Applesauce Spice Cake
This delicious Applesauce Spice Cake is perfect for fall with wonderful apple spice flavor. We've frosted it with a heavenly, easy-to-make spiced cream cheese frosting!
Servings: 15 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 ½ sticks (168g total) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups (400g) Sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature (to save time you can warm them in a bowl of very warm water for 5 min)
- 3 cups (342g) Cake Flour- see Notes for substitution
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons (7g) Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (3g) Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons (5g) Apple Pie Spice
- 1 ¼ cup (312g) Applesauce
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup (54g) Vegetable oil (we used canola oil)
Apple Spice Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks (226g total) Unsalted butter, slightly softened
- 16 oz (452g total) cream cheese, softened (We used two 8 oz packages, full fat.)
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (3g) Apple Pie Spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 to 6 ½ cups 690g to 747g powdered sugar (Adjust amount to your liking.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8 inch pans. We like to line the bottom of our pans with circles of parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cake flour, apple pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for 30 seconds and set aside.
- In another bowl combine the vegetable oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter, cream cheese and mix at medium speed until smooth.
- Gradually add the sugar and mix at medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the egg yolk has blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the applesauce mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (We did 3 additions of the dry mixture, 2 additions of wet). Slightly increase the mixer speed just until combined.
- Divide the batter between the three prepared 8 inch pans.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pans on a wire rack before turning out.
- This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter. Works for cupcakes also (although there will be little to no dome).
Apple Spice Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cut the butter into slices and add to the bowl of your mixer. Beat on low to medium speed until the butter is softened and smooth.
- Cut the cream cheese into pieces and add to the butter, beating at low to medium speed until combined and smooth.
- Add the vanilla and apple pie spice. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating on low speed until blended. Cover the bowl with a towel to keep down the cloud of powdered sugar.
- Increase mixing speed and beat until fluffy. Don't over beat or it will become too soft. If it becomes too soft, just refrigerate a short while to firm it up a bit.
- This frosting will pipe best if used while still chilled. You can make it in advance, refrigerate and when ready to use let it soften slightly (do not microwave) and remix.
- Will frost a 3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake.