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apple spice cake

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

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

  1. 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.
  2. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 2 8-inch or 3 6-inch cake pans with grease and/or parchment.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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