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    Home » Recipes » Dessert Recipes » Apple Butter Cake

    Published: Oct 30, 2022 by Linda Warren

    Apple Butter Cake

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Shaped like a loaf of sweet bread and smothered in a sticky-sweet cream cheese glaze, apple butter cake is an easy-to-make, sweet and moist cake that will melt in your mouth. It's a great way to celebrate the fall apple harvest and the perfect fall party dessert.

    Sliced apple butter cake on white platter with apples.

    Table of Contents

    • Fall Apple Dessert
    • Why This is the Best Apple Butter Cake Recipe Ever
    • Difference Between Apple Butter and Applesauce
    • Ingredients
    • How to Make Apple Butter Cake
    • How to Make Cream Cheese Glaze
    • Recipe Tips
    • Recipe Variations
    • Make Ahead
    • How to Store
    • More Delicious Fall Recipes

    Fall Apple Dessert

    One of the best things about this apple butter cake recipe is how versatile it is! You can bake it in a bundt pan, muffin tin, or sheet pan. No matter what shape you make it, apple butter spice cake is a delicious way to bake with fresh apples. It's a completely homemade cake recipe that's topped with a sweet cream cheese glaze.

    Move over pumpkin, fall is all about the apple harvest! Take those bushels of apples and make even more tasty desserts. Hot apple dumplings, apple crumble, and caramel apple cupcakes are favorite fall desserts but this buttermilk apple cake definitely needs to be added to the list.

    Holding half slice of apple cake.

    Why This is the Best Apple Butter Cake Recipe Ever

    Apple butter has a concentrated apple flavor and makes a rich apple cake with no butter. It's actually really good for you and super easy too!

    Apple cake with buttermilk is moist and flavorful. The buttermilk infuses it with deeper, richer flavors.

    You'll also love the perfect size of apple butter loaf cake. You don't have to deal with multiple layers and lots of frosting. Just pour the cream cheese glaze on top and done!

    Difference Between Apple Butter and Applesauce

    Both applesauce and apple butter are made by slowly cooking apples with water and sometimes sugar. Apple butter is cooked longer until it has the consistency of a thick spread.

    Ingredients

    For the Apple Butter Spice Cake:

    Apple Butter Cake ingredients labeled.
    • All-Purpose Flour
    • Brown Sugar
    • Granulated Sugar
    • Apple Butter - provides a more apple-y flavor to the mix
    • Vegetable Oil - stays more liquidy at room temperature, as opposed to butter, providing more moisture to the cake
    • Buttermilk - is a tenderizer and gives the cake extra moistness and richer flavor
    • Egg
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Baking Soda and Baking Powder
    • Spices: Nutmeg, Allspice, and Cinnamon - bring the warm flavors of fall to this apple cake
    • Salt

    For the Cream Cheese Glaze:

    Cream cheese glaze ingredients.
    • Cream Cheese - brings sweet and tangy creaminess to the glaze
    • Powdered Sugar
    • Butter
    • Vanilla Extract

    How to Make Apple Butter Cake

    Steps to make apple butter cake.
    1. Whisk together dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a medium bowl.
    2. In a large bowl, combine oil, sugars, egg, apple butter, and vanilla extract.
    3. Blend well.
    4. Whisk half of dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
    5. Whisk in buttermilk.
    6. Add remaining dry ingredients and whisk until just blended. Do not overmix.
    Batter in loaf pan before and after baking.
    1. Pour the apple butter spice cake batter into the prepared loaf pan.
    2. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool for 10-15 minutes in pan then remove and let cool on wire rack.

    How to Make Cream Cheese Glaze

    Steps to make glaze.
    1. Place room-temperature cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl. Add vanilla extract.
    2. Beat until smooth.
    3. Just prior to drizzling on top of the cake, place in the microwave for 30 seconds or until the mixture becomes pourable.
    4. Drizzle cream cheese glaze over the top of the buttermilk apple cake.
    Drizzling cream cheese glaze over cake.

    Keep drizzling the cream cheese glaze until the cake is covered completely. Let set before slicing and serving.

    Closeup of moist inside of cake.

    Moist and full of warm spices and apple flavor, this easy apple butter cake makes the perfect last-minute fall dessert or snack. You might even want to sneak a bite for breakfast! Enjoy!

    Recipe Tips

    • Use a baking apple such as Granny Smith, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, or Pink Lady.
    • Have all the ingredients at room temperature before making the cake.
    • Do not overmix the batter. Stir until the ingredients are just combined.
    • Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs on it.

    Recipe Variations

    If you prefer frosting over glaze, there are several that would be great for the cake. Here are some ideas:

    • Caramel Frosting
    • Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Vanilla Buttercream Frosting from Beyond Frosting

    Make Ahead

    If you want to bake the cake in advance, it is best to make and store the cake and glaze separately in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, let both come to room temperature. Stir the glaze and pour it over the cake about an hour before serving.

    How to Store

    Place the cake in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Note the glaze will soak into the cake while being refrigerated.

    To Freeze: It is best to freeze the cake unglazed. Wrap the cake first in plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Place the glaze in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw both the cake and glaze in the fridge overnight.

    More Delicious Fall Recipes

    • Apple Streusel Bread with pecans.
    • Chocolate Pumpkin Roll with fluffy filling.
    • Pear Almond Cake made with fresh pears.
    • Pear Crumble with gingersnaps.
    • Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies are rich and fudgy.

    Find lots of delicious fall recipes here on 2CM!

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    Front view of slice apple butter cake.

    Apple Butter Cake

    Apple Butter Cake is an easy-to-make, moist apple-flavored cake drizzled with a sweet cream cheese glaze. It's the perfect fall dessert or snack.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
    Servings: 9 servings
    Calories: 463kcal
    Author: Linda Warren

    Ingredients

    Apple Butter Cake

    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • ⅛ teaspoon allspice
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • ⅜ cup light brown sugar packed
    • ⅜ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 cup apple butter
    • ½ cup grated apples about 1 apple (optional)
    • ¼ cup buttermilk

    Cream Cheese Glaze

    • 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
    • ¼ cup butter room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 cup powdered sugar

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan by spraying with nonstick spray, lining the bottom with parchment paper and spraying again. Set aside.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, both sugars, vanilla extract, egg, and apple butter. Mix in the grated apples if using.
    • Add half of the dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix. Add the buttermilk and stir. Add in remaining dry ingredients and stir until combined.
    • Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Test to see if it is done by inserting a toothpick into the center. It is done when it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.
    • While the cake is cooling, combine all glaze ingredients and stir until smooth. Just prior to glazing, heat in microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in-between, until liquid enough to drizzle over cake.
    • Let the cake cool 15 to 20 minutes in the pan then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before drizzling it with the glaze.

    Notes

    STORE/FREEZE
    To store: Place the cake in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Note the glaze will soak into the cake while being refrigerated.
    To freeze: It is best to freeze the cake unglazed. Wrap the cake first in plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Place the glaze in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw both the cake and glaze in the fridge overnight.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 368IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg

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