My Grandmother’s applesauce spice cake recipe is is a family friendly dessert that will remind you of Fall flavors no matter what time of year you make it! Not as quick as our Apple Spice Dump Cake but homemade is always best!
Spice cake with applesauce is so easy to make!! Using bottled store bought or homemade it comes out moist and delicious every single time. A quick easy dessert recipe that is great for a crowd.
I love me a good dump cake recipe. When people pop up unexpectedly or I just have a sweet tooth you too should try and serve this to your fam bam. This one doesn’t use cake mix like many of the others, it’s homemade from scratch but just as easy. Trust me I don’t do difficult. 😉
Applesauce Cake Recipe
There are several add ins you can throw in too if you like. Raisins, chopped nuts and even pumpkin pie spice work great. I like a bit of chunk to it but if yours is super smooth that works too. Let’s start with the star of the show first off shall we……. Instant Pot applesauce works fantastic.
Ingredient Notes
If you don’t want to use homemade applesauce you can definitely get a container here or at the store.
You want to start your mixture of dry ingredients with All purpose flour, make sure you know how to measure flour properly or the texture will be dense.
Baking soda and baking powder are necessary leavening agents to make your cake light and fluffy as it should be.
Butter will give it a lot of moisture. You could use a plant based dairy free alternative if you need to.
White Sugar and brown sugar makes it sweet. Some have used a sugar free alternative from Swerve and have had success with that as well.
Eggs are best if added at room temperature. I highly recommend organic free range as they are richer and make baked goods as moist and flavorful as possible.
Vanilla extract is a great add-in with your Milk, 2% or whole is best. If you have to use a dairy free alternative I would go with vanilla or plain cashew milk because it is creamy and thick.
Substitutions and Variations
Apple pie spice is of course optional but a good add in for sure. You can make this dairy free if necessary, we have to do that for my husband. Country Crock has a great vegan plant based butter product in sticks, and lactose free works great too. BAM!
Making it at home means I can get it just the way I want it. Add cinnamon if I want or leave it plain, add raisins for texture, 1/2 cup of chopped apples is optional or chopped walnuts can be added too.
Applesauce Cake in 9×13″ Pan
Preheat oven and we are going to use a 9×13″ pan sprayed or lined with parchment paper for this one. I like this better than non stick spray as you can lift the whole thing out when done and slice a knife right thru to get pretty squares.
- Whisk together dry ingredients in one larger bowl.
- In a different bowl beat butter until fluffy with your sugar and brown sugar until completely combined before adding room temperature eggs and vanilla.
- Add in applesauce and milk, and then slowly combine. Optional choices at this time would be to add raisins and walnuts if desired.
- Pour into your prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Then bake until top rises and is golden brown, or until toothpick comes out clean.
- You want this to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing ideally.
- Top with cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar or plain.
If you wanted a larger one you could make one and layer one on top of the other with frosting in the center. For the top you can use Cool whip, whipped cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar or gently melt a tub of cream cheese frosting.
Apple Spice Cake Muffins
As muffins the bake time would be the fastest at about 18-22 minutes or until top springs back when touched gently. Mini muffins are closer to 11 min. Take out of the pan and on to a cooling rack when done so they stay moist.
We love making zucchini applesauce muffins too. Since they are made smaller they don’t take as much time to bake and you can grab and take one to go.
Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp apple pie spice, or 1/2 tsp nutmeg + 1/2 tsp ground cloves and 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 stick butter, room temperature, 1/2 c.
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cup applesauce, unsweetened was used
- 1/2 cup milk, whole or 2%
- 1 cup raisins, optional
- 1 cup walnuts, crushed, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a 9×13" pan spray with non stick spray or lay in a piece of parchment paper
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice.
- In a different bowl beat butter until fluffy and then add sugar and brown sugar. Beat until completely combined together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beat again.
- Add in applesauce and milk, beat until mixed. Slowly incorporate flour mixture and beat until just combined together. Fold in raisins and walnuts if desired.
- Pour into your prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean with some crumbs attached.
- Remove and cool on a cooling rack before slicing.
- Top with cream cheese, powdered sugar or plain.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Bundt Cake Cook Time
It doesn’t really matter whether you want to use this 9×13″ like here or a pan like we did with this pumpkin gingerbread bundt cake. The timing may be slightly different but not much. To ensure you do not over-bake it and allow it to dry out check it often at the end. Use a toothpick if you like but I just opt for my fingertip.
Once the middle bounces back when touched gently in the center I yank it out! Setting it on a cooling rack at that time is key too. Allow a good 10 minutes to rest and then slice that baby up.
FAQ
If you just wanted to use 1 egg instead of 2 you would want to add 1/4 cup of applesauce for every egg replaced. Remember that if you do this it will be less fluffy. You will end up with a more dense cake but definitely an option to make baked goods healthier.
On top or inside the batter itself you could sprinkle 1/4 cup more crushed nuts or 1/2 cup raisins which just add to the deliciousness. Totally up to you on that. Frosting works on the top, or spread on Cool Whip once cooled. Serving it “topless” is just as yummy and not as sweet.
This ingredient can be used to replace oil, eggs or butter when baking a cake. In this case we are using 2 of them to become as tender as possible. If you wanted to make it healthier you could tweak a bit to add more and eliminate one of the others.
I always spray with non stick coating or use parchment paper like this. There is nothing worse than making something that smells delicious only to try and get it out and it’s not going anywhere. This way is actual best. Then you can lift the paper right out, allow it to cool outside of that really hot pan and slice it without contending with the sides. Alternatively use a greased and floured pan.
NO real need for a stand or electric mixer, you can just use a large bowl and good old fashioned elbow grease really.
