Applesauce Spice Cake with Cinnamon Browned Butter Frosting

[Linda in MO]

I made this last weekend and thought it was a really tasty cake and super easy to make, too. This got even better on day 2 or 3. And it kept well for almost a week, so it's a great make-ahead recipe.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Applesauce Spice Cake with Cinnamon Browned Butter Frosting

Recipe By : I adapted from a Pillsbury recipe booklet Sept. 2006
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg to taste and pinch of ground ginger -- (optional, my additions)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups applesauce -- (I used the natural unsweetened kind)
1/3 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla -- (optional, my addition)
1 apple -- peeled and chopped
Frosting:
4 Tablespoons REAL butter -- (do not substitute anything else!)
3 cups powdered sugar -- (recipe called for 4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
apple juice or milk -- (recipe called for 6-8 Tablespoons and I don't remember how much I used)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a smaller bowl mix applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer until moistened. Beat 2 minutes on med/high speed (scraping down the sides as needed). Stir in chopped apple.

Pour into pan and bake 28-38 minutes or until it tests done with a toothpick. Cool about 1 hour.

For frosting: Heat butter in small saucepan over medium heat until light golden brown, stirring frequently. (Once the butter begins to brown, it quickly progresses to burned. As soon as the butter begins to turn a golden color, remove the pan from the heat. The heat of the metal pan will continue to brown the butter.) Remove from heat and cool 2-3 minutes.

In a large bowl, add powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, browned butter, and some of the apple juice or milk. Beat with a mixer, gradually adding enough apple juice or milk, to get to the desired consistency. Immediately spread over cooled cake (frosting sets up quickly).

15 servings
380 calories/serving
9 grams fat/serving

Notes: Recipe also called for 1/2 cup raisins but I didn't add those.

[margeslp]

This looks wonderful. I am doing a bridge luncheon and this may be such a seasonal delight.

[Jessnc]

This cake looks delicious and perfect for fall! It's on my "next dessert to make" list. Thanks for sharing!

[Jazzmatazz49]

The name of the cake is enough to make me want to try it!

[catbatty]

Thanks for getting me up and cooking, Linda. The cake is so good.

I did exactly as you did only I added a handful of raisins over the iced cake. (I increased the powdered sugar back to almost 4 cups.)

We are now on second day. I think next time I might make it without icing altogether and just sprinkle it with powdered sugar. It's good as-as however, but had we used the 'normal' sweet applesauce, it would have been SOOO sweet...that I can't imagine anyone doing that. Maybe, over the years, I've grown away from so much much sugar. Anyway: USE UNSWEETENED FOLKS IF U ICE. IT's PERFECTLY ENUF SWEET AND MORE MIGHT BE WAY TOO MUCH SWEET.

Linda: my grown daughter, husband (he who sneaked back for seconds last night) and I are loving this cake, sweet butter topping and all. It's a go-to recipe for us now. THANK YOU. PS: I have shared it on a coupla recipe lists I belong to...crediting you, Pillsbury and linking (URL) back to CLBB and this thread. I hope everybody likes it as much as we do.

[GayeC]

This looks great. I just got some nice strong cinnamon from King Arthur and think I'll try it out on this recipe.

[juliew]

This looks interesting, but I had a question. I've got half a jar of spice apple butter in my fridge that I would like to use up. Do you think it would be possible to substitute the apple butter for the applesauce and if so in what amount? I'd cut down on the spices (or maybe use none), but other than that, I'm not sure where to go. I never really use the stuff.

Thanks!

[erin elizabeth]

Oh, Julie, give it a try and then report back. I'd love to attempt the same thing! Have apple butter around, but no applesauce. I was thinking I could whip some up with the apples I have around though. Thanks for the recipe Linda.

[catbatty]

Jul and Erin: Sounds yummy to me. Maybe do as Linda did and cut out one cup of the powdered sugar for the icing...and I wonder if adding a bit of water (or apple juice) to the apple butter and letting it sit just a bit, might simulate the lightness of applesauce. (Or just as-is and maybe get a bit more dense cake?) Regardless, I bet Linda will agree with me that it's going to be good. YUM. I'd like a bite of yours myself, when u get done.

[dreamer101]

I've made this Chocolate Applesauce Cake for years. It's the only one family demands when getting together for holidays. I bet that Cinnamon Browned Butter Frosting would be great on it. I'm sure the family will allow a change of frosting.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chocolate Applesauce Cake

Serving Size : 18
Categories : Cakes/Cookies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2/3 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 tablespoons cocoa

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs

2 cups applesauce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.

Cover raisins with boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes and drain.

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cocoa.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.

Add dry ingredients, alternately with applesauce, ending with dry ingredients.

Stir in raisins and nuts.

Turn into prepared pan and bake 1 hour.

Cool in pan. Remove cake and when completely cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Source:
"What's Cooking #3 page139"

[juliew]

OK, I tried it with the spiced apple butter. When I went to use it, I found I only had one cup (but I did manage to clean out one more random jar from my refrigerator!). To componsate, I added another egg. I also threw in a handful and a half of golden raisins in the batter and did not add any spices since there were already some in the apple butter. And I used the 3 cups of powdered sugar in the frosting.

It turned out well! Maybe my spiced apple butter wasn't as spiced as I recalled, so as of this morning, if I make again, I would add the spices as directed. The frosting is tasty, but if one is short for time, even just a dusting of powdered sugar would be sufficient to finish the cake in my opinion. Three cups of sugar in the frosting was plenty and I think 4 would be overkill. Even with three it was pretty sweet and I'm one who likes things on the sweet side.

Thanks for the recipe.

[sage611]

I made this yesterday and now am planning to have it for Thanksgiving. I'm thinking about making it a stack cake and putting a thin layer of apple butter between cakes. Then to make it pretty, garnish with whole pecans. It's very tasty...the browned butter really sets it apart. I wonder if apple cider could be used in place of milk.

[Linda in MO]

I'm glad you guys are enjoying the recipe! When I made it, I was debating on whether to make a different frosting (maybe cinnamon cream cheese, caramel, or caramel cream cheese) but I decided to go w/the one listed with the recipe. I had never made frosting w/browned butter and I thought it went very well w/the cake. And yes, it's a fairly sweet cake. I was thinking of slightly reducing the sugar in the cake part next time...maybe 1 1/4 cups instead of 1 1/2??
sage, I think apple cider would work great in the frosting.

[aggie94]

Thanks for the recipe, Linda! I made this last night for a team meeting I had today in the office. It was a huge hit. It came together very quickly last night, and when I cut into the cake today, it was super moist. Even cutting the powdered sugar back to 3 cups, I found the frosting a bit overly sweet for my taste, but it did go very well with the cake (which is also pretty sweet).

ETA: I used whole milk in the frosting (had some to use up from making dumplings), about 6 tablespoons total.

[patissac]

Originally Posted by sage611

I made this yesterday and now am planning to have it for Thanksgiving. I'm thinking about making it a stack cake and putting a thin layer of apple butter between cakes. Then to make it pretty, garnish with whole pecans. It's very tasty...the browned butter really sets it apart. I wonder if apple cider could be used in place of milk.

I was going to ask, how you guys feel about making this into a two layer cake? I want to make this for my Boss, who will be visiting next week.

Does the frosting set quickly? Is it like a caramel type frosting that sets almost immediately? I want to be able to frost the cake with no problems...hopefully. Thanks!

[witchy]

Linda, is the nutrition for the original cake without the modifications?


Thanks!

[juliew]

Originally Posted by patissac

I was going to ask, how you guys feel about making this into a two layer cake? I want to make this for my Boss, who will be visiting next week.

Does the frosting set quickly? Is it like a caramel type frosting that sets almost immediately? I want to be able to frost the cake with no problems...hopefully. Thanks!

I made this with the three cups of sugar and didn't measure the milk, but I am guessing it was 3T. Mine never got to be a frosting kind of texture. It was more like a thick glaze. I kept it in the fridge and it was solid then, but if I left it out, it would get more runny. I am afraid it wouldn't stay on the cake as a regular frosting. Maybe if I had used the 4 cups of sugar it would have been different.

[Linda in MO]

Glad it was a success for you, Eva!

witchy, the nutritional stats are for the original recipe.

patissac, it would probably work as a layer cake. My frosting was definitely frosting consistency and I only used 3 cups of powdered sugar and more than 3 T. milk. Not sure why Julie's was like a glaze. And mine didn't set up immediately like a caramel frosting either, so you shouldn't have any problems spreading it.
Anyone else have any opinions on this?

[aggie94]

I too used 3 cups of powdered sugar, and about 6T of milk, and mine was definitely not like a traditional frosting - a thick glaze would be accurate. Imagine the glaze on a donut. Once set, the top will crack, and it sets pretty quickly.

I think the cake would work alright as a layer cake (it is very moist, though), but I definitely would not use this frosting in between the layers. It might do okay on top of the finished cake, but I don't think it will "stick" to the sides of the cake like a normal frosting would.

Personally, if I were making this cake as a layer cake, I'd use the frosting from this recipe instead, which is TO. DIE. FOR.


Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Caramel and Cream Cheese Frosting
Bon Appetit, November 2008

Ingredients
cake
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
frosting
1 1-pound box powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Candied orange peel*

Preparation
cake
Preheat oven to 350�F. Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides, tapping out any excess flour. Whisk first 9 ingredients in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil in another large bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to incorporate between additions. Mix in orange peel. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed just to blend. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 33 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Invert onto rack, then turn top side up and cool completely.
frosting
Sprinkle 1/2 cup powdered sugar over bottom of small nonstick skillet. Cook over medium heat until sugar melts (do not stir). Continue cooking until sugar turns deep amber, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Carefully stir in 1/2 cup cream, vanilla, and salt (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir until any caramel bits dissolve. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon cream. Strain into small bowl. Cool caramel to room temperature.
Sift remaining powdered sugar into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in cooled caramel. Cover and chill frosting until firm enough to spread, about 2 hours.
Using long serrated knife, trim rounded tops from cakes. Place 1 cake layer on cake plate, cut side up. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Place second cake layer, cut side down, atop frosting. Cover top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, creating smooth surface. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with cake dome or large bowl and chill. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.
Sprinkle candied orange peel over top of cake. Cut into wedges and serve.
*Available seasonally at most supermarkets and year-round at specialty foods stores and from chefshop.com.

[patissac]

OMG, what have you done?? Not only do I have to try this recipe, now I've the Pumpkin one in my to try pile.

Okay based on the feedback I will make this in the 9x13 instead. At least for the first time around and then I can judge more or less how I can transform it the next time around. Can't wait to make it now!

[aggie94]

Originally Posted by patissac

OMG, what have you done?? Not only do I have to try this recipe, now I've the Pumpkin one in my to try pile.

That is an excellent recipe!! I highly recommend it. I made it as a layer cake last year for Thanksgiving, and I made it a few weeks ago as cupcakes. The cake itself is great, but the star is really the frosting.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I made the cake and think the Cinnamon Browned Butter Frosting is a major reason it is so good. I made mine with all apple juice and no milk, using a little over 3 cups of powdered sugar. The cake is even better the second day as mentioned. I think this is going to replace the Gooey Apple Cake I had always made when I wanted apples and spice. I do think it would be good with pecan garnish as someone posted. To answer Pattisac's question, the frosting does not set up like caramel frosting. It stays creamy and soft.