This simple apple cake was baked by my great-grandmother on a wood stove over 100 years ago, and I’m happy to still be cooking it today. This recipe is timeless, rustic and highlights the flavors of both the apples and the spice. This old family recipe was one of the first that I adapted to experiment with the amazing world of spices and I’m thrilled to share it.
Chinese Five Spice Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground Chinese Five Spice
- 3 cups chopped apples
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Mix sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla.
- Combine dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Fold in apples and nuts.
- Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees in a greased 9" x 13" pan.
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Tagged with: Chinese Five Spice
24 Comments
Corinne says: November 29, 2012 at 3:04 PM
um … how much sugar?
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- Holly says:
November 29, 2012 at 3:09 PM
Thanks for the fast heads-up! There are two cups of sugar. Happy Cooking!
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- Kim says:
December 6, 2012 at 2:37 PM
I just made this and substituted Poudre Forte for the Chinese Five Spice. It might be the best apple cake I’ve ever eaten–the pepper makes a stunning complement to the sweet apples. What a simple, elegant recipe this is! Thank you!
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- elena says:
December 2, 2013 at 1:08 AM
This really is a delicious apple spice cake! Thanks for sharing!!
I cut back on the sugar (1 1/2 cups) and used 1 tablespoon five spice powder.
regards from Greece 🙂Reply
- Amanda says:
November 6, 2015 at 5:11 PM
Me and my dad made this cake today and it was the best cake EVER. we made a cream cheese frosting for the top and it is the most decadent spicy moist cake. I can’t wait to make this for Christmas! Thanks for the recipe.
- Sherrie says:
November 7, 2015 at 9:57 AM
Thank you. And doesn’t cream cheese frosting make any cake taste better? Glad you enjoyed it.
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- larry says:
November 22, 2015 at 12:46 PM
Could I use thus recipie for cupcakes ?
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- Sherrie says:
November 22, 2015 at 12:58 PM
You could. You would just have to adjust the baking time. (When you stick a toothpick in the center, it should come out clean, if the cake (or cupcakes) are done.)
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- Dale says:
December 10, 2015 at 5:12 PM
I made roasted Butternut Squash tonight with Chinese 5 Spice and Maple Syrup and it was so good. I got to thinking about how this spice would be really good in an Apple Cake. I started researching and I found this recipe. I can not wait to make this. As a chef, I like to think outside the box. I’m thinking a Maple Spiced glaze would be ideal for this dense and moist style of cake. Thanks for the ideas and Happy Holidays!
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- Sherrie says:
December 11, 2015 at 10:24 AM
That sounds amazing! We love playing with recipes, too (obviously). Maple would go good with this cake. Let us know how it tastes.
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- Heidi Davis says:
January 7, 2017 at 11:48 AM
I just had a slice:) I love the 5spice in this recipe! Much better than regular spice cake!
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- plasterers bristol says:
February 14, 2017 at 10:54 AM
mmm sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing. Simon
- Sherrie says:
February 14, 2017 at 11:11 AM
You are welcome! Enjoy!
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- Linda says:
May 22, 2017 at 5:10 PM
Added kiwi, and uses 1 cup Brown sugar and 1 cup stevia. Love the licorice taste!
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- Sherrie says:
May 22, 2017 at 5:13 PM
Sounds delicious! We’ll have to try that…
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- Lori says:
June 19, 2019 at 8:31 AM
I don’t like walnuts, but I would still like to use nuts. Would pecans be a tasty substitute? Or what other nuts might work well?
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- Sherrie says:
July 24, 2019 at 11:41 AM
Pecans would be delicious, as would pepitas (pumpkin seeds) or pistachios. Chopped or sliced almonds would be good, too!
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- Lori Ernst says:
July 30, 2019 at 1:12 PM
Pecans were absolutely delicious! I had a bunch of Chinese Five Spice to use up. I bought it for a recipe my kid wanted to make. Neither one of us really likes anise, but I didn’t check before I bought it. So I made this cake with pecans and cream cheese frosting. So delicious! My kid said it was the best cake I’ve ever made. We couldn’t stop eating it. And she still doesn’t know I used the Chinese Five Spice that we don’t like! Ha ha
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- Sherrie says:
August 3, 2019 at 9:59 AM
Glad to hear it!
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- Emma Wade says:
July 25, 2020 at 8:20 AM
Is this recipe new or an old one???
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- Jamie says:
July 30, 2020 at 12:16 PM
Hello – the date on the original recipe is November 29th, 2012. It’s a family recipe.
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- louisa says:
September 26, 2020 at 11:37 AM
fantastic.. i made this last night (without nuts) and it was great but i feel like it tasted better today. I took it to work and it ended up in the fridge for a while and maybe the time and cold made it just fantastic. ten times better the second day. Literally every person that tried some came back for a second piece, i may drizzle homemade caramel sauce on top next time or try making it with pears.
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- Dorie says:
September 5, 2021 at 3:27 PM
What can be substituted for five spice powder?
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- Jamie says:
September 16, 2021 at 2:03 PM
Any cinnamon-based blend would be good, or just use cinnamon. Advieh or Kashmiri Garam Masala would be delicious, too.
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Corinne 
Holly 
Kim 
elena 
Sherrie 
larry 
Dale 
Heidi Davis 
Linda 
Lori 
Emma Wade 
Jamie 
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