1 centimeter sized pieces I like to use two different varieties of apple, but use what you have. Having a granny smith in there is a good idea, but again, use what you have.
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the middle position.
• Spray a Bundt pan thoroughly with baking spray.
• In a small sauce pan set over medium heat, heat the butter and water together until boiling. As soon as the mixture boils, take if off the heat.
• In the meantime, combine the flour, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and diced apples in a large mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly with a rubber spatula.
• When the water and butter mixture has cooled slightly, add it to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix a few times.
• Add both of the eggs. Mix until combined.
• Add the vanilla extract and the sour cream. Mix until combined.
• Pour into the prepared Bundt pan, place the Bundt pan on a baking sheet just in case of spill over, and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester comes out clean. Mine take 50 minutes, but this varies depending on your oven.
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
• Slice and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Keyword Apple, Autumn, Bundt cake, Cinnamon, Dessert, Fall, Quick & Easy