This cozy applesauce cake is flavored with warm spices and applesauce and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
“This is the second time I have made this cake! We really enjoy it and each day it gets better! Nice and moist and the frosting puts it over the top!”
– reader review
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What sets this recipe apart
Quick & easy: This cake batter comes together in minutes with two bowls and a whisk – no mixer needed!
Feed a crowd: This 9×13 sheet cake is great for feeding a group or a holiday celebration.
Versatile: This can be served as a snack cake, dessert, or breakfast.
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting: The addition of cinnamon makes this frosting the perfect complement to the cake.
Key ingredients and substitutions
The following ingredients are essential to making this cake the best!
Applesauce: Store bought applesauce is just fine for this! It adds a subtle apple flavor and lots of moisture. Don’t have applesauce? Try this apple bundt cake instead.
Spices: This cake is made with apple pie spice along with extra cinnamon. Don’t have apple pie spice? Make it yourself: 1-¼t cinnamon, ½t ginger, ¼t nutmeg, pinch allspice.
Brown sugar: Adding brown sugar to the cake batter adds a deeper, richer flavor than just granulated sugar. I prefer light brown sugar for this recipe.
Cream cheese: The tanginess of cream cheese frosting balances wonderfully with the sweet cake. You can also choose to skip the frosting and simply dust the cake with powdered sugar (more on this below).
Visual recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Dry ingredients
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Wet ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk all wet ingredients.
Combine
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Bake
Once the batter is fully combined, pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake!
Once the batter is fully combined, pour into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake!
Frost
Once the cake has cooled, combine the frosting ingredients and spread on the cake.
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting (and other topping options)
I think cinnamon cream cheese frosting is the BEST topping for this cake. It’s tangy yet sweet and rounded out with cinnamon and vanilla.
If you’re not a fan of cream cheese frosting, you can make a batch of vanilla buttercream and add a little cinnamon to it. Or you could top this applesauce cake with toffee sauce, whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar (as seen below).
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Recipe
Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Applesauce cake:
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup water
- 1½ cups applesauce*
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Applesauce cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 cake pan and set aside.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk oil, water, applesauce, eggs, sugars, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk to combine being careful not to overmix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. I like to tap the pan on the countertops a few times to remove air bubbles. Bake 20-30 minutes (begin checking it at 20), until the top springs back when you touch it and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a rack to cool.
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting:
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until combined.
- Increase speed to high and beat for 20-30 seconds. Spread on the cooled cake. If desired, you can sprinkle the top of the frosting with cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with a few dashes of cinnamon).
Video
Notes
Serving and storage
Serve cake at room temperature for the best flavor and texture. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I have not tried freezing it, but I would assume leftovers would freeze just fine.Topping options
If you’d prefer to skip the cream cheese frosting you can top the cooled cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, or you can serve each slice with a drizzle of honey or dollop of whipped cream. Recipe updated slightly September 2020.Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
Mary says
Loved this recipe & turned out just like the photo 🙂 Ended up topping with maldon sea salt & cinnamon sugar too and it was so yummy! Love how moist it was and would maybe add nuts for a little crunch next time too.
Allison Mattina says
Perfect! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Sara says
I have a ton of applesauce cans that we don’t eat and needed to do something with them. I looked up a recipe and decided to give this one a try. And oh my goodness, this cake is so moist and fluffy and that cream cheese icing is the perfect topping. This is now going to be a staple in my house, the perfect way to get a use of my applesauce cans.
Allison Mattina says
That’s great to hear! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Tammy Keck says
This has become our favorite go to dessert. Super fast to put together, bakes up beautifully. Easy to make many variations. Can add chocolate chunks or nuts or both. I have also used mashed bananas, or homemade pear sauce. Most of the time I skip the frosting and simply sprinkle some brown sugar on top prior to baking for a nice sweet crunch on top. Thank you for this beautiful recipe!!
Allison Mattina says
You’re welcome! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂