Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake
This old fashioned applesauce cake recipe with caramel sauce and cream cheese frosting is soft, moist and packed with spices! Great for Fall, Thanksgiving!
When life gives you apples, you make OLD FASHIONED applesauce cake or my chocolate caramel apples or these mini apple strudels or this apple pie cake or even this homemade apple pie filling.
For now, let’s focus on this EASY applesauce cake recipe, which is a family FAVORITE, especially during Fall and Thanksgiving. It’s loaded with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and everything else that just screams AUTUMN!
Amish Applesauce Cake:
My Mom’s recipe appears to be Amish to me because it’s very simple without any fillings or frostings. However, I have made my own changes and prefer to pair this applesauce cake with cream cheese frosting and caramel sauce. These flavors work INCREDIBLY well together. You can also use my classic American buttercream frosting.
Homemade applesauce cake recipes, including the Amish versions, usually include chopped NUTS like walnuts, pecans and even raisins (YUCK!). I OMIT that since I am not too fond of all that “nuttiness” in my cakes.
As for the overall texture, this is a super MOIST applesauce cake that’s wonderfully SOFT and airy.
Applesauce Spice Cake:
Don’t skimp on the spices in this cake. Make sure your spices are not old or expired because that’s what truly gives this cake its amazing fragrance and flavor.
Can you put applesauce in cake mix?
Yes. Replace the amount of oil on the cake box with the same amount of applesauce. Usually, this is used to make a “healthy applesauce cake.”
How do I use applesauce instead of eggs in a cake mix?
Typically, use 1/4 cup applesauce instead of 1 egg in most baking recipes. However, please note that this will affect the texture and flavor of your baked treats. It is considered to be a healthy replacement.
What can be made with apple sauce?
- Cakes
- Cupcakes
- Cookies
- Brownies and bars
- Sweet breads
- Muffins
TIPS for easy applesauce cake recipe from scratch:
- Use a combination of both, granulated and brown sugar in this recipe. The brown sugar adds a rich “molasses” flavor to this cake.
- Butter and eggs must be at room temperature so that the batter blends together smoothly.
- Nuts are optional. If you are planning on making a naked applesauce cake like I did, I suggest not using nuts since it’s harder to slice pieces and trim the sides.
- Once the cakes have cooled down, cover them in saran wrap and freeze overnight. This seals moisture into the cake and makes it super soft.
- Add a little cinnamon powder (1/2 tsp) in the caramel sauce to give it a spicy kick.
Other Fall desserts/ Thanksgiving desserts:
Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ cup Butter, Unsalted
- 1½ cups Applesauce
- 2 Eggs, Large
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1½ tsp Cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp Nutmeg powder
- ¼ tsp Allspice
- ¼ Clove powder
- ¾ cup Walnuts and Pecans, chopped (optional)
Frosting and Filling
- 1 cup Caramel sauce
- 2-3 cups Cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together.
- Then, add eggs and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Add applesauce and mix again.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon powder and clove powder.
- Dump this dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Don't over-mix!
- If you are adding nuts (optional), toss them in some flour and stir them into the cake batter with a spatula.
- Pour this batter into2 round greased/floured cake pans (Dimensions: 8x2).
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Once the cakes have cooled down, cover them in saran wrap and freeze overnight (optional but highly recommended).
- To assemble the cake, start off by slicing the edges around both the cakes. Place one cake on a cake stand and frost it with cream cheese icing. Drizzle some caramel syrup and then place the other cake on top. Frost the top of this cake with cream cheese icing and drizzle more caramel syrup. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read my tips above.
- Spread some apple butter between each layer and it will enhance the flavor and moisture of this cake.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
Absolutely delicious! Moist, incredibly flavorful and so easy! Thanks for a great recipe.
I made this with a 1:1 gluten free flour, put apple butter on the layers, and then frosted with maple buttercream. It was the best cake I’ve ever had! Thank you! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
I am beyond happy to hear it was so successful! Let me know if you ever have any questions about my recipes.