Full of sweet shredded apples and warm cinnamon, apple spice cake is perfect for dessert or brunch. The bourbon icing is optional but you won’t want to miss it!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This recipe is very forgiving so you don’t need to be a pro baker to make it.
How long it takes: 15 minutes to prep and 40 minutes in the oven
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, electric mixer, 10×7 inch cake pan, measuring utensils
Servings: 8
Apple spice cake with bourbon icing sounds kinda fancy but it really isn’t a fussy cake. More like a coffee cake, it would definitely be at home on a brunch table. With the somewhat decadent bourbon icing added, this apple spice cake won’t blush at a fancy dinner, either.
Apple spice cake can also be served simply with a light dusting of powdered sugar, a spoonful of whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Top it off with homemade caramel sauce (just like a caramel apple!). Smother it in cream cheese frosting (don’t you just love cream cheese frosting?) or dress it up with the bourbon icing.
Having friends over? Serve this apple cake with an apple cider mocktail (or make it a cocktail if you like), apple cider mule (fall Moscow mule), or vanilla bourbon fizz (bourbon champagne cocktail). A beautiful bowl with polished apples makes a lovely (and really easy!) centerpiece, too.
Know how to drive your family crazy? Whip up this apple spice cake, put it in the oven, let the warm baked apple cinnamon scents waft all through the house, and then tell them, oh by the way, you’re saving the cake for book club tonight. The expressions on their faces will probably goad you into making another cake just for them.
About this Apple Spice Cake
- It’s a healthier cake recipe. I’ve made this apple spice cake just a bit better for you in true Rachel Cooks fashion, with part whole wheat flour, yogurt replacing some of the butter, and sweetened more by apples than a lot of sugar. If you’re going to eat dessert, why not make it just a little healthier, right?
- No fancy kitchen equipment required! This recipe makes a medium sized cake (I use a 11 x 8 inch cake pan) so you won’t be eating cake for a week. What else will you need? An oven, and an electric mixer. Use a box grater (like you would use for shredding cheese) to grate the apples, using the side with larger holes.
- Easy cleanup: You’ll love my easy one bowl method of making cake. Why make a mountain of dishes dirty if you don’t have to?
Look for the printable recipe card near the end of the post. It has complete instructions, specific measurements, and nutrition information.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cake
- Apples! I like to use Honeycrisp or Gala but use whatever apple you like. Since the apples are grated, you won’t find large chunks of apple in the cake. The apple is evenly distributed throughout the cake.
- Apple Pie Spice: A warm blend of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. If you don’t have apple pie spice, you’ll find an easy substitute on the recipe card.
- Flour: Both all-purpose and whole wheat flour are used in this recipe but you can substitute white whole wheat, or make the cake with just all-purpose flour. Make sure you spoon the flour lightly into the measuring cup. Never use your measuring cup to scoop the flour from the storage container because it compacts and you’ll end up with a dry cake.
- Yogurt: Using yogurt in place of some of the butter makes this cake lower in fat and healthier.
- Butter: And yes, some butter too! Butter adds flavor and a tender texture to the cake.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds sweet flavor to baked goods.
- Eggs, Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt: The usual cake ingredients which add sweetness, leavening, and flavor.
For the optional icing
The icing is made from powdered sugar, butter, and bourbon whiskey. If you would like to omit the whiskey, use apple cider or apple juice in the icing.
How to make this cake
Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 10.5 x 7.5 inch (or 11 x 8 inch) cake pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix Wet Ingredients: In medium bowl, beat eggs and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add yogurt and vanilla; beat to combine. Gradually beat in melted butter until well combined.
Add Dry Ingredients: We’re all about using one bowl for baking recipes! So you’ll add your dry ingredients right on top of the wet. Add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients lightly with your fingertips. With mixer, mix just until well-blended and smooth. Do not overmix.
Add Apples and Put in Pan: Fold grated apple into the batter. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Smooth top.
Bake and Cool: Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool cake on wire rack for at least 30 minutes before glazing.
Make Icing: Combine powdered sugar, melted butter, and bourbon in a small bowl; stir until completely smooth. Adjust the consistency by either adding more powdered sugar if it’s too thin, or few drops of bourbon if it’s too thick.
Drizzle the icing over the cake.
FAQs
Any kind of apple can be used to make this cake. I usually use Honeycrisp or Gala when I bake because they are sweet and hold their shape well. If you like an apple that is more tart in flavor, try bright green Granny Smith apples.
Since the apples in this cake are shredded, pretty much any kind will do. If they are good to eat out of hand, then they’ll be good in this cake!
Apple cake is common in many European and Scandinavian cultures. Apples are native to Asia and are not native to the U.S. Early settlers in Jamestown planted apple tree cuttings and seeds and you may have heard of Johnny Appleseed, a legendary figure who distributed apple seeds throughout the U.S.
Make It Your Own
- Top it! One of the ways to make this cake your own is by how you top it. Skip the icing and give the cake a dusting of powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream. Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting, with brown sugar frosting (add toasted pecans or toasted walnuts if you like!), or with brown butter frosting. This bourbon caramel sauce is a little richer than the icing and ridiculously good. The cake is really great with a streusel topping, too.
- Grated/shredded apple vs. apple chunks. It’s up to you — if you like to see nice chunks of apple in the cake, go for it! It’s entirely up to you.
- Flour variations: Replace the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour with white whole wheat flour. The cake will have a slightly heavier texture. You can also skip the whole wheat flour and just use all-purpose flour instead.
- For cinnamon fans: If you are crazy about cinnamon, replace the apple pie spice with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Instead of the bourbon icing, top the cake with cinnamon icing. Simply mix the desired amount of cinnamon into a plain powdered sugar icing.
Make-Ahead & Storage Tips
You can easily make this cake a day ahead because it’s so moist. When the cake is entirely cool, cover it tightly with foil or plastic wrap. It will keep on the counter for a couple of days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
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Full of sweet shredded apples and warm cinnamon, apple spice cake is perfect for dessert or brunch. The bourbon icing is optional but you won’t want to miss it!
Ingredients
For the icing (optional):
Instructions
Cake:
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare 10.5 x 7.5 inch (or 11 x 8 inch) cake pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray.
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In medium bowl, beat eggs and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add yogurt and vanilla; beat to combine. Gradually beat in melted butter until well combined.
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On top of mixture in bowl, add all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients lightly with your fingertips. With mixer, mix just until well-blended and smooth. Do not overmix.
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Fold grated apple into the batter. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Smooth top.
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Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
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Cool cake on wire rack for at least 30 minutes before glazing.
Icing:
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Combine powdered sugar, melted butter, and bourbon in a small bowl; stir until completely smooth. Adjust the consistency by either adding more powdered sugar if it’s too thin, or few drops of bourbon if it’s too thick.
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Drizzle the icing over the cake.
Notes
- If you don’t have apple pie spice, substitute: 1¼ teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ginger, and a pinch of allspice. If you’d rather, you could also simply substitute 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
- If desired, omit whole wheat flour. Substitute an additional ¾ cup of all-purpose flour (1 ¾ cup total).
- If you would like to omit the whiskey in the icing, use apple cider or apple juice instead.
- More Alternatives to bourbon icing: Serve cake with a simple powdered sugar glaze, whipped cream or ice cream. You could also frost the cake with cream cheese frosting, brown sugar frosting, or brown butter frosting.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1square, Calories: 411kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 87mg, Sodium: 295mg, Potassium: 156mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 39g, Vitamin A: 552IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.