This moist, homemade applesauce spice cake is filled with cozy fall spices and topped with a rich brown butter cream cheese frosting. It makes the perfect holiday dessert!
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Moist, tender, and perfectly sweetened cake is filled with cozy fall spices.
Frosting: Brown butter cream cheese frosting is smooth, dreamy, and filled with caramel flavor.
Pan size: 9x13 pan
Serves: 16-24 people
Similar to: Applesauce Cupcakes and Applesauce Bars
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Wet ingredients - Brown sugar, oil, applesauce, and eggs add moisture and flavor to your cake. Unsweetened applesauce works best, while sweetened applesauce can make your cake turn out too sweet.
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda balance with the wet ingredients, add structure to your cake, and help it rise in the oven.
- Flavor - Vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves add flavor to your cake. The spices could be substitute with an equal amount of apple pie spice or chai spice blend if desired.
- Frosting ingredients - Block-style cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt are needed to create the brown butter cream cheese frosting. Low-fat, whipped, or spreadable cream cheese in a tub will not work for this recipe and will result in a runny frosting. The unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired.
How to make applesauce cake
- Whisk dry ingredients to remove clumps.
- Mix wet ingredients until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just incorporated.
- Pour into a 9x13 can pan and bake until center pops back when gently pressed.
- Melt butter over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Continue to stir until the golden flecks that form are medium brown in color.
- Refrigerate butter until just solidified. Beat with cream cheese until creamy and smooth.
- Add confectioner's sugar and mix until combined, then whip until light and fluffy. Wait for your cake to cool completely before frosting.
Heather's top tip
To test for doneness, gently press the top of your cake. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, it needs more time. For accurate results every time, use an instant read thermometer. Cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center.
Cake tips and tricks
Measuring flour properly - I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients, especially the flour. If you don't have a scale, use a spoon to scoop flour into your measuring cup, then level off the top with a knife. Scooping directly from a bin using the measuring cup compacts flour into the cup, adding extra flour to the recipe. This can make cupcakes dry.
Don't overmix the batter - Mix your dry ingredients just enough to incorporate them into the batter. Overmixing can overwork the gluten, causing your cake to turn out tough.
Don't omit or reduce any of the moisture-adding ingredients - Eggs, oil, applesauce, and brown sugar all do their part in ensuring your cake turns out moist and tender. Reducing, omitting, or substituting these ingredients can cause your cake to turn out dry.
Testing for doneness - I use these three methods every time I bake a cake.
- Jiggle test - Gently jiggle the pan. Is your cake still jiggly and liquid in the middle? It needs more time.
- Spring back - Gently press the top of your cake. If it springs right back, your cake is done. If it leaves an indent, it needs more time.
- Thermometer - Use an instant read thermometer to test for doneness. Cake is done when it reaches 210 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.
Frosting tips and tricks
Never browned butter before? - Browning butter is as simple as melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat and allowing it to brown in the pan. You'll notice brown flecks forming on the bottom of the pan after about 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir frequently - Stir the butter frequently as it begins to brown. This helps scrape up browned bits on the bottom to prevent burning.
Cook until brown, not black - Once the butter looks golden brown with a good amount of brown flecks in the bottom of the pan, remove the butter from the heat. It shouldn't look black.
Cooling your brown butter - After cooking your brown butter, it needs to be refrigerated until just solid. If your butter feels cold, place it on the countertop for a few minutes to come back to room temperature. Otherwise, cold butter chunks can create lumps in your frosting.
Storage
Homemade cakes are best served the same day they are baked. However, there are solutions if you need to make your cake a few days (or weeks) ahead of time.
Room temperature - Cake frosted with cream cheese frosting can be stored in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to two hours. After that, it needs to be refrigerated.
Refrigerating - Unfrosted or frosted cake can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. Wrap unfrosted cake in plastic and store in a sealed container. Optionally, brush your cake with simple syrup to help keep it moist for longer. Bring to room temperature for an hour before serving.
Freezing - Unfrosted or frosted cake can be frozen for up to two months. For a frosted cake, first freeze for an hour, unwrapped, until firm. Gently wrap in plastic and store in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 months. Thaw your cake in the refrigerator overnight, then bring it to room temperature for an hour before serving.
Freezing frosting - Cream cheese frosting can be frozen in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature and rewhip as needed to make it light and fluffy.
Frequently asked questions
If your baked goods are being prepared and served in the same day (within 2 hours), your cream cheese frosting can sit out at room temperature. After 2 hours, it is recommended to store your cream cheese frosting in the refrigerator.
This recipe can be sliced to serve as many as 30-40 people with small slices (think wedding cake slices). Slicing large (about 2-3") squares will yield about 16-24 servings.
Applesauce adds moisture, sweetness, and a bit of structure to the cake. In my vanilla sheet cake recipe, milk is added for moisture. In this spice cake recipe, I've replaced the milk with applesauce.
Troubleshooting
Baked goods can turn out dry for a few reasons:
- Baking too long.
- Adding too many dry ingredients.
- Adding too few wet ingredients.
It's important to follow the recipe exactly, including the measurements and exact ingredients listed. I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to make sure your cake doesn't get overbaked in the oven.
This is a baker's secret that's optional but effective! Brush simple syrup over your cake before frosting. A layer of simple syrup helps keep the cake moist for longer. Simple syrup is a 1:1 ratio of water and granulated sugar, brought to a boil on the stove top until dissolved, then cooled to room temperature. I'd suggest about ¼ cup or more for this size cake.
Cake can turn out dense from expired leavening, overmixing the wet and dry ingredients (this overworks the gluten), or adding extra wet ingredients (like adding sour cream or milk to make cake "extra moist"). If the balance of wet and dry ingredients is off, this can cause a change in texture, preventing your cake from rising properly in the oven.
Sinking can happen for many reasons. Overmixing the batter (which adds extra air that's released during baking), underbaking, using expired leavening, using the wrong leavening, or accidentally doubling the leavening can all cause your cake to sink in the middle.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Applesauce Spice Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ¾ cups (373 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (198 g) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (255 g) unsweetened applesauce
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces (227 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups (400 g) confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan. Set aside.
- In a bowl, add dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk to remove clumps and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients: brown sugar, oil, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Stir until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated (do not overmix). Pour cake batter into prepared 9x13 baking pan and bake for about 28 to 34 minutes, or until cake pops back when gently pressed in the center (if an indent is left by your finger, the cake needs more time).
- Allow cake to cool completely to room temperature before frosting or slicing.
Frosting
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and stir frequently. Butter will begin to foam and boil. After about 4 to 5 minutes you will see brown flecks appear in the bottom of the pan. Continue to stir until butter is golden and flecks are a medium brown color. Watch closely, butter will brown quickly. The entire process takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove butter from heat and pour butter into a bowl. Refrigerate for about 15-25 minutes, or until butter is just solidified. You're looking for a room temperature or slightly cooler, just solid butter.
- In a large bowl, add room temperature cream cheese and solidified brown butter. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla, salt, and confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for about 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Spread frosting in an even layer onto cooled cake. Optionally, top with chopped walnuts or pecans.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Frosting: The brown butter frosting recipe makes a thick layer of frosting for your 9x13 sheet cake (as pictured). If you prefer less frosting, feel free to cut the frosting recipe in half.
- Leftovers: Leftover cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Refrigerating: Cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated if it sits out for more than 2 hours. Store frosted baked goods in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Bring to room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
- Freezing: Cake (whole or slices) can be frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw cake, transfer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight or place on the counter top for 2 to 3 hours.
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!