Instant Pot Apple Cake

This Instant Pot Apple Cake is not only super easy, but super delicious! Four layers of moist cake and juicy apples in every bite!

apple cinnamon cake made in Instant Pot

Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Cake

It’s still warm here in Texas, but with a new school year starting in the next week or so, I’m already feeling the itch for Fall recipes! (I’d love it if the weather would follow suit!)

Apples are one of my favorite fruits year-round, but something about that combination of warm apples and cinnamon just screams Fall. So I just can’t wait for cooler weather to try out some of our new Fall themed recipes.

This Instant Pot Apple Cake is super easy to make (who doesn’t love recipes that you can just set and forget?) Plus this cake is super moist since all the moisture is locked in while it “bakes.”

I could eat this Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Cake for breakfast, snack, dessert – ok I could pretty much eat it any time. It’s crazy good stuff!!

And when you enjoy this Instant Pot Apple Cake with a PSL (try our healthy homemade pumpkin spice latte here!) you’ve got the ultimate Fall pairing!

Hope you love it too!

Related: For a lighter apple treat, try our gluten free Quinoa Apple Cake!

slice of apple cake with nuts and caramel

Ingredients

  • Apples
  • Ground Cinnamon
  • Flour
  • Baking Powder
  • Kosher Salt
  • Oil
  • Sugar
  • Orange Juice
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Large Eggs

Kitchen Supply List

For your convenience in re-creating this Instant Pot Apple Cake recipe, I’ve included shop-able ad links to some of the products used. Read our full disclosure policy here.

Instant Pot Apple Cake with caramel drizzle

What is the Best Type of Apple to Use?

For baking recipes, Granny Smith Apples work well because their tartness balances out the sweetness from the rest of the recipe. That way it is no overly sweet.

However, you are absolutely welcome to use any type of apple you like or have on hand! I like a sweet cake, so Gala or Fuji apples are my favorite varieties.

Why Use the Instant Pot to Bake a Cake?

One of the reasons the Instant Pot is so great for baking is that it keeps the inside of the cake super moist. Because there’s nothing that makes me sadder than putting all that effort into baking a cake…only for it to turn out dry!

How does it work? The Instant Pot is a pressure cooker and uses steam to cook foods. This steaming process is what helps keep the food so moist and ensures that it cooks evenly.

moist slice of apple cake made in the Instant Pot

How to Make Instant Pot Apple Cake

Combine diced apples, cinnamon, and 2 tbsp sugar in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

TIP: We used Granny Smith Apples (my husband’s favorite), but you can use any variety of apple that you have on hand.

Sift together dry ingredients in one large mixing bowl and combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl.ย Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until you have a smooth batter.

Coat your springform pan with non-stick baking spray.

Pour half the cake batter into the springform pan, then layer half of the diced apples on top of the batter.

Pour the remaining batter on top of the apples, then finish with the other half of the apples, so that you have 4 layers. Here’s a look at the layering process:

How to make a layered apple cake in the Instant Pot

Cover the springform pan with foil like so:

Instant pot apple cake wrapped in foil before cooking

Add 1 cup of water into the insert of the IP and place the trivet inside.ย Set the springform onto the trivet and close the lid.

Select manual (high) and set the time for 60 minutes cook time. Allow natural pressure release before removing lid.

Allow the cake to cool completely (out of the Instant Pot) before removing the springform.

This cake is lovely topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, or even a sprinkle of ground nutmeg.

PS- Be sure to check out how we used the Instant Pot to make Pumpkin Apple Butter too!

 

Moist and delicious Instant Pot Apple Cake with Instant Pot in background

More of our favorite Instant Pot desserts:

Grab a free printable copy of our Instant Pot Apple Cake Recipe:

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This set-it-and-forget-it Instant Pot Apple Cake is not only super easy, but super delicious! Four layers of moist cake and juicy apples in every bite!
Print Recipe
4.39 from 44 votes

Instant Pot Apple Cake

This Instant Pot Apple Cake is not only super easy, but super delicious! Four layers of moist cake and juicy apples in every bite!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple pie, cake, Instant Pot
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 325kcal
Author: Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
Cost: $6

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Combine diced apples, cinnamon, and 2 tbsp sugar in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • In separate mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, orange juice, sugar, vanilla and eggs until well combined. Gradually stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until you have a smooth batter.
  • Coat your springform pan with non-stick baking spray.
  • Pour half the batter into the springform pan, then cover with half of the diced apples. Repeat with the rest of the batter and diced apples so that you have 4 layers.
  • Cover the springform pan with foil.
  • Add 1 cup of water into the insert of the IP and place the trivet inside.ย Set the springform onto the trivet and close the lid.
  • Select manual (high) and set the time for 60 minutes.
  • Once the timer goes off, allow to natural pressure release before removing the lid.
  • Carefully take out the trivet and remove the foil from the springform pan.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before removing the springform.
  • Dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate only; actual values will vary based on the exact ingredients used and amount of recipe prepared.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 162mg | Potassium: 174mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 4.3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1.4mg

Be sure to pin this Instant Pot Apple Cake on Pinterest:

This set-it-and-forget-it Instant Pot Apple Cake is not only super easy, but super delicious! Four layers of moist cake and juicy apples in every bite!

More of our favorite apple desserts:

These delicious Apple Pie Cupcakes are the perfect sweet treat for any fall feast!

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Oatmeal Apple Bombs with Candied Pecans

A crave-able and share-able Country Apple Fritter Bread that is just the thing for Fall! Layers of sweet apples sandwiched between buttery biscuit dough.ย 

Country Apple Fritter Bread

Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
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43 Comments

  1. Re the layered “Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Cake”. You mention vanilla but there’s no measurement for it in the ingredient list. Can you correct the recipe, please? Thanks!

    1. Hi Lisa – Thank you for pointing out the oversight! I’ve added vanilla to the ingredients list. If you didn’t use it, it won’t make or break the final cake. I just like the extra richness vanilla provides ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Hi! This looks delish! No Instant Pot, however. How long do you suppose it would take in the oven? And temp? 325ish, maybe?

  3. This looks great and getting ready to try. Quick question…on manual setting, is it high or low pressure for 60 minutes? Do I assume high if the recipe doesn’t say otherwise? Thank you!

    1. Our kids have 10, 32, and 33 food allergies, so it is difficult to find recipes to make for them. I did make this recipe with a gluten free flour blend I make up (3 cups sorghum flour, 2 cups potato starch, 2 cups tapioca starch, 2 tsp. Xanthan gum). This makes 7 cups. I take out what I need and refrigerate the rest. I also left the xanthan gum out of the flour blend and followed these guidelines…add 1/2 tsp. gum per 1 cup flour blend (best for cakes, cookies, muffins & quick breads). Add 1 tsp. gum per 1 cup flour blend (best for yeast bread, pizza dough, or anything that calls for yeast). I was not able to layer the cake like the recipe said, so I placed the cake mix in and then put the apple mix on top. I pushed the apple mix in a little bit in the cake. I also lowered the cooking time by 5 minutes. The cake turned out delicious!! Our son has had to go gluten free in the last year and it has been difficult on him. He is like me and loves baked goods. This recipe is a keeper!! It is the first one I have been able to make gluten free and actually have it turn out. Our son ate all of it and wants me to make another one! Today I plan to replace the apples with blueberries. Next, I will try to make it egg free so our daughter can enjoy it. Thank you for sharing this recipe! It is a keeper in our house!

  4. Made this last night followed the recipe and instant pot instructions exactly and my cake was still doughy in the center. Any ideas as to why? I attempted to bake it longer in the oven but it just never baked through. Was super excited about this. Guess Iโ€™ll have to try it again

  5. I have just made this its cooking at the moment followed the ingrediants to tee is the batter surpose to be so thick there was no way i could get 3 layers of batter i even added some water to thin it down and used a smaller pan

  6. This cake was delicious, but when I made it, it fell in the middle and was a little raw. What did I do wrong? Would putting more time in the instant pot help it?

  7. I made your apple cake in my new instant pot. When I shared it with friends and family they ALL wanted the recipe!! I was a HIT!!

  8. I made your cake it tasted very good. I live at 7000 ft it came out rather doughy, the crumb was not like yours. Any suggestions?

    1. Hi Louis – You might need to increase the cook time in the future. I live very close to sea level, but what I’ve read suggests increasing pressure cooking time by 5% for every 1000 ft above 2000 ft elevation.

  9. The recipe says to dice the apples, but does not mention peeling them first. In the photos and the video, it looks like the apples were peeled. Do you peel the apples or leave them unpeeled?

  10. I made this cake with wholewheat flour and didn’t bother about peeling apples. Turned out delish – moist and cinnamon-y.
    This recipe is a keeper. Thanks so much Stacey!

4.39 from 44 votes (42 ratings without comment)

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