This healthy apple cake is delicious and incredibly easy to make. And the extra bonus: a low-calorie, low-fat apple cake without butter, oil, or sugar.
Do you feel like having dessert but feel guilty about eating cake again? Well, this healthy apple cake is the answer!
Do you feel like having some cake but don't have a lot of time? This French-style, easy apple cake is the answer as well! You will probably be able to peel and cut the apples and stir the batter in about 10 minutes. 30 minutes baking time and voila: a beautiful, moist, healthy apple cake, which can be served shortly after being taken out of the oven.
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What makes this apple cake healthy?
- No fat: If you don't count the fat contained in the three eggs. No butter, no oil, no sugar; just eggs, chunks of sweet apples, flour, and spices.
- Made with xylitol instead of sugar. Xylitol has a very low glycemic index, meaning it won’t spike blood sugar.
Check out these other healthy cakes: Low-Calorie Brownies, Vegan Apple Cake, and Skinny Filo Pumpkin Pie.
Recipe ingredients
You will only need a few simple ingredients to make this healthy apple cake.
- Apples: 3 medium fresh apples with a total weight of 9 oz/ 250 g (a little more or less than that is fine). Any type of apple should be fine, but the best apples for me are crisp, sweet, and slightly sour apples (for instance, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, or Granny Smith apples).
- Sweetener: Xylitol is a sugar alcohol occurring naturally in some fruits and vegetables. It is usually made from birch bark and corn cob. It is a figure-friendly alternative to sugar with a glycemic index of 7 (sugar has 60-70) and about 40% fewer calories than sugar.
- Other ingredients: three large eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
Step-by-step instructions
- Prepare: Preheat the oven and prepare the baking tin. Grease and flour it or line it with parchment paper.
- Prepare the apples: Peel them, remove their cores, and cut them into small cubes.
- Wet ingredients: Beat the eggs and the sweetener in a large mixing bowl for about 3 minutes with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the vanilla extract (1).
- Dry ingredients: Mix the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Fold them into the egg mixture using a spatula.
- Fold in the chopped apples (2).
- Batter: Pour the batter into a buttered and floured springform pan of about 22-24 cm/ 9-10 inches. Mix 2 teaspoons sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle the top of the cake with the cinnamon sugar (3).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean (4).
Expert tips
- Use a digital kitchen scale; baking is a science, and measuring the ingredients correctly guarantees the best results (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab).
- Make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. They will mix more easily with the rest of the ingredients, and that results in a smoother, softer batter.
- Immediate baking: Bake the cake batter immediately after stirring. Preheat the oven and prepare the cake pan before making the batter. If you leave it waiting, the baking powder will lose its power, and the cake will not rise nicely.
Recipe FAQ
Can I use sugar instead of xylitol?
Absolutely. Replace it 1:1.
Is this cake healthier than a regular apple cake?
Yes, it contains no fat and uses xylitol instead of sugar. One slice has calories, and that is pretty decent, considering that this is still dessert.
How to store?
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature. The cake will be fine for 2-3 days.
Freeze it for up to 3 months. You can freeze the entire cake or the leftover slices. Wrap well in foil or plastic wrap before freezing. Defrost in the fridge or at room temperature.
How to serve?
- This healthy apple cake is best served fresh from the oven. Let it cool for about 10-15 minutes in the baking pan, transfer it to a serving platter, and serve immediately, or transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely before serving.
- However, the completely cooled cake is delicious as well.
Serving suggestions
- If you chose to make this recipe because you are watching the calories, then serve it as it is. A low-fat addition would be a dollop of Greek yogurt or another creamy yogurt.
- Otherwise, you can serve it with whipped cream, crème Fraiche (slightly sweetened), or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- I recommend vanilla ice cream; a dollop of the cold ice cream on that warm apple cake is just heaven!
Healthy Apple Cake (Low-Fat, Low-Sugar Recipe)
This healthy apple cake is delicious and incredibly easy to make. And the extra bonus: a low-calorie, low-fat apple cake without butter, oil, or sugar.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 143kcal
Equipment
- springform 9-10 inches/ 22-24 cm
Ingredients
Apple cake:
- 3 apples about 250 g/ 9 oz, Note 1
- 3 eggs large, at room temperature
- ¾ cup xylitol or granulated sugar 150 g/ 5.5 oz/
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 170 g/ 6 oz
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Topping:
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preparations: Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C. Grease and flour the springform.
- Prepare apples: Peel and remove the cores. Cut the apples into small cubes. Set aside.3 apples
- Wet ingredients: Beat the eggs and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract.3 eggs + ¾ cup xylitol +1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dry ingredients: In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Carefully fold the flour into the egg mixture. Do not over-mix.1 ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1 teaspoon cinnamon + pinch of salt
- Batter: Fold the chopped apples into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Topping: Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle this mixture over the batter in the pan.2 teaspoons sugar + ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
- Rest the cake for 10-15 minutes, take it out of the tin, and serve either warm or at room temperature (Note 2).
Notes
- Any kind of apples are fine, but I prefer crisp, fresh-tasting ones.
- If you watch the calories, serve it as it is or with a dollop of yogurt. Otherwise, serve warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or at room temperature topped with whipped cream or slightly sweetened crème Fraiche.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 78mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 127IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
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angiesrecipes says
Looks really moist and tasty! Definitely a heavenly treat paired with vanilla ice cream.
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Adina, this cake looks fabulous! Can't believe it's low fat! Goodbye guilt when I eat way too many pieces!
Adina says
And you won't even miss the fat, it is soooo good as it is.
grace says
this looks so delightful! i'll never pass up an apple dessert. 🙂
Lihie says
Sooo delicious! There’s a bit of a baking powder after taste, but other than that it’s delicious! I added some more apples and it came out perfect!
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Lihie. I am happy you liked it.
Caroline says
Made this today its amazing and tastes like its naughty, and looks amazing too!! Thanks xxx
Adina says
So happy to hear it, Caroline. Thank you.
Jody Holmlund says
Can you freeze this cake?
Jody Holmlund says
Can u freeze this cake?
Adina says
Hi Jody, I never did, but I think it should be fine. Wrap it well.
Gerry says
This was so Easy to make. I loved it, so yummy. I put on a dollop of whipped cream (in the can). It was great. I made it in a square pan though, which makes No difference in taste, of course!
Adina says
Thank you for the feedback, Gerry, so happy to read it!
Sassou says
I found this recipe while looking for sweet healthy ways to use up apples and loved the simplicity! I swapped the flour for 1:1 gluten-free flour, and used 110g Xylitol instead of the sugar, added a pinch of nutmeg in with the cinnamon and used coconut sugar mixed with cinnamon for the topping! Baked in a 24cm square tin and was perfectly done at 23 mins! Thanks for the great recipe, it’s a keeper ?
Adina says
Sounds great, thank you for the feedback! I've never used gluten-free flour, it's great to know it is working as well. I use xylitol quite often myself.
Dely Lagahit says
This was delicious! It was a little drier than I expected, but that may be because I overbaked by a few mins. It could also be because there's minimal fat in the recipe (hooray!) I will try shredding the apples next time and see if that helps distribute the moisture a little better. Thank you for sharing!
Adina says
You are welcome, Dely. Thank you for the feedback.
Dawn says
Can I use Bananas instead of apples ?
Adina says
Hi Dawn. You can try but I never did myself. They are softer than apples, so I can't assure you that it would work well before trying.
Melody says
Use only 2 apples - i used 3 and it was far too much. the batter did not coat the apples enough, so i had to make a second batter which was annoying.
Adina says
I indicated the exact amount in oz and grams as well. That is the maximum I can do, you had all the information you needed. I cannot possibly know how big or small are all the apples people are using.
Tk says
Yum
Jon says
I cant seem.to find where you indicate how much flour to use.
Adina says
Hi Jon. In the ingredient list. 1 ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 170 g/ 6 oz
Elisa says
Adina, I agree with your comment that the size and weight of apples will vary wildly, but was your apple measurement perhaps meant to be taken after they were peeled and cored? In our part of the US, we have had a bad crop this year,but my much smaller than normal apples still weighed in at 125g each. I too am wondering how Melody and I can both be so far off from the measurement in the recipe.
Adina says
Hi Elisa. I weighed the apples before peeling.
Trevor says
Try pears. I used 3 large Conference pears, 3 extra large eggs, almond essence. Self raising flour + a little extra flour. I used sweetner not sugar, but used demerara sugar to sprinkle on the top.
Anna Marie says
Hello Adina, I’m interested in making this cake recipe, but wondering if I could use honey in place of the sugar please? Look forward to hearing back from you as I plan to make it today. Thanks, Anna Marie
Adina says
Hi Anna Marie. I am sorry I cannot help, I've never made this cake (or any that I can remember) with honey. Let me know if you try it.