This easy Apple Butter Cake combines moist, tender cake with the simple flavors of cinnamon and apple butter into a dessert that’s perfect for fall.
I love a warm buttermilk biscuit slathered with apple butter. This thick, rich sauce is like an intensely flavored cinnamon apple sauce. It’s one of those things I hated as a kid, but just love now. You can often find apple butter in the grocery store with the jams and jellies or you can make your own in the slow cooker with this easy recipe.
Now, chances are you’ve heard of adding apple sauce to cake recipes to reduce the amount of fat and to keep the cake moist, but you can do the same thing with apple butter as well. Using apple butter gives you a stronger apple flavor, too. So that’s an added bonus.
That’s why this Apple Butter Cake is so delicious!
A simple butter cake is amped up with the addition of apple butter and a little extra cinnamon to create a tender, moist cake that all of our taste-testers just loved!
In this case, the apple butter isn’t in there to lighten up the recipe because we’re still going to add a cup of butter. No, here the apple butter is there to add delicious flavor and it helps to keep the cake nice and moist.
Top it off with a simple cream cheese frosting (we snuck a little apple butter into that, too) to create a cake that’s perfect for fall!
If I’m being totally honest, I think I might even like this cake better without the frosting. It just has such a great simple, clean flavor that I really love. But y’all know I like simple stuff. It’s how I’ve earned my nickname – the mayor of vanilla-town. 🤣
Regardless, it’s great with the frosting, too. So I’ve included the recipe and y’all can decide if you want to add it or not.
Recipe Card
Apple Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons apple butter
- 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 cups)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated after each addition.
- In a bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and baking power together. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Add the apple butter and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Add the room temperature cream cheese and butter to the mixer and beat until smooth. Add the apple butter and combine. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over the cooled cake.
