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Home » Dessert » Cakes/Cupcakes » Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

By Lauren Allen on September 16, 2016, Updated August 9, 2019

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Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting with real apple chunks, a smooth and creamy frosting and all of your favorite fall flavors wrapped into one. This easy cake is one of our favorites!

A slice of Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting on a white plate

If you haven’t noticed, I love APPLE CAKES. I’ve shared a few of my favoites on the blog already, including this delicious Caramel Apple Bundt Cake and my Grandma’s Fresh Apple Cake — both of which are total winners.  But one of the things this Apple Spice Cake has that those recipes do not is a fantastic frosting!

A clear bowl filled with cake batter and sliced apples being stirred with a spatula.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting that pairs perfectly with the fall flavors in this cake.

A white plate with one slice of Apple Spice Cake topped with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

I LOVE serving delicious, seasonal cakes like this all throughout the fall and holiday seasons. This Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect cake for a party, baby shower/bridal shower, or just for dinner with friends.

The front corner of a glass casserole dish willed with Apple spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

Or, if you love to bake as much as I do, make this on a whim and send it with your husband to work 🙂 .

A close up of a slice of Apple Spice Cake covered in Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting.

I love to send my leftover baked goods to people. I get joy from baking them and then I’m not tempted by them sitting on my kitchen counter begging me to eat the entire pan.

Consider trying these popular apple recipes: 
  • Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp
  • Caramel Apple Bundt Cake
  • Apple Pie Cheesecake Bars
  • Baked Apples

You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting | Tastes Better From Scratch

Apple Spice Cake

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting with real apple chunks, a smooth and creamy frosting and all of your favorite fall flavors wrapped into one. This easy cake is one of our favorites!
4.73 from 18 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 20
Calories: 307kcal
Author: Lauren Allen

Ingredients

  • 1 cup + 2 Tablespoon butter , divided and softened
  • 2 cups Granny Smith apples , peeled and chopped (about 2 apples)
  • 3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoon light brown sugar , divided
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice , divided
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk

For the Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 8 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
  • ¼ cup butter , softened
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13? baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a small skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat until the butter starts to bubble. 
  • Add the peeled and chopped apples, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and cook, tossing occasionally, until the apples start to soften and the sugar mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl add the remaining 1 cup of butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and granulated sugar, and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes), scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go. 
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
  • In another mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
  • Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and stir until incorporated.  
  • Add half of the buttermilk and stir. Repeat with another addition of flour, the rest of the buttermilk, and ending with the final addition of flour. 
  • Add the cooked apple mixture to the batter and fold-in gently. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
  • Bake for 35-43 minutes or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

For the Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • While the cake is cooling, make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. 
  • Add butter and cream together until smooth. Add the brown sugar and beat for about 5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. 
  • Mix in vanilla. Spread frosting evenly over cooled cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

Adapted from Our Best Bites

Nutrition

Calories: 307kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 283mg | Potassium: 157mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 575IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg
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Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting with real apple chunks, a smooth and creamy frosting and all of your favorite fall flavors wrapped into one. This easy cake is one of our favorites! | Tastes Better From Scratch

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Cakes/Cupcakes· Dessert· Frosting
22 Comments

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Comments

  1. Dianalyn says

    September 10, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. I couldn’t wait to make this and I wasn’t disappointed in the wait. An excellent way to start fall.

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      September 10, 2017 at 4:34 pm

      That makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    • Judy Welbaum says

      September 17, 2018 at 3:06 pm

      Dianalyn….. did you by buttermilk or did you make the buttermilk?

      Reply
      • Judi says

        September 1, 2019 at 10:24 pm

        you ean buy cultured buttermilk blend at your grocery store..and all you have to do is add water to it..I buy mine online from Walmart. This way I always have it on hand..

        Reply
  2. Kelli says

    November 21, 2017 at 11:04 am

    Hi – Can you make this recipe in 2, 9″ round pans?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      December 9, 2017 at 8:04 pm

      Hi Kelli, I haven’t tried that but I think it would work! If your going to dump them out to make a layered cake, I would advise putting parchment paper in the bottom of the pan! I would love to know how it turned out!

      Reply
  3. Kristina says

    December 13, 2017 at 11:26 am

    The recipe states “1 cup 2 sticks + 2 tbsp butter”..but in the intructions it says to add the remaining 1 cupof butter(when making the cake). So is it 2 sticks or 4 sticks of butter in the cake mix? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      March 30, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Hi Kristina,
      The butter is divided. The two Tbs. is melted in step #2 and the 1 cup (or 2 sticks) is added in step #4. Thanks for helping me clarify! I hope you enjoyed them.

      Reply
  4. Sharon says

    February 3, 2018 at 9:52 pm

    5 stars
    I made this recipe for Thanksgiving…..it was SO moist and yummy! I’m making it again for SUPERBOWL !!

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      February 5, 2018 at 1:55 pm

      Yay! So happy to hear it. Thanks for sharing Sharon!

      Reply
  5. Nichi says

    March 14, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    Do you think pink lady apples would work just as well as the Granny smith?

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      March 15, 2018 at 9:21 am

      Yes, I think they would work great! I’d love to hear how you like it!

      Reply
  6. Cathy says

    August 28, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    5 stars
    I made this lovely cake tonight (end of August) and starting to feel like fall….got rave reviews from my family. We live in Minnesota, where a lot of apple varieties are developed here at the University of Minnesota. I used Honey Crisp apples which is our favorite, and dark brown sugar for that extra punch of flavor from the Molasses- fantastic!!! I absolutely recommend this cake recipe to anyone who loves apples!!!

    Reply
  7. ratan says

    October 22, 2018 at 4:14 am

    No leavening agent needed in this recipe ?

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      October 22, 2018 at 11:23 am

      Baking powder is the main leavening agent.

      Reply
  8. Alex says

    November 8, 2018 at 10:09 am

    5 stars
    Hey there, Great recipe…just wondering if you’ve had any luck freezing it.

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      November 8, 2018 at 11:18 am

      I haven’t tried it but I think it would work!

      Reply
      • Alex says

        November 8, 2018 at 11:53 am

        5 stars
        Thanks for the rapid-fire response! I put one piece in the freezer to give it a whirl. If you don’t hear back it was a success. If it turns out not so great I’ll let you know.

        Reply
  9. Lee says

    November 19, 2018 at 11:11 am

    I was thinking of adding walnuts to this recipe…..what do you think?

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      November 19, 2018 at 11:12 am

      That would be delicious!

      Reply
  10. Kelsey says

    December 16, 2018 at 9:14 pm

    I tasted the batter before even finishing and was AMAZING. I made this for my grandmother’s birthday and she hasn’t had it since her mom passed away. She said it was just like her mom used to make, it was so moist and yummy, I loved it! The only downfall to me was maybe a little too much cream cheese in the icing but I am not a big fan of cream cheese. Thanks so much!

    Reply
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Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos. Read More
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