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Home » Cake & Cupcakes » Applesauce Cake

Applesauce Cake

Published: Sep 25, 2020 by Allison · 29 Comments

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A simple and cozy Applesauce Cake filled with warm spices and applesauce. Top with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar, or honey. 

Slice of applesauce cake topped with frosting on a white plate.

Applesauce cake! Because it’s fall! Because applesauce cake is amazing! And because we need a vehicle to transport cinnamon cream cheese frosting into our faces (obviously).

If you like cake that has a hint of apple flavor, plenty of warm spices, and is equally appropriate for breakfast, snack, or dessert… this one is for YOU.

Slice of applesauce cake topped with frosting on a white plate.

Why you’ll love this Applesauce Cake

Flavor: The perfect balance of fall flavors between applesauce, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pie spice.

Texture: This cake bakes up soft, fluffy, and moist. It’s even better on day two!

Quick & easy: No mixer needed for this recipe. Two bowls and a whisk is all you need. The batter comes together in minutes and bakes in a 9×13 pan.

Applesauce cake batter in a white bowl.

Topping options:

Choose the topping that sounds best to you! We’ve enjoyed this cake with the following toppings:

  • Cinnamon cream cheese frosting (recipe below)
  • Powdered sugar
  • Honey
  • Whipped cream (try my homemade whipped cream)

What kind of applesauce to use?

I recommend store bought applesauce for this recipe. This produces the most reliable outcome since most store bought applesauces are similar in texture and moisture content. You want unsweetened applesauce. Check the ingredients to make sure there is no added sugar or corn syrup. If you’d like to use cinnamon applesauce you can, just note that the cake will have a stronger cinnamon flavor.

Stack of three slices of applesauce cake.

More apple recipes:

APPLE DUMPLINGS
APPLE COBBLER
APPLE BUNDT CAKE
CINNAMON APPLES
BAKED STUFFED APPLES
APPLE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
APPLE CIDER DONUT HOLES

Slice of applesauce cake topped with frosting on a white plate.

Applesauce Cake

A simple and cozy Applesauce Cake filled with warm spices and applesauce. Top with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar, or honey. 
5 from 24 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 357kcal
Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

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 9x13 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.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and 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).

Notes

*I recommend store bought unsweetened applesauce for this recipe.
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.
STORAGE: This cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I have not tried freezing it, but I would assume it would freeze just fine. 
Nutrition facts include frosting.
Recipe updated slightly September 2020.

Nutrition

Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg

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!
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Comments

  1. Jen_In_Colorado

    February 25, 2020 at 7:18 pm

    Baking the cake now….If I wanted to eliminate white sugar all together, do I substitute entire measurement with honey (ie 1 cup honey)? Has anyone done this with success? Many thanks!

    Reply
    • Celebrating Sweets

      February 27, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      Hi, Jen. I would not recommend that swap. Adding too much liquid (honey) will likely change the consistency of the cake. If you want it refined sugar free, I would recommend trying to swap the granulated sugar for coconut sugar. Best of luck playing around with it. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Lisalia

    September 25, 2020 at 11:12 am

    5 stars
    Excited to find this new recipe to help use up my apple harvest! This was delicious, moist and just the perfect snack cake.

    Reply
  3. wilhelmina

    September 25, 2020 at 12:02 pm

    5 stars
    This cake is exceptional! The flavor and texture are perfect. It is the perfect cake to snack on, I keep sneaking back for one more bite!

    Reply
  4. Allison

    December 22, 2020 at 5:30 pm

    Hi! Can i make this recipe into cupcakes? Do i need to make any modifications? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Allison

      December 23, 2020 at 6:44 am

      That should work. I’d begin checking them around 15 minutes, then every couple minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you want a generous amount of frosting piped on the cupcakes you’ll probably want to double the frosting. Enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Lulu

    May 06, 2021 at 7:23 am

    Can I use homemade, sweetened applesauce instead of store bought?
    How can I adjust the sugar called for in this recipe if I do?
    Can I make the cake in a loaf pan?

    Reply
    • Allison

      May 07, 2021 at 9:15 am

      Sure, you can try that. I don’t know how sweet your applesauce is, but I would guess that you could reduce the granulated sugar by 1/4 cup. This will likely be too much batter for one loaf pan. You could try splitting the batter between two loaf pans. Enjoy!

      Reply
  6. Ed

    October 30, 2021 at 8:33 am

    5 stars
    I don’t ice the cake. Usually serve with sliced bananas and whipped cream or plain with powdered sugar.

    Reply
    • Allison

      November 01, 2021 at 8:30 am

      That sounds great!

      Reply
  7. Tara Babb

    December 22, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    5 stars
    This brings back my childhood memories of weeks before Christmas! My Grandmother baking and I sitting up on the kitchen counter, wait I g for that mixture bowl to eat the Applesauce cake batter. Mmmmmm, the greatest days of my life. Thank you for sharing this recipe

    Reply
    • Allison

      January 04, 2022 at 9:54 am

      You’re welcome! Enjoy!

      Reply
  8. Riki

    January 18, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! Followed the recipe as written, made cream cheese frosting. 28 minute bake time for me. A winner, so light and moist!

    Reply
    • Allison

      January 19, 2022 at 11:56 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Rosa

    April 28, 2022 at 6:37 pm

    5 stars
    Fantastic. It’s super tasty and soft. I only had cinnamon, but I think that it would be super with the mix too. 5 stars!

    Reply
    • Allison

      May 02, 2022 at 8:07 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Edith

    September 24, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    I’m excited to try this recipe. Can I substitute almond flour for all-purpose flour? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Allison

      October 01, 2022 at 8:08 am

      If you’re looking for a gluten free alternative you’ll need to use a gluten free 1:1 baking blend in place of the all purpose flour. Almond flour alone will not work. Enjoy!

      Reply
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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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