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!
If you love my applesauce cupcakes and applesauce bars, this applesauce spice cake is a must try! It's easy to make with simple baking ingredients and turns out moist, tender, and perfectly sweetened.
This recipe makes a 9x13 sheet cake that's filled with warm fall spices and applesauce. The brown butter cream cheese frosting is smooth, dreamy, and filled with caramel flavor. If you love all the flavors of fall, this cake is a must try!
Make an applesauce spice cake for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time of year you'd like a cozy dessert treat. It's great for serving a crowd for holidays, potlucks, and parties!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - Adds structure and balances with the wet ingredients in the recipe. I recommend using all-purpose flour in this recipe because it balances best with the heavier wet ingredients like oil and applesauce.
- Eggs - Add stability and moisture to the cake.
- Oil - Adds moisture to the cake. While I typically prefer butter for other flavors like vanilla sheet cake, oil works best in this spice cake because it's filled with stronger flavors that would otherwise cover up the butter flavor. Oil adds more moisture than butter, which means your cake will stay moist longer.
- Applesauce - Adds moisture and sweetness to the cake. I recommend using unsweetened applesauce for best flavor.
- Sugar - Brown sugar adds moisture, helps your cake retain moisture after baking, and adds flavor to the cake. I don't recommend reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe because your cake can turn out dry and bland.
- Leavening - We're using a combination of baking powder and baking soda for the proper lift in this recipe. One cannot be substituted with the other.
- Vanilla - Adds flavor to the cake.
- Salt - Enhances the flavors in the cake without making it "salty". Omitting the salt will result in a bland cake.
- Spices - cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves add warm spice flavor to the cake. This cake could also be made with an equal amount of apple pie spice, chai spice blend, or pumpkin pie spice if desired.
- Butter - The base of the frosting recipe. I recommend using unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt going into the recipe. However, the unsalted butter and salt listed in the recipe can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- Cream cheese - You'll need one 8 ounce block of regular cream cheese for this recipe. Low-fat cream cheese or whipped, spreadable cream cheese in a tub will not work for this recipe. Using whipped or spreadable cream cheese will result in a runny frosting.
- Vanilla - Adds flavor to the frosting.
- Salt - Enhances the flavor of the frosting and balances the sweetness.
- Confectioner's sugar - Sometimes called powdered sugar or icing sugar. Confectioner's sugar sweetens and stabilizes the frosting, making it thick and pipeable.
Cake tips and tricks
Properly measure your flour - This is the most common issue in baking. If you have issues with your cakes turning out dry and/or bland, you probably measured too much flour into your batter.
To properly measure flour - I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. Measuring by weight ensures your ingredients are 100% accurate every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Gently stir your flour, then use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cup. Last, level off the top with a knife. By scooping flour directly from a container with your measuring cup, you’re compacting the flour into the cup. This adds up to 25% extra flour to the batter. Check out my flour measuring test on my post 10 tips for baking cake to see the weight difference of each measuring method!
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 like to use a few methods. First, gently jiggle the pan. Is the cake jiggly in the center? It's not done. If it's not jiggly, I then use the spring back method. Gently press into the center of the cake. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, your cake needs more time. You can also use the classic toothpick method. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes back dry or with a few dry crumbs, your cake is done. If it comes back with wet batter or very moist crumbs clinging all over the toothpick, it needs more time.
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.
Use room temperature ingredients - Your butter and cream cheese need to be room temperature (not melted, not cold) before beginning. Set your cream cheese out on the counter top about 1 hour before beginning and it will be the perfect consistency for mixing.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer - This frosting must be whipped with a whisk attachment for several minutes, so I recommend using a mixer instead of trying to mix it by hand.
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.
Check your cake for doneness by jiggling the pan - if it moves, it's not done yet. If your cake isn't jiggly in the center, gently press onto the top with a finger. Does it leave an indent? Your cake needs more time. If it pops right back, your cake is done.
The toothpick method is another popular way to check for doneness. Insert a toothpick into the center of your cake. If the toothpick comes back dry or with crumbs (not wet batter), your cake is done.
This recipe can be sliced to serve as many as 30-40 people with small slices (think wedding cake slices). Slicing large (3-4") squares will yield about 12-16 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
One of the most common complaints I see in baking is that the recipe is followed "to a T" and the cake/cookies still turn out dry. Dry baked goods can happen for several reasons:
- Ingredients were substituted/omitted/reduced - The moisture-adding ingredients (oil, eggs, applesauce, and brown sugar) help keep your cake moist. Using lower fat substitutions, reducing the sugar, or omitting an ingredient entirely will cause your cake to turn out dry.
- Too much flour was added to the recipe - Either use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour accurately (which is how I measure flour and highly recommend to others), or spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off with a knife. Scooping with the measuring cup directly from a bin of flour compacts it into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to the recipe.
- Cake was overbaked - Baking a cake for too long will dry it out in the oven. Ovens are inconsistent and can run hotter or colder than the next oven. The time that worked for me may not work for you, so I recommend using other cues to tell when your cake is done.
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 30 minutes 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.
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