Easy apple squares are made with cinnamon and brown sugar. These delicious cake bars are very moist, thanks to the vegetable oil and the plain Greek yogurt.
The apple squares are super easy and quick to prepare on a busy weeknight! If you're bored with making the same apple recipes, such as apple crisp, crumble, or cobbler, try these little apple squares, and you'd be very happy! These apple cake bars work great as both dessert and breakfast. Talking about breakfast, have you tried these apple cinnamon pancakes with shredded apples? Or, maybe you will enjoy this cozy apple crumb coffee cake?
Apple Squares with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar
In this recipe, I am using a generous amount of apples, tossed together with cinnamon and brown sugar, folded in the cake batter and baked in a 9x9 square pan. These apple cake bars are really just a lot of apple chunks held together by a relatively small amount of cake batter. 🙂 After all, the apple dessert recipes should be all about apples, shouldn't they?
The apple squares are very moist, thanks to the vegetable oil and the plain Greek yogurt.
Other apple desserts
If you love all things apple, you will love these quick and easy apple desserts:
Apple Breakfast recipes
What could be better than enjoying a small slice of something sweet with apples in the morning? Here are my favorite apple breakfast recipes:
- Pumpkin Banana Bread with Apples
- Crepes with Ricotta Cheese and Caramelized Apples
- Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
- Apple Cinnamon Crepes
Easy Apple Squares (Cake Bars)
Ingredients
- 3 apples peeled, cored, and chopped into small square chunks
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 square pan.
- In a medium bowl, toss chopped apples with cinnamon and brown sugar.
- In a mixing bowl, combine together 1 and ¼ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup of white sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla until very smooth. Add eggs and whisk until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients (flour mixture) into wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour half of the batter into the greased pan, top with half of the apples, then pour the remaining half of the batter on top of the apple layer. Top with the remaining half of apples.
- Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or 1 hour - until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I knew my Apple-loving son was coming for a visit so I tried these and they were a big hit. I sprinkled the top with chopped walnuts for added crunch. I’ll definitely make them again. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thank you for your 5-star review, Kathleen! ❤️ I love that you added nuts on top of the cake - they always add so much flavor and texture!
Pretty. Just sweet enough. Cinnamon was a nice, warm undertone. Too much apple and not enough batter though. It probably would have made taller squares if I had baked it in an 8x8 pan. And I was not able to pour the batter into the pan because it was very thick. I dolloped spoonfuls onto the pan bottom and the apple layer, which still worked.
Hi Marsha! You're absolutely right—this cake is meant to be all about the apples, with just enough batter to hold everything together. It’s definitely more fruit-forward than your typical cake. And yes, the batter is thick—dolloping it in spoonfuls like you did is exactly the right move. I'm glad it still turned out well for you! 🙂
Could I use apple pie filling instead of real apples
Hi Christine! Unfortunately, I don't think this small cake will hold up to all the moisture for the apple pie filling.
What is the best type of apple to use?
I made this for the first time today. My husband can’t stop eating it! Instead of greasing the pan, I used parchment paper. It worked great. Thank you.
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it! Thank you for the review, Ellen!
I love this recipe! I have made it with apples. I have made it with pears. I have made squares, a cake and muffins with this recipe. Thank you si much! It's a recipe I can rely on to turn out right..
Oh wow, thank you, Daniela, for the wonderful review - it made my day! ❤️