Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
This Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting is a moist, tender cake loaded with warm fall spices and fresh apples, topped with a rich caramel-like frosting. Perfect for cozy gatherings, holiday celebrations, or a comforting dessert any time of year.
- Prep Time: 20minutes
- Cook Time: 50minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 1hour 10minutes 1x
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups peeled cored, and chopped apples (about 2 medium apples)
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan or line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter mixture, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
- Fold in chopped apples.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For frosting, combine butter, brown sugar, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then boil 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and cool slightly. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and spreadable.
- Spread frosting evenly over cooled cake.
Notes
- Use tart apples like Granny Smith for a nice balance of sweetness and tang.
- Frosting thickens as it cools, so spread quickly.
- Store cake covered at room temp for 2 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days.
- Can be baked in a 9×13-inch pan (shorter bake time) or as cupcakes (20–22 minutes).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 380 kcal