Apple Snack Cake with Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Spice-loaded, tender, and flavorful, this apple snack cake with maple-cinnamon cream cheese frosting lets you indulge in a sweet treat with fall flavors.Â
We had a lone apple lurking in the fruit drawer that nobody wanted, so I looked for a recipe using it. I found a delicious, super moist apple sheet cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe from New York Times Cooking, and couldn’t wait to make it. I adapted the recipe by adding diced apple to the cake batter and adding real maple syrup to the frosting. This apple snack cake recipe was a hit with the whole family and super easy to make.
Apple Snack Cake with Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake:
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled and diced
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (4 tbsp), at room temperature
- 2 tbsp real maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
How to Make an Apple Snack Cake with Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9×13-inch glass baking dish or coat it with cooking spray.
 Make the cake by whisking the light brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl until pale and foamy.
Add the applesauce, oil, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Whisk until well combined.
Stir in the apples.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Gradually stir in the flour mixture to the apple mixture until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top, and firmly tap it on a countertop a few times to release air bubbles.
Bake the cake until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
Cool the cake completely in the baking dish on a wire cooling rack.
Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon on high speed, occasionally scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl, until smooth and fluffy.
Frost the cake by spreading the frosting over the cooled cake and serve.
Store any leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
Cake:
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 Honeycrisp apple peeled and diced
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
Maple-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter 4 tbsp, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp real maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch glass baking dish, or coat it with cooking spray.
- Make the cake by whisking the light brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl until pale and foamy.
- Add the applesauce, oil, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Whisk until well combined.
- Stir in the apples.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Gradually stir in the flour mixture to the apple mixture until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, smooth the top, and firmly tap it on a countertop a few times to release air bubbles.
- Bake the cake until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Cool the cake completely in the baking dish on a wire cooling rack.
- Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon on high speed, occasionally scraping the bottom & sides of the bowl, until smooth and fluffy.
- Frost the cake by spreading frosting over the cooled cake and serve.
- Store any leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
A lovely autumnal dessert or even for breakfast 🙂