Apple Spice Cake with Butterscotch & Cream Cheese Frosting
Author
Jess Emin
A food photographer, food stylist, and food TV host whose life revolves around food.
If there’s one recipe that captures fall in a single bite, it’s this apple spice cake. The warm spices, the baked-in apple flavor, the drizzle of caramel or butterscotch over the top—it’s basically autumn on a plate. This cake is tender and moist, with a crumb that’s just right (not too dense, not too airy). And thanks to applesauce and stewed apples tucked inside, it’s bursting with cozy apple flavor.
I’ve been on a mission to create the kind of apple cake recipe that tastes like your dream dessert table in September, when the oven is back in action and everyone’s craving those warm spices again. After a lot of testing, this version delivers everything I hoped for: rich apple, silky cream cheese frosting, gooey butterscotch, and a swirl of cinnamon-sugar apples that make every slice just a little bit different.
Ingredients:
For the Salted Butterscotch
- 5 tbsp salted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt or sea salt
For the Stewed Apples (that go in the cake)
- 2 granny smith apples
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 4 tbsp butter
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup apple sauce
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup cream or milk
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
For the Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups icing sugar
Instructions:
- In a small pot over low heat, let cubed apples, butter, sugar, and cinnamon simmer until apples have softened, about 10 minutes.
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip together soft butter and cream cheese on high until not just mixed but still airy.
- Add the vanilla.
- Add icing sugar one cup at a time on high speed, incorporating air and volume as you go. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Set aside.
- Make the butterscotch: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, salt and heavy cream and stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until it's well blended.
- Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat, scraping down the sides, and simmer it for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the butterscotch sauce to a container to cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack set in the middle.
- Coat a 9-inch bundt pan, or a 9-inch wide 3-inch deep pan, or 10-inch springform with non-stick spray, or grease with shortening and flour.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine apple sauce, sugar, and oil with a hand mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer on medium speed, beating for about 1 minute between each.
- Add cream and vanilla, mixing until incorporated.
- On the mixer’s low speed, add in the flour mixture in three parts, combining gradually until a smooth batter forms. Use a spatula to scrape the sides.
- Transfer batter to prepared bundt pan. Add half the stewed apples to the top and swirl a knife around to incorporate them through the cake. Set aside the rest of the stewed apples for garnish.
- Bake for 50–65 minutes, depending on pan size, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean and the middle is set. Cooking time may vary depending on what kind of pan you use.
- Let cool on the counter for 30–40 minutes. Loosen sides with a knife before flipping onto a cake stand or plate.
- Top with cream cheese icing, drizzle with butterscotch and dollop with remaining stewed apples.
Why Apple Spice Cake Is the Dessert of Fall
September is apple season, and if you’re like me, you’ve got a drawer full of fresh apples (probably Honeycrisp apples or Granny Smith) waiting to be turned into something delicious. Apple pie gets all the love, but a moist, spiced apple cake deserves just as much attention.
The trick to this cake’s crave-worthy texture is a combo of oil and applesauce. Oil (instead of unsalted butter) keeps the cake tender and soft, while applesauce adds moisture and amps up the apple flavor without weighing down the batter. Because we use all purpose flour, a touch of soda and salt, and plenty of eggs, the crumb stays tender with great structure, which means every slice holds up under frosting without feeling heavy. The result is an apple spice cake recipe that cuts beautifully and keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days—if it lasts that long.
Tips & Tricks for a Perfect Apple Spice Cake
1. Stew your apples first
Those little cubes of apple simmered with cinnamon and butter bring a burst of apple flavor into every bite. Cooking the apples softens them and makes sure they fold into the mixture easily, rather than leaving you with raw slices that don’t quite blend in.
2. Vegetable Oil beats butter for the crumb
I know, I know—it feels like baking cake should always start with “cream butter and sugar.” But here, oil makes a big difference. It helps the cake stay moist for days, gives the crumb that perfect balance between fluffy and rich, and means you don’t need to worry about the butter being at room temperature.
3. Whip that frosting like you mean it
The cream cheese icing is no afterthought. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment if you’ve got one, or a hand mixer in a medium bowl. The trick? Make sure the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature, and beat until fluffy (2–3 minutes.) Slowly add the powdered sugar in, scraping down the sides as you go. That volume makes for a silky, cloud-like frosting that spreads or pipes easily onto your apple spice cake.
4. Don’t skip the toothpick test
When baking cakes like this, cooking times vary depending on your cake pan (a bundt pan, springform, or deep round pan). After about 45 minutes, grab a toothpick and test the center. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, you’re good. If it’s still wet, give it a bit more oven time.
5. Whisk the dry ingredients first
In a medium bowl, whisk your dry ingredients (the all purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda) so they’re evenly dispersed before adding to the wet mixture.
6. Stand mixer setup
For the cream cheese icing, whip in the bowl of stand mixer (the bowl of a stand mixer) to build volume fast, keeping everything at room temperature so it aerates properly.
7. Vanilla matters
Use pure vanilla extract for the best aroma—it’s small, but it makes the whole apple spice cake taste more polished.
Apple Spice Cake, Three Ways
What I love about this apple spice cake recipe is its flexibility. You can make the whole shebang—cake, cream cheese frosting, butterscotch drizzle, and stewed apples—or simplify it when life gets busy.
- Shortcut version: Skip the homemade butterscotch and use store-bought caramel sauce.
- Just the cake: Bake the apple spice cake base and dust it with powdered sugar instead of icing. It’s still cozy and satisfying.
- Party-worthy: Go all in—frosting, caramel drizzle, dollops of stewed apples. It’s showstopper material.
Ingredients That Make This Apple Spice Cake Work
- Applesauce: Keeps things moist while deepening the apple taste.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: For that unforgettable signature flavor.
- Spices: Beyond cinnamon, you could add nutmeg, cloves, or allspice for even more fall flavor.
- Cream cheese frosting: Balances the cake’s sweetness with tang.
- Caramel sauce or butterscotch: Adds gooey richness (and you can absolutely swap in store-bought).
If you wanted to experiment, you could fold in walnuts for crunch, or swap the apples for pears for a twist. But honestly? The original is a dream.
Apple Spice Cake: Storage Tips
This apple spice cake holds up beautifully. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for later. If you want to re-create that fresh-baked vibe, slice a piece and warm it gently in the microwave. Bonus points if you top it with a scoop of ice cream.
FAQ
What makes this the best apple spice cake for fall?
It’s the soft apple cake layers. Between the tangy apple filling, the moist crumb from applesauce, and the smooth cream cheese frosting, this cake hits all the cozy notes. It’s the kind of dessert that earns rave reviews at potlucks and family dinners.
Can I use different apples?
Yes! While the recipe card calls for Granny Smith for tartness, you can swap in Honeycrisp apples or even a mix. Just keep the stewing step so you don’t end up with crunchy bits in the batter.
Do I have to make the butterscotch?
Nope. This apple spice cake works with a drizzle of store-bought caramel if you’re short on time. The goal is happy baking, not stress.
Final Thoughts
This cake is basically a love letter to fall baking. It’s got that perfect balance of warm cozy spices, moist crumb, and layers that feel indulgent but not over the top. Whether you make the full version with butterscotch and frosting or keep it simple with just the cake and a dusting of sugar, it’s going to bring smiles.
For me, baking this cake felt like bottling up the season—the scent of cinnamon in the kitchen, the sight of apples stewing on the stove, and the satisfaction of pulling a golden, fragrant apple spice cake out of the oven. It tasted exactly like I imagined: like a dream.
So grab those ingredients, line your prepared pan with parchment paper, and get whisking. This cake is proof that a few simple wet ingredients and warm spices can transform into something unforgettable.
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Jess Emin
Every aspect of Jessica Emin’s personal and professional life revolves around food; she’s a food photographer, a food stylist, a sommelier and has hosted two food TV series. Jess credits all the people she’s met along her culinary journey for her confidence in the kitchen–she’s picked up tips, tricks and technique from hundreds of pros–from working pie dough at the age of ten with her mom, to shucking tutorials with oyster farmers, to foraging with chefs to find perfect mushrooms, and watching chefs in Canada’s best restaurants. She lives and breathes the East coast, and its incredible food offerings.Â
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Can the components be made a ahead of time and assembled and iced the day of? ie, stew apples, bake cake, make butterscotch the day before? Ice it the day of?
Totally! This cake is super make-ahead friendly. You can stew the apples, bake the cake, and make the butterscotch a day in advance — just store everything covered in the fridge. Then on the day you’re serving, bring the cake to room temp, whip up or re-whip your cream cheese icing, and assemble. Easy, stress-free, and still tastes great!