Spiced Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This Spiced Apple Cake may just be my favorite homemade hack ever!  About once a year I go to the effort to make a homemade Sour Cream Apple Pie. It’s laborious and glorious all swirled together. So what’s the problem? The meticulous process of peeling and slicing apples can be SO daunting!

Spiced Apple Cake in 30 minutes ::

If it weren’t so time consuming, I know I would make it more often – but I just can’t bring myself to make it any more frequently. HOWEVER – this cake ticks all the boxes. The flavors of apple and creamy tanginess and warm Fall spices are all packed into this Spiced Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and it all comes together in under 30 minutes.

Cinnamon – Sugary apples and that glorious tangy cream cheese frosting – so similar to my Apple Pie without all of the painstaking effort.

The Trick to an Easy Spiced Apple Dessert ::

Here’s the trick, take one Granny Smith Apple (core removed) and put it, peel and all into the food processor. Once you’ve pulsed it to a fine chop, set it aside and assemble the rest of the cake ingredients. No peeling, no slicing, just one swift whir and the rest is just dump, stir, pour and bake! So quick and simple.

Cream Cheese Frosting ::

While the cake is baking and cooling, whip up the Cream Cheese Frosting. They key to fluffy cream cheese frosting is to wait until the cake is COMPLETELY cooled before icing. 

Once the cake has cooled completely, gently frost the cake starting with half of the cream cheese frosting. This prevents the tender Apple Spice Cake from sinking under the weight of a heavy glob of frosting.

This Cake — the BEST of Fall on a plate!

Oh my – cream cheese frosting and the apples and ginger and spices?!! It’s the only cake I’ll ever need! The bits of finely chopped apple, some apple juice and a combination of spices mimic my favorite pie so well! I can’t say I’ll never make that pie again, but I can promise – this Apple Spiced Cake makes getting to those flavors so much easier!

Spiced Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

(spiced apple cake ingredients)

• • 1 1/2 c sugar

  • 2 sticks butter, salted

  • 1/3 c apple juice

  • 1 medium Granny Smith Apple, cored and finely chopped

  • 1/2 c sour cream

  • 2 eggs (beaten), room temperature

  • 2 c AP flour

  • 1/2 t salt

  • 1 t baking soda

  • 2 T crystalized ginger, finely chopped

  • 1 t ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 t each :: ground ginger & ground cloves

(cream cheese frosting ingredients)

• • 3 c powdered sugar  

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

  • 2 T heavy whipping cream

  • 2 T apple juice

(spiced apple cake instructions)

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a 15 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 1” rimmed baking pan by buttering or spraying with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, over medium flame, combine sugar, butter, apple juice and chopped apple. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the butter is melted.

Remove saucepan from the flame and add sour cream, stirring to combine. Add flour, salt, baking soda and spices, stir vigorously to combine.

Whisk in eggs, continuing to stir vigorously (the prevents the raw eggs from scrambling).

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 15 minutes or until the center is set and slightly golden in color. If you have an instant read thermometer, the cake is done when it registers 190°-195°.

Allow can to cool completely (at least 1 hour) before icing.

(cream cheese frosting instructions)

To prepare the cream cheese frosting combine all frosting ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and beat, using a hand mixer, on HIGH speed until evenly incorporated and no lumps remain (approximately 2 minutes).

Once cake is cooled, spoon 1/2 of the frosting over the cake and continue adding spoonfuls to get to the desired thickness.

Serves 12

Not only am I currently drooling over this cake – check out the GORGEOUS Sinkology sink I’m currently loving!