Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
A dense, moist, flavorful apple cake topped with fudge-like brown sugar frosting.
Dish: Apple Cake With Brown Sugar Frosting
- Total time
- 2 hr 2 min
- Active time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 24, one 9" x 13" cake
- Difficulty
- Medium
Ingredients and Constraints
Ingredients
- Optional
Ingredient watchpoints9 watchpoints
Short requirements and tradeoffs to check while gathering ingredients; detailed source notes stay expandable.
[Product-Link]apple Pie Spice[/Product-Link]
1 1/2 teaspoons [product-link]Apple Pie Spice[/product-link] or 1 teaspoon [product-link]cinnamon[/product-link] plus 1/4 teaspoon each [product-link]ginger[/product-link] and [product-link]nutmeg[/product-link]
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: [Product-Link]cinnamon[/Product-Link] Plus 1/4 Teaspoon Each [Product-Link]ginger[/Product-Link] And [Product-Link]nutmeg[/Product-Link]
Eggs
2 large eggs, at room temperature
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Unsalted Butter
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Peeled
4 cups (425g) peeled, cored, finely chopped apple (1/4" to 1/2" dice), from about 3 to 4 medium apples*
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Boiled Cider
2 tablespoons (43g) boiled cider, optional
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Walnuts
1 cup (113g) walnuts or pecans, toasted and diced
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: Pecans
Walnuts
1 cup (113g) walnuts or pecans, toasted and diced
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Light Brown Sugar
2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
The source ingredient row lists alternatives.
Details and source
Acceptable alternatives: Dark Brown Sugar
Light Brown Sugar
2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
The source row includes a form, size, temperature, preparation, or handling detail.
Details and source
Additional ingredient notes
Tips from our Bakers
Looking for a gluten-free version of this recipe?
Find it here: Gluten-Free Old-Fashioned Apple Cake. To toast nuts, place them in a single layer in a cake pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 6 to 9 minutes, until they're golden brown and smell "toasty." Or dry-fry them (no oil) in a skillet set over medium heat. Done this way they can go from perfectly browned to burned quickly, so keep your eye on them. For a lower-sugar version of the frosting, use between 1 1/2 cups (171g) to 1 3/4 cups (200g) confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk.
Method Timeline
Prep
ActivePrep
20 min
Prep time from the source recipe card.
Cook
ActiveCook
47 min
Cook time from the source recipe card.
Total
PassiveTotal
2 hr 2 min
Total time from the source recipe card.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan or line with a parchment paper sling. Alternatively, grease or two 8" round pans or line with parchment.
Step 2
To make the cake: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater attachment, mix all of the ingredients except the apples, boiled cider, and nuts. As soon as the mixture comes together and becomes uniformly crumbly, stop mixing; you don't want it to turn into a cohesive mass.
Step 3
Add the apples, boiled cider, and nuts, and mix until the apples release some of their juice and the stiff mixture becomes a thick, creamy batter, somewhere between cookie dough and brownie batter in consistency. Don't worry if the mixture doesn't immediately loosen up; this will take about 3 minutes at low speed in a stand mixer.
3 minStep 4
Spread the batter in the prepared pan(s), smoothing it with a rubber spatula or damp fingers.
Step 5
Bake the cake for 45 minutes for a 9" x 13" pan or for 38 minutes for two 8" round pans, checking the cake(s) after about 30 minutes and covering with foil if the top is browning quickly. The cake is done when a toothpick or paring knife inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few wet crumbs clinging to it. The temperature of the center of the cake will be about 205°F when measured with a digital thermometer.
30 minStep 6
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool a bit while you make the frosting.
Step 7
To make the frosting: Sift the confectioners' sugar into a bowl or onto a piece of parchment or wax paper; set it aside. (This guarantees lump-free frosting.)
Step 8
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook, stirring, until the sugar starts to melt and the mixture becomes fairly smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. While you may still notice a bit of grittiness from the sugar, you shouldn't see any melted butter pooled atop the sugar. Add the milk and boiled cider, and bring to a boil.
medium heat3 min-4 minStep 9
Remove the syrup from the heat and pour it into a medium-sized mixing bowl (large enough to accommodate the confectioners' sugar). Let the syrup cool in the bowl for 10 minutes.
Step 10
Pour the confectioners' sugar into the warm syrup in the bowl, then add the vanilla extract. Whisk until everything is thoroughly combined. You need to work fast here; the frosting stiffens up quickly as it cools.
Step 11
Pour the warm frosting onto the cake(s), spreading it over the entire surface.
Step 12
Serving and storage information: Cut the cake with a sharp serrated knife for the cleanest slices. Store any leftover apple cake, covered, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Learn More
Extra cooking notes, tests, and source details kept out of the step-by-step method.
Recipe structure
Components and intermediate outputs created by the method.
Main recipe
Recipe card ingredients and steps.
24, one 9" x 13" cake
Batter
Source step 3 creates or uses batter.
Dough
Source step 3 creates or uses dough.
Mixture
Source step 2 creates or uses mixture.
Syrup
Source step 9 creates or uses syrup.
Recipe Utilities
Account actions, source details, export, and reporting stay available without interrupting the cooking flow.
Source and Origin
Origin declaration
Adapted from source
Imported from the king-arthur-baking page for dev review.
Copy risk: Unchecked
Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
Article
View source
My Kitchen Actions
Login is required.
My Kitchen keeps saved recipes, private notes, adaptations, cooking logs, imports, and exports tied to your account.
Export
Public recipe exports include only approved public content. Personal backup exports require login.
Export history
No exports yet.