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close up on a bite from a spice cake peices

Apple Butter Spice Cake


  • Author: Jenna Barnard
  • Total Time: 1 hour + 1 hour cooling
  • Yield: 12 slices

Description

Super moist spice cake baked with apple butter, fresh apples, and topped with whipped cream cheese frosting.


Ingredients

Apple Butter Spice Cake

  • 2 3/4 cups (330g) all purpose flour*
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground clove
  • 1 cup (225g) vegetable oil, or any mild baking oil
  • 1 cup (200g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup (295g) apple butter
  • 1 cup grated Granny Smith apples (about 2 apples)
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) milk

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz full fat cream cheese, chilled
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream
  • 1/3 cup apple butter
  • Chopped walnuts

Instructions

Apple Butter Spice Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 baking pan. Line with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, sugars, vanilla, eggs, and apple butter. Mix in the grated apples.
  4. Whisk in half of the dry ingredients. Just before combined, whisk in the milk. Then whisk in the rest of the dry ingredients. 
  5. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread even. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
  6. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

  1. Add the chilled cream cheese and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
  2. Whip the cream cheese on high speed until smooth.
  3. With the mixer on medium-high speed, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Continue to whip on high speed for about 3 minutes, or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
  4. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and top with a few spoonfuls of apple butter. Gently swirl into the frosting and top with a sprinkle of walnuts. Enjoy!

Notes

*GLUTEN FREE FLOUR – I haven’t tested it, but I would assume a good quality gluten free flour could be used in place of the all purpose flour. Since it’s a sheet cake, it can be pretty forgiving. I like using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour. Just try to weight the flour rather than measure by cups, as gluten free flour is rather dense so it’s easy to use way too much.

STORAGE – Cover the cake and store in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 1 week. You can also cover the unfrosted cake and chill it overnight to frost the next day. 

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes

Keywords: spice cake, apple butter spice cake, spice cake recipe, spice sheet cake, apple butter cake, apple cake

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