21 Best Apple Dessert Recipes: Easy & Unexpected Treats for Every Occasion
Welcome to the ultimate collection of the 21 Best Apple Dessert Recipes, meticulously curated to inspire your baking adventures this year! Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting, our selection offers something for everyone. From beloved classics like apple pies, cakes, and crisps to innovative delights such as apple pavlova and apple pie dip, prepare to embark on a culinary journey that will tantalize your taste buds and ignite your imagination. We’ve gathered easy-to-follow recipes alongside more elaborate creations, ensuring that every apple lover finds their perfect sweet treat.
Apples, with their crisp texture and balanced sweetness, are undeniably the stars of autumn baking, but their versatility shines all year round. They transform beautifully into comforting, warm desserts as well as refreshing, unexpected treats. This comprehensive guide will not only introduce you to incredible recipes but also provide valuable insights into working with apples, helping you achieve perfect results every time.
Table of Contents
- Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Desserts
- Our Top 21 Apple Dessert Recipes
- Irresistible Apple Cakes & Cupcakes
- Classic & Creative Apple Pies & Tarts
- Effortless & Delicious Easy Apple Desserts
- Surprising & Unique Apple Desserts
- Explore More Sweet Treats!
Frequently Asked Questions About Apple Desserts
When you find yourself with an abundance of fresh apples, beyond simply eating them, a world of culinary possibilities opens up. Consider making a large batch of homemade apple butter, a smooth and richly spiced spread perfect for toast or baking. Alternatively, a classic apple sauce is always a crowd-pleaser and can be enjoyed on its own or as an accompaniment to savory dishes. For a more sophisticated option, prepare apple compote, which can be served warm or cold. If you own a juicer, pressing them into fresh apple cider is an incredibly rewarding experience. For long-term storage and future baking, don’t forget that you can easily freeze apples. Many desserts are also ideal for using a large haul of apples, such as a hearty apple crisp, an impressive mile high apple pie, or preparing homemade apple pie filling to freeze for later.
The “best” cooking apples often come down to personal preference, but professional bakers often recommend using a mix of varieties to achieve the perfect balance of flavor and texture in your desserts. Look for apples that maintain some structure when baked, preventing them from turning into complete mush. Excellent choices include Cripps Pink (also known as Pink Lady), Honeycrisp, Granny Smith (for a tart kick), Braeburn, Gala, and Fuji. For the most complex and satisfying apple desserts, I always recommend combining both tart and sweet varieties. This creates a delightful depth of flavor that perfectly complements the sweetness of your pie topping, cake batter, or crumble filling, ensuring a well-rounded and delicious result.
Yes, you absolutely can freeze apples, but it’s important to be aware that their texture will change upon thawing. Previously frozen apples tend to become a bit softer and mushier compared to fresh ones. This textural shift occurs because the water inside the apple cells expands as it freezes, causing the cell walls to burst. While this might sound unappealing for eating raw, it can actually be advantageous for many baked apple desserts. The softer texture allows the moisture to release more easily during baking, creating a delicious, saucy consistency perfect for dishes like apple crisp, baked apple toppings for pork, or apple pie fillings. To prevent browning after slicing, it’s a good practice to toss your apples with a small amount of lemon juice before freezing.
Our Top 21 Apple Dessert Recipes: A Curated Collection
As a professional pastry chef, I’ve spent years perfecting the art of apple desserts. This collection represents my absolute favorite 21 recipes, categorized to make finding your next baking project as easy as (apple) pie! Each recipe has been chosen for its exceptional flavor, inviting aroma, and ability to truly celebrate the apple. Whether you’re looking for a comforting classic or an exciting new treat, you’ll find a recipe here that will become a staple in your kitchen.
Irresistible Apple Cakes & Cupcakes for Any Occasion
There’s an undeniable warmth and comfort that comes with a perfectly baked apple cake. Imagine a warm slice, its spices filling the air, generously topped with a scoop of creamy vanilla bean ice cream. This section features some of the most delightful apple cake and cupcake recipes, ranging from incredibly moist apple cakes to visually stunning upside-down creations and fragrant spice cakes – each designed to perfectly conclude any meal, especially during the crisp days of Fall.
These exquisite Caramel Apple Cupcakes offer a symphony of flavors and textures. Each features a wonderfully moist cinnamon cake base, generously filled with a homemade, warmly spiced apple compote. The crowning glory is an easy yet luxurious salted caramel buttercream, providing a perfect sweet and salty balance. For those who prefer a less sweet frosting, a caramel Swiss meringue buttercream would also be an excellent choice, adding a silky-smooth finish.
Caramel Apple Cupcakes
Bake Caramel Apple Cupcakes
This traditional German Apple Cake with Streusel Topping, a beloved recipe from House of Nash Eats, is a true masterpiece of texture and taste. It boasts an incredibly moist and tender crumb, bursting with rich apple flavor and subtle spice. The cake is built upon a buttery shortbread crust, layered with a lightly spiced apple filling, and crowned with a generous, irresistible amount of streusel topping. For me, a delicious streusel topping is the ultimate expression of baking love, making this recipe an absolute must-have on our list.
German Apple Cake with Streusel Topping (Apfelkuchen mit Streusel)
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This captivating Apple Upside-Down Cake from Upstate Ramblings is a testament to simple elegance. It features a beautifully moist, apple-pie-spiced cake, made extraordinary by the layer of caramelized apples baked directly on top (or, initially, on the bottom!). I have a deep fondness for well-made upside-down cakes, much like my popular pear upside-down cake. They are particularly heavenly when served warm, with a generous scoop of luxurious vanilla bean ice cream melting into the warm, sticky apple topping.
Apple Upside Down Cake
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This delightful Apple Almond Cake from Vanilla Bean Cuisine offers a sophisticated fusion of a classic French apple cake and a comforting coffee cake. It boasts a wonderfully soft, spice-infused cake studded with fresh, tender apples, all topped with a delicate and crunchy almond crumble. The combination of warm spices, sweet apples, and nutty almonds makes this cake a truly special treat, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an elegant dessert.
Apple Almond Cake
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For an effortlessly easy yet incredibly flavorful dessert, this Apple Butter Spice Cake is a must-try. Made with rich apple butter and a generous blend of aromatic spices, it’s bursting with comforting fall flavors. This versatile recipe can be baked into charming cupcakes or transformed into an elegant layer cake, especially when paired with your favorite frosting. I highly recommend serving it with the best cream cheese buttercream frosting for an absolutely divine combination.
Apple Butter Spice Cake
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Prepare for an explosion of autumnal flavor with this incredible Apple Cider Cheesecake from Stephanie’s Sweet Treats. It’s an ingenious dessert that perfectly captures the essence of an apple cider donut, but in a luxurious cheesecake form! You’ll enjoy a smooth, creamy apple cider-infused cheesecake filling, baked atop an easy, buttery graham cracker crust. What truly sets this cheesecake apart is the cinnamon streusel, artfully swirled and baked directly into the cheesecake itself, creating an epic flavor profile that’s both comforting and exciting.
Apple Cider Cheesecake – Stephanie’s Sweet Treats
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Classic & Creative Apple Pies & Tarts to Savor
Nothing evokes the essence of homemade comfort quite like an apple pie, but our collection goes far beyond the ordinary! While you’ll certainly find a recipe for a classic apple pie that hits all the right nostalgic notes, this section also explores exciting and innovative variations. Discover creations that range from intricate, pastry-chef-level masterpieces to incredibly simple galettes, proving that apple pies and tarts can be both impressive and approachable.
This Easy Apple Pie is the quintessential dessert every home baker needs in their repertoire. It features a perfectly spiced cinnamon apple filling, encased within a buttery, foolproof vodka pie crust that bakes up incredibly flaky. For an even quicker preparation, feel free to use a good quality store-bought pie crust. This recipe is so straightforward and delicious, it’s destined to become your go-to apple pie, made on repeat throughout the year. Serve it warm with a drizzle of luxurious crème anglaise for the ultimate Fall dessert experience.
Easy Apple Pie
Make Easy Apple Pie
For an absolutely show-stopping apple dessert that is sure to impress, look no further than this professional pastry chef’s recipe for the perfect Apple Tarte Tatin. This French classic features tender, halved apples exquisitely cooked in a rich caramel sauce, all nestled beneath a crisp, golden puff pastry crust. The magic happens when it’s inverted, revealing the beautifully caramelized apples. For an extra touch of culinary prowess, consider making your puff pastry from scratch – Chef Lindsey offers recipes for both classic puff pastry and inverse puff pastry, allowing you to choose the method that best suits your skill level.
Apple Tarte Tatin
Make Apple Tarte Tatin
This Caramel Apple Tart is truly an epic apple dessert, a symphony of flavors and textures designed to delight. It starts with a delicate and crisp sweet tart crust, which provides the perfect foundation. Layers of luscious salted caramel sauce are generously spread, followed by thinly sliced, tender apples. All of this bakes to perfection beneath a golden cinnamon brown sugar streusel topping, adding a delightful crunch. Bring this showstopping apple tart to your next gathering, and prepare for the rave reviews and requests for the recipe to pour in!
Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Streusel
Make Caramel Apple Tart
Apple hand pies, also known as mini apple pies, are the quintessential portable dessert for Fall. This remarkably easy version features a sweet and tender apple compote filling encased in my signature all-butter pie crust. For added convenience, feel free to use store-bought pastry without sacrificing flavor. These delightful hand-held treats are perfect on their own, but truly shine when served with warm salted maple caramel sauce or elegant crème anglaise for dipping.
Apple Hand Pies
Make Apple Hand Pies
Prepare to bake a truly magnificent pie with this Mile High Apple Pie recipe, which impressively calls for a full 5 pounds of apples! As a pastry chef, I’ll share all the essential tricks to eliminate that frustrating gap between the apples and the top crust, ensuring a visually stunning and perfectly filled pie every time. For an easy yet decadent variation, consider pouring some luscious caramel sauce or rich butterscotch sauce directly into the filling before baking, adding an extra layer of sweetness and depth to this already show-stopping dessert.
Mile High Apple Pie
Bake Mile High Apple Pie
There’s an undeniable charm and elegance in the simplicity of a galette, and this Easy Apple Galette from Pass Me a Spoon is no exception. Often affectionately referred to as “the lazy man’s apple pie,” this rustic tart features a wonderfully flaky crust expertly folded around a warmly spiced cinnamon apple filling. Its free-form nature makes it incredibly approachable to bake, yet it yields a stunning dessert that will have everyone reaching for another slice, making it perfect for both casual weeknights and special gatherings.
Super Easy Apple Galette
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Effortless & Delicious Easy Apple Desserts
Every home cook needs a reliable repertoire of easy apple desserts, and this section is designed to be your ultimate go-to resource! Whether you need a lightning-fast treat for a weeknight craving or a simple yet impressive dessert for a large gathering, these recipes have you covered. Discover everything from a quick microwave apple crisp to convenient crumble bars, a hearty skillet pie, and other straightforward apple delights. These are the simplest, most satisfying apple desserts that require minimal effort but deliver maximum flavor.
It truly doesn’t get any easier than this ingenious Microwave Apple Crisp! This simple yet incredibly satisfying dessert by Running to the Kitchen means you can whip up a warm, comforting treat in mere minutes. Perfect for those sudden dessert cravings or when you need a quick sweet fix, this recipe might just become your nightly indulgence, making dessert a regular and effortless pleasure.
Microwave Apple Crisp
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Elevate your classic apple crumble with this exciting twist: the Ginger Spiced Apple Crumble by Knife & Soul. This recipe cleverly incorporates the warming heat of fresh ginger into the tender apple filling, beautifully complemented by ground ginger infused into the buttery crumble topping. The resulting flavor profile is both familiar and wonderfully sophisticated, offering a refreshing take on a beloved dessert. If you’re a fan of ginger, you could also experiment by adding a touch of this aromatic spice to a traditional apple cobbler recipe for a similar delightful effect.
Ginger Spiced Apple Crumble
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This Easy Apple Crisp is a tried-and-true recipe, baked to perfection in the oven, and designed to generously serve a crowd. It features a beautifully balanced sweet brown sugar streusel topping that offers a delightful crunch, perfectly complementing the tender, slightly tart apple filling beneath. This recipe strikes the ideal harmony between sweet and tangy, making it an absolute favorite for any gathering, from casual family dinners to larger festive occasions.
Easy Apple Crisp
Bake Apple Crisp
Sometimes, only a satisfying bar cookie will truly hit the spot, and these delightful Apple Plum Crumble Bars are the perfect answer. With a soft, chewy base and a luscious fruit filling, they are bursting with incredibly rich and flavorful notes of both apples and plums. The buttery crumble topping adds a wonderful texture contrast, making each bite a harmonious blend of sweet, tart, and crumbly goodness. They are easy to make, transport well, and are ideal for picnics, potlucks, or simply as a comforting treat with your afternoon tea.
Apple and Plum Crumble Bars
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For those not yet acquainted with this culinary gem, an Apple Pandowdy is essentially an incredibly easy, rustic skillet apple pie. The beauty of this dessert lies in its simplicity: a flavorful apple filling is baked under a top crust, which is then charmingly “dowdied” or broken up into the filling during baking, creating an irresistible texture. This recipe truly is “easy as pie,” offering all the comforting flavors with significantly less fuss. Don’t forget to scoop on some creamy vanilla bean ice cream before serving for an ultimate warm and cold dessert experience.
Apple Pandowdy Recipe
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Surprising & Unique Apple Desserts to Try
Step outside the traditional pie box and discover a world of delightful and unexpected apple desserts! This collection features innovative apple creations that are perfect for entertaining guests or simply enjoying a unique Fall treat. Some are incredibly easy, others offer a refreshing chill, and many are perfectly bite-sized, but all promise a surprising and delicious take on apple-infused sweetness. Prepare to be inspired by these creative ways to enjoy apples beyond the usual suspects!
While pavlovas are a personal favorite (especially this pavlova cake), when the weather turns crisp and cool, you’ll find yourself yearning to bake up this extraordinary Apple Pavlova from Pass Me a Spoon! This dessert is a heavenly combination of light, airy meringue with the comforting sweetness and slight tartness of cooked apples. Its delicate crisp shell and soft interior make for a truly elegant and satisfying dessert. A generous dollop of homemade whipped cream would provide the perfect finishing touch, adding a cloud-like creaminess to each bite.
Apple Pavlova
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These adorable and utterly delicious Easy Apple Pie Bites are ingeniously made using convenient wonton wrappers, making them a quick and simple dessert option. However, for those who love to bake from scratch, these bites would be equally (if not more!) fabulous when enclosed in a homemade pie crust. Consider trying my incredibly flaky all-butter pie crust or the reliable Crisco pie crust for a truly irresistible bite-sized apple treat.
Apple Pie Bites Easy Dessert Recipe
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Trust me, you won’t want anything to stand between you and a plate of these phenomenal Apple Fritters from Of Batter and Dough! These are not just any fritters; they feature a soft, yeasted donut dough, generously studded with an abundance of sweet apple filling, all fried to golden-brown perfection. And the irresistible maple glaze? It’s so good, you’ll be licking your fingers clean. These fritters embody the ultimate comforting, indulgent, and utterly delicious apple treat, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a decadent dessert.
Apple Fritters with Maple Glaze
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It truly doesn’t get much more creative or unexpected than serving up a vibrant platter of Apple Dessert Nachos! This playful and delicious treat is a fantastic way to enjoy apples in a fun, shareable format. While the recipe calls for fresh apple slices as the base, for an extra indulgent (and less healthy, but equally delicious) option, consider using crispy apple chips instead. The combination of sweet apples, decadent sauces, and various toppings makes this dessert an absolute delight, perfect for parties or a unique family treat. Yum!
Healthy Apple Nachos Recipe
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Now, this is the kind of ice cream I can truly get behind! Imagine scooping up a generous bowl of this luscious Apple Pie Ice Cream, a creation that perfectly captures the warm, spiced essence of a freshly baked apple pie in a cool, creamy format. Drizzle it generously with rich salted caramel sauce for an added layer of indulgence, then grab a spoon – actually, grab your own spoon, because this entire bowl is mine! It’s the ultimate refreshing yet comforting dessert, especially when you crave pie flavors on a warm day.
Apple Pie Ice Cream
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I’ve saved one of the easiest and most fun desserts for last: this irresistible Caramel Apple Pie Dip! This dip is sweet, incredibly decadent, and significantly simpler to prepare than a traditional pie, making it a perfect quick treat or party appetizer. I particularly love the hidden layer of crunchy nuts at the bottom, which provides a delightful salty and crunchy surprise with every scoop. Serve it with apple slices, graham crackers, or even shortbread cookies for a truly addictive and easy-to-share apple dessert experience.
Caramel Apple Pie Dip | Entirely Elizabeth
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Explore More Sweet Treats for Every Season!
We hope you’ve thoroughly enjoyed this delicious journey through our collection of the 21 Best Apple Dessert Recipes. If these apple-inspired delights have sparked your baking passion, you’ll be thrilled to discover even more seasonal sweetness on our site. Be sure to explore our extensive collection of Fall dessert recipes, which features a wide array of comforting and festive treats perfect for the autumn season. And for all the pumpkin enthusiasts out there, don’t miss our roundup of the 25 Best Pumpkin Dessert Recipes for Fall, guaranteed to satisfy every pumpkin craving. Happy baking!