Making an apple cake in the pressure cooker is easier than you think!

You’ll love the warm spices in this Instant Pot apple cake, chock full of fresh apples in a tender cake.

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Every fall, my family goes to a nearby apple orchard to pick apples.

It’s such a fun time, as we wander the rows of trees, filling our bushel bags with autumn’s bounty.

Of course, this also means I get to make ALL the apple things for the next few weeks–and you won’t find me complaining about it! 🙂

So I’ve made Instant Pot apple crisp, Instant Pot apple dump cake, Instant Pot apple butter, Instant Pot applesauce, and Instant Pot cinnamon apples–all perfect for fall.

And since I’m no stranger to making cakes in the Instant Pot, and since I already love Instant Pot applesauce cake, I decided this year I needed to make an Instant Pot apple cake!

Apple Cake in the Instant Pot

Many people don’t realize you can make an Instant Pot cake.

Now, it’s definitely different than baking in the oven, because the oven is a dry heat environment and the pressure cooker is a moist heat environment.

So although it isn’t exactly the same, you may be surprised by the quality of desserts you can whip up this way!

I often use a cake mix when making Instant Pot bundt cakes, and that’s what I did with my Instant Pot apple butter cake. But for this cake, opted for a thicker batter that could stand up to the apples in the cake.

This does mean it requires a bit longer to cook, but it’s worth it!

You’ll love the cinnamon apples throughout the cake as well as on top, making this a delicious but not-too-sweet dessert option.

I use my 7×3″ aluminum push pan, which is similar to a springform pan, and is nice because you can remove the side of the pan for serving the cake.

Making desserts in the Instant Pot uses the “pot-in-pot” method, where you put the ingredients in a pan and lower that onto a trivet in the inner pot of the Instant Pot.

Water in the bottom of the inner pot creates steam, which cooks the dessert.

More Instant Pot Desserts:

• Instant Pot Red Velvet Cake
• Decadent Instant Pot Pecan Pie
• Mouthwatering Instant Pot Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bites
• Instant Pot Pumpkin Cheesecake

How to Make Instant Pot Apple Spice Cake

It’s really simple to make this Instant Pot apple cake recipe for an easy fall dessert.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• Granny Smith apples
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Sour cream
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Salt

How to Make It:

(Full printable recipe is available below)

Prep the apples. First, you’ll peel and dice some Granny Smith apples, then mix those in a small bowl with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Prepare the batter. Next, you’ll use a mixer to combine the vegetable oil, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, and sour cream until smooth.

In a separate bowl, you’ll whisk together the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. The batter will be pretty thick at this point, which is normal.

Layer and pressure cook. Last, you’ll spread half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Top that with half of the apples, then repeat with the remaining batter and the remaining apples.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil (this helps prevent condensation from collecting on the top of the cake). Add a cup of water to the insert pot and lower the pan onto the trivet. Pressure cook at high pressure for 60 minutes.

You’ll allow a 10-minute natural pressure release followed by a quick release, then lift out the pan. Remove the foil and let cool for a few minutes.

Notes and Adaptations:

• Feel free to add a tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest if you’d like a hint of citrus zest, or you could substitute orange juice for the sour cream.
• I would recommend refrigerating leftovers, since this cake is made with fresh fruit.
• Although you can eat this cake cool, I prefer it served warm, along with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A drizzle of caramel sauce would also be a nice touch!