Applesauce Cake

With a delectably moist crumb and warm spices and flavors, this old-fashioned Applesauce Cake is one of those delicious cakes that you’ll want to make over and over again!

Apple Sauce Cake Ingredients

All it takes is a few easy-to-find ingredients to whip up this moist and flavorful cake!

• Butter – When baking, I always opt for using unsalted butter. It allows me to control the amount of salt in the recipe. If salted butter is all you have on hand, just cut the Kosher salt back or omit it altogether.
• Sugar – We use granulated white sugar to provide a little extra sweetness to this homemade cake.
• Brown sugar – I prefer to use light brown sugar for this applesauce cake recipe. The flavor is lighter and less pungent than dark brown sugar. Molasses can easily overrun the other flavors.
• Applesauce – It sounds kind of odd, but it works as a “fat” and also a leavener, meaning it helps it rise. You can always make your own applesauce using my homemade applesauce recipe. But store-bought works just as well! If using store-bought, go for unsweetened applesauce unless you want a really sweet cake. You can even try using pear sauce or cranberry apple sauce instead of applesauce.
• Vanilla Extract – vanilla extract is just a great way to balance and round out the flavors of a lot of baked goods.
• Flour – I use all-purpose flour in this recipe because it’s what I usually have on hand. Anything to make it easier!
• Baking Powder – This acts as a leavening agent for baked goods. It helps to provide a lighter texture in this cake.
• Baking Soda – The bubbles that baking soda releases in a cake give a light and airy texture.
• Salt – I love using coarse kosher salt whenever possible. But again, if you are using salted butter be sure to cut the amount in half or omit it completely and if you are using a fine salt grain, cut the amount in half, at least.
• Spices – For this cake, we are using a combination of warm spices: ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Together they provide a warm, comforting flavor.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream cheese – To top this delicious applesauce cake, we are using a cream cheese frosting. And you can’t have that without using cream cheese as the base! Reduced-fat cream cheeses aren’t as dense and might require less powdered sugar to thicken to the correct consistency.
• Butter – We need a little bit of butter for the base of this frosting as well. Again, use unsalted here.
• Caramel sauce – Is there any better flavor combination than caramel and apple? Use homemade caramel sauce or grab some at the store.
• Powdered sugar – This helps to provide an element of sweetness to our frosting. Powdered sugar is always used in frostings because of its fine texture. No one likes a grainy frosting.
• Heavy cream – We need a bit of liquid to thin out our frosting. Use at your discretion based on how thin or thick you like your frosting. The thickness of your caramel sauce will also play a part in how much you need. Add sparingly to avoid going too much in the soupy direction.

Variations

You can make some swaps to make your own version of this easy cake!

• Frosting– Instead of the caramel frosting, make a maple syrup cream cheese frosting. Or add cinnamon to the frosting to make cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Cinnamon and apple are the perfect match. Or even try a pumpkin cream cheese frosting.
• Add-Ins– If you’d like to add a little more fruit to your applesauce cake, try adding 1 cup of fresh apple chunks or raisins to the cake batter.
• Garnish– Try adding some fresh apples slices on top of the cake or using freshly ground cinnamon.
• Frosting Free– This cake has so much flavor on it’s own that it doesn’t require icing. Simply dust with powdered sugar or slather it with apple butter.

How to Make Applesauce Cake

Making this is easy and fairly standard as far as cake baking goes.

1. Prep the pan. Heat the oven and prepare a square pan (8×8 or 9×9) by lining it with parchment paper. This sponge tends to stick a little, so using parchment gives you the best bet on nice clean squares. It also lets you take the whole cake out to a pretty cake stand or plate instead of serving straight from the pan.
2. Combine wet ingredients. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars. Add the applesauce and vanilla once light and fluffy.
3. Combine dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Sift together the dry ingredients and then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Don’t skip the sifting! This ensures all of the dry ingredients are evenly distributed and you won’t end up with salty or flat pockets.
4. Bake. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake until it passes the toothpick test to ensure the center of the cake is completely cooked. If using an 8×8 pan, this could be a few minutes longer since the cake is slightly thicker.
5. Cool. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.
6. Make the frosting. In the meantime, beat the cream cheese and remaining butter for the frosting until light and fluffy. Add the caramel, powdered sugar, and salt and beat until no lumps remain. Then add in the heavy cream until the desired consistency has been reached. Add slowly so you don’t run into a thin frosting that needs more powdered sugar. We’ve all been there!
7. Frost and serve. Once the cake has cooled, frost it and serve or store.

What to Serve with Applesauce Cake

I like to serve this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee. But you can also get fancy and whip up a dalgona coffee or an espresso martini!

Common Questions About Applesauce Cake

Storage 

Since the frosting has dairy, be sure to store it in the refrigerator. The unfrosted cake can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap.

Refrigerator

Keep the cake stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Freezer

This cake is freezer-friendly before being frosted. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.

More Delicious Desserts to Try

We all know I am a lazy baker, here are a few more easy dessert recipes for the fall.

Pastries, Pies, + Tarts

Easy Pumpkin Pie

4.02 from 66 votes

Candy

Holiday Puppy Chow

4.36 from 146 votes

Cookies

Orange Cardamom Cookies

4.23 from 239 votes

Applesauce Cake

4.50 from 6 votes

With a moist crumb and warm spices, this old-fashioned Applesauce cake is one that you'll want to make over and over again!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 40 minutes mins

Cooling Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 55 minutes mins

Servings: 9

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Equipment

• 8×8 Baking Dish
• Stand Mixer
• Sifter
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Frosting:

• 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
• 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream , optional

Instructions

Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the applesauce and vanilla, blend until combined. Set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in two increments until just mixed. Do not overmix.
• Transfer to baking pan and bake for 40 minutes or until the center is set.
• Remove and allow to cool fully before frosting.

Frosting:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, approximately 3-4 minutes.
• Add the caramel, powdered sugar and salt, blending well again until no lumps remain.
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream depending on the desired consistency of the frosting.
• If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!

Nutrition

Calories: 505 kcal, Carbohydrates: 84 g, Protein: 4 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 11 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 50 mg, Sodium: 412 mg, Potassium: 133 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 53 g, Vitamin A: 609 IU, Vitamin C: 1 mg, Calcium: 52 mg, Iron: 2 mg

Author: Jessica Formicola

Calories: 505

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: applesauce cake, how to make cake with applesauce

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