Baked Apple Cake Dutch Style (Printable)

Warm casserole-style apple cake with tender spiced fruits in a soft golden crumb, inspired by Dutch flavors

# What You'll Need:

→ Apples

01 - 3 large apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
02 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

→ Dry Ingredients

03 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
04 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
06 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
07 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

→ Wet Ingredients

09 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 - 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
11 - 2 large eggs
12 - 1 cup whole milk
13 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
14 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

→ Topping

15 - 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
16 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with lemon juice to prevent browning. Set aside.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
04 - In another large bowl, whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth. Add milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract, whisking until fully combined.
05 - Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix.
06 - Fold in prepared apples. Pour batter into greased baking dish and spread evenly.
07 - In a small bowl, mix topping sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
08 - Bake for 40 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
09 - Let cool slightly before serving. Enjoy warm, optionally with powdered sugar or crème fraîche.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • No flipping required, which means you can pour your coffee and actually drink it while it bakes instead of hovering over the stove.
  • The spices and apples work together so well that it tastes like you spent hours planning it, even though you really just mixed things together.
  • It's tender enough to eat with a spoon but sturdy enough to slice, making it perfect for feeding people without the usual cake-serving awkwardness.
02 -
  • Don't overmix once the wet and dry ingredients meet; a few lumps of flour are your friend and keep the cake tender rather than tough and gummy.
  • Melted butter really does make a difference here—creaming would create a different texture entirely, denser and less tender than this approach allows.
03 -
  • Room temperature ingredients mix more smoothly and create a better texture, so pull your eggs and milk out of the fridge while you preheat the oven.
  • The smell is half the pleasure of this cake, so use fresh spices from a tin that smells alive rather than dusty, as that transforms the entire experience.
Return