Moist, tasty and absolutely delicious, this Apple Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting is a fall favorite dessert you won’t be able to resist.
If you know me you know I love a good cake. This is one of those cakes that has all the flavor that you want.
I love apple and I love baking with it, it makes some of the best desserts, cakes, pies, cupcakes and more.
This Apple Cake is a family favorite and we make it every Fall when it comes to apple picking season!
Apple picking is a favorite past time of ours and we still go every year, something about the apple orchard is just nostalgic and fun.
But, nothing is more fun than this Apple Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting. If you think the cake itself is good, add that frosting and you will just melt.
If you have been looking for that perfect way to use up some apples, then this cake is where its at!
Some of our other favorite apple dessert recipes that we have on our site include: Glazed Apple Cider Donuts, Apple Pie and Apple Fritter Bread.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Easy baking staples help this come together easily.
- Makes a large batch so lots to go around.
- The flavors work so well together, the perfect pairing.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
All-purpose flour
Baking soda
Ground cinnamon
Fine sea salt
Ground cloves
Ground nutmeg
Granulated sugar
Applesauce
Eggs
Vanilla extract
Granny Smith Apples
Unsalted butter
Powdered sugar
Whole milk
HOW TO MAKE APPLE CAKE WITH CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir it together until just combined, with no dry patches.
- Add the apples and fold them in.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place the baking dish on a wire rack and let it cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by creaming the butter in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, milk, and vanilla and slowly stir it in.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and whip the frosting until light and fluffy for 2 minutes.
- Once the cake is cooled, add the frosting to the top of the cake and frost until the whole cake is covered.
- Slice and serve.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GRATE MY APPLES?
You can use a hand grater for this as that is what people usually have on hand.
But if you want to be faster you can use a food processor with the grater attachment as well.
CAN I USE ANOTHER TYPE OF APPLE?
While Granny Smith is our go-to you can absolutely use another baking apple that has the same taste, some ideas include:
- Cortland
- Braeburn
- Honeycrisp
- Pink Lady
- Fuji (a little sweeter)
- Bramley
If you don’t like Granny Smith or just want to use another apple, these are other ones that will do great in this recipe.
WHY DO YOU USE APPLESAUCE?
Since we aren’t using butter or a fat in the cake itself we use the applesauce in it’s place.
It adds moisture, which can result in a softer, more tender baked good. It also give a nice apple flavor to this recipe.
DO I HAVE TO USE THE CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING?
No, but I highly recommend it. This is one of our favorite frostings to use in cakes like this.
It adds some more flavor with the cinnamon and really compliments the cake. If you do not want to use it you can just make a regular buttercream frosting instead.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored covered or in a cake container at room temperature where it will keep for up to 2-3 days.
You can also freeze this cake. I highly suggest placing the slices on a baking sheet and into the freezer for about 30 minutes-1 hour.
Remove from the freezer and then stack in a freezer container separated by parchment paper where it will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the countertop until thawed, then serve.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Other apples can be used, see above on ideas.
- If you don’t want to use a hand grater to grate your apples, use a food processor with the grater plate on top.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Not a fan of cinnamon, use a regular buttercream instead.
- The applesauce is used to add moisture to the cake since we are not using any fats in the cake batter itself. It also give a nice little hint of apple.
- Make sure your cake is fully cooled before frosting.
Love a good fall dessert and cakes? Then you absolutely need to make this Apple Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this APPLE CAKE WITH CINNAMON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Apple Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup applesauce
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated Granny Smith apples
For the frosting:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir it together until just combined, with no dry patches.
- Add the apples and fold them in.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place the baking dish on a wire rack and let it cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the frosting by creaming the butter in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until fully combined.
- Add the cinnamon, salt, milk, and vanilla and slowly stir it in.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and whip the frosting until light and fluffy for 2 minutes.
- Once the cake is cooled, add the frosting to the top of the cake and frost until the whole cake is covered.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- Other apples can be used, see above on ideas.
- If you don’t want to use a hand grater to grate your apples, use a food processor with the grater plate on top.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Not a fan of cinnamon, use a regular buttercream instead.
- The applesauce is used to add moisture to the cake since we are not using any fats in the cake batter itself. It also give a nice little hint of apple.
- Make sure your cake is fully cooled before frosting.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Leave a Reply