The details

The people have spoken and the people want apple cinnamon content for Fall. I hear you! Apple Spice Cake with Brown Butter Frosting here. I mean, who doesn’t love a cake reminiscent of both Apple Jacks and apple pie, but then make it brown butter? Here for it. This one is festive, gently spiced and fruit forward, with a tender crumb. The buttercream is absolutely chef’s kiss and so rich and comforting. I love this for an early fall treat or a less traditional take on apple pie at the thanksgiving table. Either way, in a season dominated by pies and breads, I say don’t forget about cake!

About the apple spice cake

This cake is adapted from my Perfect Vanilla Cake, then amped up with warm autumnal flavors like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Egg whites keep things fluffy and light while a couple whole eggs impart substance and moisture. Apples add a lot of moisture in this cake, so we went easy on the buttermilk. The result is flavorful, satisfying, and perfectly paired with decadent brown butter frosting.

A note on apples— I used honeycrisp for this recipe with good results. I think any relatively firm apple–think fuji, granny smith, or cortland–would work great. What you want to avoid is soft-baking apples, such as gala or macintosh, which will make your cake just wet and mucky. Also, if you don’t like chunky cakes, consider dicing your apples very finely or even shredding. I personally did a small dice and was fine with some chunks, but if you are a texture person these are some more options to make the cake just right for you.

If you’d like tips on how to assemble a layer cake, check out my full tutorial here. I like to serve this cake with a thick layer of frosting in the middle and naked-cake style scraped sides. But this could absolutely be made into a delish sheet cake situation if layering is not your thing!

Oh, and this cake would be absolutely amazing with my salted vanilla bean caramel as the filling. Just sayin!!

About the brown butter frosting

This delicious frosting is adapted from my favorite go-to vanilla American buttercream by Courtney Rich. What makes this buttercream different is browning 1/2 the butter used, then cooling that melted butter to room temp and whipping it with regular unsalted butter. The result is a toasty, caramel-y flavor which is so rich and pairs perfectly with the warm spices and apple notes in this tender cake. For details about how to brown butter correctly and video tutorials, check out this page on my blog. Browning butter is easy and more than worth the extra 10 minutes. If you want to brown the butter and make the cake soon after, just stick the melted browned butter in the fridge/freezer in a heatproof container, checking until the mixture begins to solidify. Mix it all together again and add to your mixing bowl to whip with the rest of the butter.

A few tips for great frosting:

Both butters MUSTTTT be at room temp in order to combine properly! If in doubt, leave them out on the counter for another hour. This allows them to whip and combine well without any grainy texture, which is especially important because brown butter is fattier due to evaporation during cooking. It’s a baking nerd thing, okay??
Don’t skip sifting powdered sugar. It makes a difference.
Whip that frosting up to fluffy after the addition of heavy cream for the most luscious texture.
If you make this with salted butter (vs unsalted, which I always recommend for buttercreams), skip the addition of any more salt.

More fall baking inspo

I’m still working (very hard) on my perfect apple pie recipe, but while you wait here’s some fall bakes that are sure to give a warm hug from the inside out.

Bake to this music

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

Print Recipe

This apple spice cake with brown butter frosting will transport you to early Fall. The cake is moist, light, and delicately spiced with tender chunks of fresh apple, and the frosting is rich and caramel-y.

Yield: 8 inch, 2 layer cake 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the apple spice cake:

3 honeycrisp apples, peeled and finely diced
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs + 2 egg whites, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk, room temp

For the brown butter frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled to room temp (see step 1)
1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

Make your brown butter. In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter over medium heat. Continue to hear, stirring, until your butter foams up and begins to form solid speckles at the bottom. Keep stirring as the speckles turn amber. Take off the heat and stir until speckles are chestnut colored. Immediately transfer melted brown butter to a heatproof bowl and set aside to cool.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 2 8-inch or 3 6-inch cake pans with grease and/or parchment.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together room temp butter and sugars for 3-5 minutes on medium high speed, until lightened in color and fluffy. Add eggs, egg whites, and vanilla, continuing to beat about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens and becomes shiny.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) and spices. Reduce mixer speed on the batter to low speed and add dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating and beginning/ending with dry ingredients. The order will be 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry. Stop mixing as soon as the last bit of dry ingredients are incorporated. Add diced apples and fold to combine.
Evenly distribute your cake batter among prepared pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, using a toothpick to test for doneness. The cake is done when the toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool completely on a wire rack.
Make your brown butter frosting. In a medium mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cooled and solidified brown butter on medium high until it becomes light and fluffy. Add room temp regular unsalted butter and continue beating until well incorporated. The butter mixture will have speckles of brown in it–that’s where the magic is. Once the butter is whipped well, reduce mixer speed to low and add sifted powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it is all incorporated. Add vanilla and salt, increasing speed to medium. Add heavy cream and beat on high speed until the frosting is lightened in color, fluffy, and smooth. Mix with a spatula for a few minutes to reduce air bubbles.
Frost your cake, layering with brown butter frosting if desired. Garnish with apple slices and cinnamon sticks.

Notes

Other apples can be used in place of honeycrisp, just be sure it is an apple that remains firm while baking and doesn’t turn to mush (avoid gala/macintosh).
Cake is best stored in the fridge and will be fresh for 3-4 days, can also be frozen up to 1 month.
This recipe can be halved for an 8-inch sheet cake.

Author: Caroline Crockett
Category: cake, dessert