Julie Clark
Posted:
Apple Butter Sheet Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Fall is definitely in the air, especially in this Apple Butter Sheet Cake! Moist and delicious all topped with an apple cider glaze making it the perfect easy cake for fall! You will love our homemade apple butter recipe.
September 1 hits this week. Where did August go? I feel like we’re going to be singing Christmas carols before you know it. I’ve been baking up an apple storm here which is helping to usher in the cooler weather this week.
We’ve had this apple butter sheet cake on our website since 2017, but it needed a loving update so the pictures matched just how good this cake was.
Why you’ll love this cake:
- Quick and Easy. It takes about 10 minutes to mix up and 20 minutes to bake.
- Uses apple butter for a warm apple flavor.
- Makes a sheet pan so the cake slices are small.
- Easy glaze made with apple cider.
Is apple butter the same as applesauce?
Applesauce and apple butter are both made by simmering down apples and spices until the mixture is smooth, but apple butter is cooked much longer than applesauce. This means the apple butter is thicker and sweeter, almost caramelized. For this recipe, you’ll use apple butter, not applesauce.
Baking Tips
- The jelly roll pan this cake was tested in is 12×17“. If your pan is slightly smaller, the cake may take a minute or two more to cook.
- I almost always use salted butter in my baking and I’ve never had a problem with the baked good being too salty. If you’d like, you can use unsalted butter. Add about ½ teaspoon of salt if you use unsalted butter.
- Don’t have apple pie spice? Here’s a substitute. You can just use cinnamon, or use ¾ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg.
- You only need one bowl for this cake. No need to mix the dry ingredients separately. Yay! Use a hand mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as you mix.
- The cake should take about 20 minutes to bake. You may want to check it at 18 minutes, but try to just look through the window of the oven without opening it. If you open an oven door often, the changes in temperature may make the cake fall.
Apple Cider Glaze
To put this cake over the top, we made a simple apple cider glaze. Because apple upon apple is an excellent idea, right? It’s a simple powdered sugar frosting, but you’ll use apple cider (apple cider juice…not apple cider vinegar!) to thin it rather than milk. If you don’t have apple cider you could also use apple juice, although you may not need quite as much since it is thinner.
Storage Instructions
Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can freeze any leftovers for up to two months.
Apple Butter Sheet Cake
Fall is definitely in the air, especially in this Apple Butter Sheet Cake! Moist and delicious all topped with an apple cider glaze making it the perfect easy cake for fall!
Servings 16
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup salted butter melted
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup salted butter melted
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- chopped pecans for topping
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
- Line a 12×17″ jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- In bowl whisk together the butter, milk, apple butter and sugars until combined.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Whisk in the flour, baking soda and apple pie spice until blended.
- Pour and spread the batter into pan and bake for about 20 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it.
- Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Make the glaze:
- In a bowl, whisk together the frosting ingredients until you reach the desired consistency of a glaze
- Pour and spread the glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle with pecans if desired.
- Let sit for about 15 minutes to let frosting set.
- Then slice and serve.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Video
Notes
The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 16 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: 463kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 78mg | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 590IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg
Apple Recipes You’ll Love
During apple season, you might find you want a new apple recipe to enjoy. Here’s a few we love!
We made this cake today. It is so moist and delicious! We made half a recipe as there is just two of us. Also added 1/4 teaspoon of Apple pie spice to the frosting. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Could I make this recipe as-is for a cake roll or would I need less batter for that?
Oh my gosh this is soo good