Jewish Apple Cake With Vanilla Glaze

My mom learned to make this traditional Jewish apple cake recipe in home ec back in high school. Years later, it’s remains the family recipe we love the most: moist vanilla cake layered with cinnamon-spiced apples. Requested often, devoured always.

Jewish apple cake is a tall, old-fashioned tube cake made with oil and orange juice instead of butter and milk, with a sweet vanilla batter layered with tart cinnamon sugar apples that bake until soft.

Because Jewish apple cake has no dairy, it’s pareve, which is why it has held its place on Rosh Hashanah tables and in Jewish home baking across the Northeast for generations. It’s sturdy enough to travel, keeps for several days on the counter, and tastes even better the next day.

This also makes a perfect cake for fall and winter when apples are in season, and makes the whole house smell like cinnamon, apples, and vanilla..

What to Know:

• Pan: 10-inch tube pan (Bundt, loaf, and 9×13 directions below)
• Time: 20 minutes hands-on, about 1 hour 40 minutes in the oven
• Dairy-free and pareve with a water or orange juice glaze
• Make ahead: best baked a day before serving
• Freezes beautifully for up to 3 months

Origin Story: My Mom’s Jewish Apple Cake Recipe From Home Ec

A Jewish apple cake, baked in a tube pan, is a beloved cake in the mid-Atlantic region, popularized by Polish and Eastern European immigrants. This particular recipe came from my mom’s home economics class back when she was in high school outside of Philadelphia. It was the first thing she learned to bake on her own, but certainly not the last; she is a fabulous home baker! Despite becoming a professional pastry chef in New York and making hundreds of fancy, snazzy cakes, this simple homemade apple cake from Mom remains my favorite cake recipe of all.

You may also like: Soft Italian Sprinkle Cookies and Buttermilk Birthday Cake

A Few Pastry Chef Improvements to Make This the Best Jewish Apple Cake

I’ve made this cake literally dozens of times. It’s the best. I’ve kept everything that makes it my mom’s: the oil, the orange juice, the tube pan, the batter, and the layers of cinnamon apples, but have made a few small changes to make it even better.

• Adjusted the orange juice: The original recipe called for 1/2 cup orange juice. I thought that this made the orange flavor too strong, so I halved it, and added water to replace the missing 1/4 cup. This kept the moistness of the batter, but with a more balanced flavor.
• Salt: 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt balances the tartness of the apples and sweetness of the cake.
• Choosing the right apples: The original didn’t specify, but there are good baking apples, and bad baking apples. I tell you which apples are the best for baking.
• A vanilla glaze. It isn’t traditional, but it has become the part people ask about most, so I’ve given it its own section below

Why Is It Called a Jewish Apple Cake?

A traditional Jewish apple cake is so called for several reasons, ranging from apples’ symbolism to the pareve ingredients. 

The importance of apples: Apples are very symbolic in Hebrew faith, representing sweetness, hope for prosperity, strength, and growth. At Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), for example, apples and honey are served to symbolize hopes for a sweet new year ahead.

As for the ingredients: Jewish apple contains no dairy products, and is free of milk, buttermilk, butter, cream, or other dairy derivatives. Because this Jewish apple cake recipe contains no dairy, it is considered pareve (parve), meaning those observing Jewish dietary laws or rules can serve the dessert with meals containing either meat or dairy.

Ingredients for Jewish Apple Cake

This cake uses pantry staples in three parts: the apples, the batter, and the glaze. Exact amounts and weights are in the recipe card below.

For the apples:

• Apples: About five large firm baking apples. I like a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisps (more on choosing below).
• Sugar and cinnamon: Tossed with the sliced apples to season them and draw out the juices.

For the cake batter:

• All-purpose flour and baking powder
• Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal; if you use Morton or table salt, use half as much.
• Granulated sugar
• Neutral oil: Use canola, vegetable, or sunflower. Oil helps keep this cake stays moist for days, and the recipe dairy-free.
• Eggs: Four large, at room temperature (for better mixing)
• Vanilla extract: Always use pure vanilla
• Orange juice: It stands in for milk and balances the sweetness. You won’t necessarily taste orange, but it amplifies the flavor of the cake batter and apples

For the glaze

• Powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little liquid: Water or orange juice keeps it pareve; milk makes it creamier.

What Are the Best Apples for Baking Jewish Apple Cake?

Use tart, crisp apples such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, or Braeburn to make this Jewish apple cake recipe. Avoid soft-fleshed or mealy apples like the dreaded Red Delicious (I mean, is it, really?). Also be sure to check out my complete guide to the best (and worst) apples for baking.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This apple cake recipe comes together quickly, and boils down to four main steps: 1) prepare the apples, make the cake batter, 3) layer and bake, and 4) glaze and serve. The directions here are a general overview; the recipe card below has full and thorough instructions.

First, Prepare the Apples and Preheat the Oven

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a standard-sized tube pan. I also like to line the bottom with parchment paper so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
2. Peel and slice the apples. Cut the apples into slices, and toss with cinnamon sugar in a mixing bowl. They’ll get juicy while you make the cake batter.

Make the Cake Batter

1. Cream sugar and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat until lightened, fluffy, and smooth.
3. Add the dry. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until about half mixed in.
4. Add the orange juice and water and mix batter on low until the batter is fully smooth and combined. Do not over mix.

Assemble and Bake

1. Pour about a third of the batter into the prepared pan. Layer a third of the apples on top. Repeat twice, ending so that apples are covering the entire top of the cake (cake, apples, cake, apples, cake apples).
2. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour 40 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
3. Cool on a wire rack. When pan is cool enough to handle and the cake has set up a bit (around 20 minutes), invert onto a plate, then flip right-side up again, back onto the cooling rack.

Finish With the Confectioners’ Sugar Glaze (Optional)

In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and water. You can also use orange juice if you want more citrus notes. Whisk until smooth. Spoon glaze over the top of the cake, allowing some to pool on top, and some to drip down the sides. Let harden for a few minutes before serving.

A tube pan is ideal because it bakes up a nice, high cake, but you can also bake the cake in two loaf pans. The time will vary, however.

F.A.Q.s and Pro Tips

Like this recipe for Jewish apple cake? You’ll also love these apple desserts:

• Apple Crisp With Oatmeal Topping
• Apple Spice Cake
• Deep-Dish Apple Pie