Soft, moist, easy apple pie cake recipe from scratch for Thanksgiving, made with simple ingredients. Packed with cinnamon, apple pie filling and frosting.
It's officially apple season and quick frankly, I prefer apple desserts over pumpkin ones. I have already made this Easy Applesauce Cake (With Cake Mix) twice this week and my bestie has requested this Easy Apple Cake With Cake Mix for next week. Today's cake is a little different than both those recipes. This is a spiced layer cake, filled with buttercream icing and pie filling. For decoration, I kept things simple and rustic and used shredded white chocolate and cinnamon sticks.
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When I first started experimenting with this cake, I actually made a basic vanilla cake but the flavors of the buttercream and pie filling were not complimenting the cake. I called up my Mom and she said to bake a simple cinnamon cake and that worked perfectly! This would be perfect to serve at your Fall and Thanksgiving parties.
Table of contents
Key ingredients for spiced apple pie cake
- Flour- Simple all-purpose flour is best for this recipe.
- Butter- Be sure it is unsalted.
- Sugar- Use granulated as opposed to powdered or brown.
- Milk- Whole milk is the best in my opinion, because it brings in extra richness.
- Egg whites- Be sure that you separate the egg from the yolk and use only the whites.
- Vanilla extract- Simple ingredient you likely already have in your cupboard but really enhances flavor.
- Apple pie spice- A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cardamom.
- Baking powder- Will help the cake to fluff up nicely.
- Baking soda- Works alongside the baking powder to help the cake rise.
- Apple pie filling- I suggest using homemade, but you can also use store bought.
Variations
- Use a cake mix- Purchase a spiced cake mix and bake as per the instructions on the box. Then, assemble as per instructions below.
- Adjust the amount of spices- Based on your preference to concoct the perfect combination.
- Rectangle cake- Simply use a greased and floured 9×13 pan to pour your batter into. Once the cake cools, add desired frosting and/or filling on top.
- Add nuts- Choose the desired type of chopped nuts then toss them in 1 tablespoon of flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom.
How to make easy apple pie cake recipe with pie filling?
- Cream together- Butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Beat in- The egg whites and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together- The flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Beat together- The dry and wet mixtures.
- Pour- Batter into prepared cake pans.
- Bake- Until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool- Cakes completely.
- Trim- The brown top and edges of one cake and place it on a cake stand.
- Frost- The top of this cake.
- Spread- Filling on top of the frosting.
- Repeat- Frosting and spreading for the second cake.
- Decorate- The top of the cake and enjoy!
Frosting and filling ideas
I used a simple buttercream frosting for my cake, but there are many other options below:
- Easy Caramel Frosting– Great pairing and easy to make.
- Maple Frosting– There is something about maple flavor that compliments the Fall flavors of this cake harmoniously.
- Cream Cheese Frosting- Use this if you prefer a tangier pairing.
- Chantilly Cream– Sweetened cream that adds a bit of elegance and indulgence.
- Stabilized Whipped Cream– Can be used as a topping or filling and is always a classic choice.
- Brown Sugar Frosting– A simple yet effective pairing.
- Marshmallow Frosting- This is a buttercream base and surprisingly goes well with many desserts.
- Homemade Dulce De Leche– This reminds me of a nice, thick caramel topping.
- Slow Cooker Fried Apples– This will make your house smell divine and your cake taste heavenly.
- Sauteed Cinnamon Apples– Perfect topping and super easy to make.
- Homemade Vanilla Custard– A simple, no bake recipe to fill the cake with rich, decadent delight.
- Caramel Sauce- So delicious and pairs naturally well with apples.
- Apple Butter- This can be used as either a filling or toppping.
Tips and techniques
Use unsalted butter- To prevent the cake from becoming too salty.
Don't replace granulated sugar with brown sugar- Because that makes the cake very dense.
Do not over-mix the batter- Because that will make the cake very tough and add too much gluten and ruin the perfect cake texture.
Freeze cake- Once your baked cakes have cooled down, cover them in saran wrap and freeze overnight. This makes trimming the tops and edges easier with barely any crumbs.
Cake yield- This cake recipe will yield 3 round (8x2) cakes but I just used 2 of them to make this spiced cake. You can make a taller layer cake with all three cakes, if you like.
How to make homemade apple pie spice mix? Mix together the following ingredients and store in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to 2 months: 4 tablespoon ground cinnamon + 1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg + ½ teaspoon ground allspice + 1 teaspoon ground ginger + 1 ½ teaspoon ground cardamom. You can adjust the quantities to your liking.
This is not a dump cake- Which is more like a cobbler and uses only two ingredients consisting of a cake mix and filling. My version is a layer cake and needs to be neatly assembled.
Pie filling- Use homemade or store-bought. I prefer homemade because it tastes fresher but canned filling works well too, especially if you are short on time.
Don't make in one day- This cake would be great for birthdays. However, keep in mind that layer cakes are usually time consuming. So, I suggest that you divide the tasks over a few days to simplify the process. Make frosting on day one. Make apple pie filling on day two. Bake the cakes on day three. Assemble everything on day four. This should prevent the process of making a layer cake less over-whelming.
Recipe FAQs
Cakes are typically light and fluffy and lack a pastry crust base and topping.
Use a variety of apples for the best combination of texture and and flavors: Honeycrisp is most commonly used in baking but Granny Smith is a good choice if you prefer your cake more tart. For a sweeter profile, use Gala or Fuji.
It was probably not baked long enough. Another reason could be that there was too much liquid in the recipe. A third reason could be due to opening and closing the oven door during baking, causing a dramatic shift in temperature.
It was most likely over-baked.
Storage of homemade cake
Room temperature- Depending on what topping and filling you use, I wouldn't leave this out for more than 1 day, especially if there are dairy products like whipped topping.
Fridge- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer- Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
More Apple Desserts
- Chocolate Caramel Apples
- No Bake Caramel Apple Pie
- Easy Homemade Apple Pie Recipe
- Apple Strudel
- Apple Cranberry Crisp (Cranberry Crumble)
- Apple Nachos
- Easy Apple Cobbler
- Easy Apple Crisp (1 Hour)
- Baked Apple Cider Donuts
- Apple Fritters (30 Mins)
- Apple Crumble Pie
- Easy Apple Turnover (With Puff Pastry)
Recipe
Apple Pie Cake
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Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1½ cups Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 2¼ cups Sugar Granulated
- 1½ cups Milk Whole
- 4 Egg whites
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2.5 teaspoon Apple pie spice
- 2½ teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 2 cups Homemade apple pie filling
- 2 cups Classic American buttercream frosting
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ground cinnamon.
- Beat the dry mixture into the wet mixture, alternating with milk, until just combined. The batter will be thick but DO NOT OVER-MIX!
- Pour the batter into three round greased/floured cake pans (Dimension: 8x2).
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes on until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The tops will be brown.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely.
- Trim the brown top and edges of one cake and place it on a cake stand.
- Use a spatula to frost the top of this cake with buttercream and gently, spread some apple pie filling on top of the frosting.
- Trim the brown top and edges of another cake and place it on top of the apple pie filling.
- Use a spatula to frost the top of this cake with buttercream and gently, spread some apple pie filling on top of the frosting.
- Decorate the top of the cake with a few cinnamon sticks.
- Toss some white chocolate shreds around the cake and on top of the cake. Enjoy.
Notes
- Read my tips above.
- This cake recipe will yield 3 round (8x2) cakes but I just used 2 of them to make this apple pie cake and froze the third one for later. You can make a taller layer cake with all 3 cakes, if you like.
- It's best to freeze the cakes overnight before assembling because this makes it easier to trim the top and edges with barely any crumbs.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Miranda
Wow, this cake is so gorgeous! Apple pie + cake sounds like perfection!