If you’re looking for an apple cake that is exploding with apple flavor, you’ve come to the right place. Not only does this apple cake have apples folded right into the batter, it also has….APPLE BUTTER.
A lot of cakes use sour cream or milk for moisture. Apple butter is a beautifully moist substitute that has plenty of flavor. Apple butter is basically concentrated apple sauce. Therefore, it gives the cake more structure and flavor at the same time.
When you’re done using apple butter for the cake, you can use it on toast, pancakes….so many things!
This apple cake is perfect if you want an amazing dessert with very little effort. It only uses one pan, you don’t have to frost it, and it has the most beautiful apple flavor. If you have some apples you need to use up but you don’t quite have enough for a pie, this recipe is perfect.
What kind of apples should I use?
Use apples that are suitable for baking. Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Jonagolds are some good ones. I’ve used Macintosh in the past and it turned out good because Macintoshes are amazing, but the cake was very very moist. Macintoshes have pretty high water content and this will definitely seep into the cake.
But my absolute favorite baking apple is the Idared. I got them in Ohio all the time from this one farm stand at the farmer’s market. I would tell the guy running the stand that I wanted to make an apple pie and he portioned out the correct amount of apples I would need every. single. time. This went on for 3 years. Now that I’m in Massachusetts, I haven’t seen any Idareds.
How do the apples I use affect the bake time?
Depending on the apples you use, this cake can end up being very moist. I used Macintoshes, and although they aren’t great for baking they have amazing flavor. I’ve baked this cake at both 25 minutes and 30 minutes. At 25 minutes, the cake is very moist. At 30 minutes, it will still be moist, but it won’t be stick-to-your-knife-as-you’re-cutting-it moist. The crumb will also be steadier and you’ll have an easier time turning it out of the pan. The longer baking time also makes the top of the cake less sticky after cooling. When the top of my cake was sticky after a 25 minute bake, the powdered sugar dissolved into the cake. It’s up to you how long you want to bake it.
One trick I’ve heard (but haven’t tried) if you’re worried about the powdered sugar dissolving is sprinkling granulated sugar over the top first. It creates a barrier for the powdered sugar.
If you’re worried about the cake having too much moisture, you can bake it in a pie pan! Pie pans are perfect for serving snack cakes in my opinion. You don’t have to worry about the knife scratching your cake pan if you use a glass or ceramic pie pan.
Can I make this into a layer cake?
I’m not sure, but my best guess is no. However, if you do use apples that have less water content it will probably go well. If you use a Macintosh, my guess is the cake will collapse because the moisture from the apples won’t give the layers enough structure.
Looking for other fall dishes?
Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup apple butter
- 2 baking apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- Confectioner’s sugar (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9” round cake pan or pie pan.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). With the mixer on medium-high speed, add in the eggs one at a time, beating to fully combine after each addition. Add the vanilla and the apple butter. Beat until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture until just combined.
- Fold in the apples and pour the batter into your prepared pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes* or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan and transferring it onto a wire cooling rack. Be very careful when turning it out of the pan. Some apples have more moisture content then others and the cake could break. If you're worried, let it cool in the pan for another 5-10 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes before serving. Sift some confectioner's sugar over the cake if desired.