Applesauce Cake
To serve this healthy Applesauce Cake only for dessert is to limit its potential. Moist, not too sweet, and made with wholesome ingredients like applesauce, honey, whole wheat flour, and nuts, it’s equally appropriate for afternoon snacking or an after-dinner delight.
If we can socially accept that Apple Coffee Cake is breakfast, then this easy applesauce cake can easily be passed off as a mid-afternoon snack.
Trust me, after just one bite, you won’t want to reserve this tender and moist old-fashioned applesauce cake for just dessert.
In fact, I bet it won’t even last until then!
5 Star Review
“I made this cake and it was delicious, moist. and not too sweet. Just what I like and it sliced beautifully!”
— Mary —
Why Use Applesauce in Cake
Swapping applesauce for canola or vegetable oil in cakes, breads, and muffins is a healthy baking hack I’ve used in countless recipes (such as these top-rated Healthy Oatmeal Cookies), and today’s wholesome applesauce cake might just be my new favorite.
The applesauce in this cake does a few wonderful things:
The applesauce adds supreme moisture and tenderness. Not only is the texture of this cake sublime, but it also slices like a dream.It acts as a natural sweetener, which allows the recipe to cut back on other added sugars.With a full 1 1/2 cups of applesauce, the applesauce also contributes greatly to the cake’s flavor (like in these Applesauce Muffins).
To summarize, this applesauce cake from scratch combines the homey, feel-good taste of applesauce AND its ability to make baked goods better for you to create the BEST applesauce cake ever.
How to Make The Best Applesauce Cake
In addition to the more essential ingredients like applesauce and cinnamon, this recipe contains a few special additions that elevate it to the absolute best applesauce cake you will ever taste.
Bourbon-soaked golden raisins, chopped nuts, cloves, nutmeg, and an easy cream cheese frosting make it a standout.
To make applesauce cake from scratch, you’ll need to combine the wet and dry ingredients separately, add the eggs one at a time, and be careful not to overmix.
The Ingredients
Applesauce. In addition to being nutritious, applesauce creates a wonderfully moist cake and sweetens it naturally. Plus, its flavor pairs beautifully with the bourbon, spices, and mix-ins.
TIP!
To take this cake to the next level, bake it with homemade Instant Pot Applesauce or Crockpot Applesauce.
Golden Raisins. Scrumptious little jewels of sweetness and texture. After they’re soaked in the bourbon, they will become ultra-plump. Bourbon. Bourbon and apple are a match made in heaven! The bourbon adds an almost nutty and vanilla-like flavor to the cake. (If you love bourbon, you’ll also enjoy these Bourbon Balls).
Flour. Unlike my Fresh Apple Cake which uses 100% white whole wheat flour, I used both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour for this recipe. The combination creates a wonderful texture, and the whole wheat flour packs extra protein, fiber, and whole-grain goodness.
Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give this cake exceptional warmth and spice and are a natural pairing with the applesauce. A pinch of ground ginger would be a lovely addition too.Butter. Just enough to give the cake some necessary fat for added tenderness and a moist crumb.
Brown Sugar + Honey. Brown sugar and honey provide the cake with sweetness and moisture. Vanilla. Accentuates the cake’s warm and cozy flavors. Pecans or Walnuts. For toastiness and crunch. (I also love adding nuts to this Apple Bread too!)Frosting. The cream cheese frosting for this cake uses the same cozy flavors of bourbon, cinnamon, and vanilla. It’s smooth, creamy, and the perfect finishing touch!
The Directions
Soak the raisins and bourbon.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in one bowl. Beat the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla together in another bowl.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Add the applesauce, reduce the electric mixer (or stand mixer) to a low speed, and gradually add the flour.
TIP!
Take care not to overmix! For the best applesauce cake with the perfect texture, stop your mixer as soon as the flour disappears.
Fold in the soaked raisins and chopped walnuts or pecans.
Pour the batter into a parchment-lined cake pan, and bake applesauce cake for 32 to 38 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Let the cake cool in the pan, then place it on a cooling rack to finish.
Beat the frosting ingredients together. Frost the cake. DIG IN!
Storage Tips
To Store. Refrigerate cake for up to 5 days. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so prior to serving. To Freeze. You can freeze this applesauce spice cake in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so before serving. I prefer to freeze the cake unfrosted, but you can freeze it frosted, as well.
Storage Tips
Freezing individual cake slices instead of the whole cake makes them quick and easy to thaw whenever a craving strikes.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
Cake Pan. Perfect for this applesauce cake. Stand Mixer. A stand mixer is a wonderful tool to use when preparing a cake like this one. A hand mixer is an awesome affordable option too! Measuring Spoons. These double-sided measuring spoons make it easier to measure all the cake ingredients.
This moist, old-fashioned applesauce cake wants to be your all-day-every-day pick me up.
Give it a chance, won’t you?
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! In this applesauce cake recipe, the applesauce flavor is definitely present due to the higher volume used. However, in other recipes where less applesauce is used (like these Cornbread Muffins), the flavor is pretty much imperceptible and simply adds moisture, tenderness, and subtle sweetness.
If you’re looking for a gluten-free applesauce cake, I have not tried making this recipe that way. However, I think you could swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour alternative. If you decide to give it a try, I’d love to hear about your results.
While applesauce can often be used as a replacement for eggs, this recipe does benefit from the addition of eggs which contribute to the cake’s overall moisture, texture, and crumb structure. If you’d like to experiment, you could try swapping the eggs for a flax egg. Just know I have not tried this personally and cannot vouch for the results.
Compared to old-fashioned applesauce cake recipes that contain oil, this whole wheat applesauce cake is a healthier alternative since it has less fat, reduced sugar, and whole grains. Omitting the cream cheese frosting is an option if you’re looking to lighten up the recipe further.
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Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
For the Applesauce Cake:
3/4 cup golden raisins2 tablespoons bourbon (or apple juice or orange juice)1 cup all-purpose flour1 cup whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour or 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour2 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon kosher salt1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon ground cloves1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature1/2 cup packed light brown sugar1/2 cup honey2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract2 large eggs1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce3/4 cup pecans or walnuts toasted and chopped (optional)
For the Frosting:
5 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened1 teaspoon bourbon or milk1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamonPinch kosher salt1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Video
Notes
TO FREEZE: Freeze cake in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or so before serving.
Nutrition
More Healthy Cake Recipes
Try one of these other snack-worthy healthy dessert recipes:
