Julie Clark
Posted:
Apple Cider Cake
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This spiced Apple Cider Cake is loaded with double the apple flavor: applesauce and apple cider. Both pair to make this simple cake perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack.
This 100% homemade cake is light, moist, and bakes up perfectly in an 8×8 pan or round cake pan, just like our apple cinnamon cake. It’s delicious with its cinnamon sugar topping.
This Applesauce Cake Has a Secret Ingredient
Applesauce cake recipes are common, but our apple cake has a secret ingredient that boosts the apple flavor.
Apple cider.
It is loaded with apple cider flavor, all without adding apple pieces. For those who don’t love texture in their cake, this is the recipe for you! It’s every bit as smooth as our apple butter cake.
This recipe has been featured on our sister website, The Best Cake Recipes, for years, and we needed to bring it over to share with you here. It’s just that good.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Phyllis says, “I have been looking for a good recipe that uses apple cider & applesauce. I made it this weekend for a dinner with our Sunday School class. It is soooo moist & delicious! I used chunky applesauce to add some apples to it. I got rave reviews! Thanks for sharing this recipe. It won’t be the last time I use it!”
The simple cinnamon sugar coating for the apple cider cake means it doesn’t require a frosting, but you could always add cream cheese frosting, powdered sugar glaze or vanilla frosting if you prefer.
Love apple cakes? Try our apple dapple cake, caramel apple eclair cake and apple butterscotch cake next.
Enjoy! -Julie
Ingredients Needed
- Granulated sugar: If you’d like you could replace half of the sugar with brown sugar or dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg: These are simple spices to keep the flavor apple cider cake easy, but if you’d like, add a dash of ginger, cloves or allspice. These are especially good during the holidays!
- Applesauce: I recommend unsweetened applesauce, but if you have cinnamon applesauce, that gives a boost to cinnamon flavor.
- Apple cider: This is NOT apple cider vinegar. This is apple cider drink, made from apples picked early in the season and left unfiltered and raw. If you can’t find apple cider you can use apple juice.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and amounts.
One Bowl Apple Cider Cake
This Spiced Apple Cider Cake is loaded with double the apple flavor: applesauce and apple cider. Both pair to make this simple cake perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack.
Servings 8
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 8 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1/4 cup apple cider NOT vinegar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325º Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking pan (or 8" round cake pan) with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper if you'd like to easily remove the whole cake.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a small dish for sprinkling the top before baking. Set those two tablespoons aside. 2/3 cup granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add the applesauce, melted butter, apple cider, egg and vanilla extract to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Whisk to combine. 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, 8 tablespoons salted butter , ¼ cup apple cider, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix gently to combine. Do not overmix. 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Carefully pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the reserved cinnamon-sugar mix over the top of the batter.
- Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and let the pan rest for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Then remove from the pan and place the cake directly on the rack to finish cooling. Serve alone or with your favorite vanilla frosting or whipped cream.
Video
Notes
Storage: Store leftovers of the cooled cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also wrap cake pieces individually in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 6 weeks.
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 8 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 276kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 382mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 389IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg
How to Make Apple Cider Cake: Step by Step
There’s no need to pull out a stand mixer for this apple cider cake recipe. It mixes together easily with a rubber spatula thanks to the melted butter.
Make the cinnamon sugar mixture. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a small dish for sprinkling the top before baking. Set those two tablespoons aside.
Mix the wet ingredients. Add the applesauce, melted butter, apple cider, egg and vanilla extract to the cinnamon-sugar mixture and whisk.
Add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda and salt. Mix gently to combine, being careful not to overmix, which can make the cake tough.
Assemble and bake. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the reserved cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake the apple cider cake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
