Fresh apple cake is synonymous with fall, isn't it? Many years ago, my husband's Grandma Frieda Haeker passed along her special recipe. I chased her down after a family get-together to get it. I look back with so much fondness to the days when families gathered more often.
Depending on the time of year, the dessert table would feature whatever fruit was in season. When fall rolled around, there was invariably some amazing apple creation on the table. This is one of them!
But, like anyone who loves to cook and bake, I've made a few changes of my own!
Grandma Frieda's recipe called for strong coffee as one ingredient. I decided to try freeze-dried coffee granules instead and love the subtle flavor it gives this simple cake.
The fragrance of cardamom brings back happy childhood memories for me so I used it in my version instead of the more traditional cinnamon and nutmeg.
I fondly remember the cardamom-scented sweets we ate when my Danish cousins gathered back in Iowa. The old Danes washed down all the goodies with gallons of hot coffee so I consider this combination of flavors a very good marriage!
How To Make This Fresh Apple Cake From Scratch
It starts with some nice tart apples. In this recipe, I used Jazz apples but Granny Smith, Braeburns, or your favorite tart apple will work great too!
I peeled the apples and cut into wedges then chopped them in my food processor, pulsing as I went along. You can chop them any way you like, but stop when you get to chunks about the size of a raisin.
The cake goes together easily. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Cream together the sugar and eggs until fluffy, then gradually add the oil and finally the vanilla. Continue beating until thick and smooth.
Next, add the dry ingredients alternately with the chopped apples and mix just until it's all blended well.
Bake at 350 degrees in a greased 9" x 13" pan for about 40-45 minutes. The cake will pull back slightly from the sides of the pan and a toothpick or cake tester should come out clean.
Once the cake is completely cool, slather on the easy cream cheese frosting. The bit of tang in the cream cheese plays nicely with the dense, moist cake.
You don't need to get too stylish with the frosting application because we'll add a fun garnish that's one part Fancy Nancy and one part Simple Simon!
Here's A Deceptively Easy Garnish
To make this pretty garnish, all you need is some bottled caramel ice cream topping and a handful of chopped pecans. Toast them if you like!
Starting in a corner, drizzle the caramel topping diagonally from left to right and back again until you've covered the whole cake. Now, just take a table knife and pull through the caramel lines in the opposite direction.
While everything is still soft and hasn't set, sprinkle about one-half cup of chopped pecans over the top. Ta-Da!! Pretty enough for the Thanksgiving table!
Autumn Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
A dense moist cake with subtle notes of coffee and cardamom
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 cups peeled tart apples (about 4 apples) (finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 Tbsp freeze-dried instant coffee granules
- 2 cups flour
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tsp vanilla
Beat egg and sugar together until fluffy then gradually add oil and vanilla. Continue beating until thick and smooth. I used my food processor to chop the apples. Alternately add apples and dry ingredients. Mix until well blended.
Bake at 350 degrees in a greased 13' x 9" pan for about 45 minutes. Sides will pull back slightly from pan. Let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting Instructions
Beat together the cream cheese, vanilla, and butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar to the bowl and begin beating at lowest speed. Hint: I wrap a clean dishtowel around the bowl and mixer head to keep the sugar from flying all over my counter! Beat until it's smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
What's your favorite apple dessert recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe today, pleaseshare it on your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. I’d sure be tickled and ever so grateful, thank you!😊
If you haven’t already, check out myFacebook pagewhere I’ll be posting easy, delicious, and family-friendly recipes every week!
Love, GB (Betty Streff)
FAQs
Mayonnaise: The Hidden Gem in Cake Recipes
Made up of eggs and oil, mayonnaise acts as an emulsifier, adding creaminess and moisture to your cake. This unexpected addition can take your cake recipes to a whole new level. To incorporate mayonnaise into your cake batter, simply add a couple of tablespoons to the mix.
What are the best apples for baking apple cake? ›
The tart flavor and firm texture adds great flavor and texture to any baked goods! In this bake off, the most popular apples used across all the recipes were Granny Smith and Honeycrisp. MacIntosh is another popular baking apple, but the softer texture leads to a more divisive mushy texture.
Why does my apple cake fall apart? ›
There are two main reasons why an apple cake would fall apart: (1) it was simply too warm when you were trying to cut and serve it or (2) you used too many/the wrong kind of apple. See notes above about picking and choosing the best kinds of apples for a recipe like this.
Why is my apple cake raw in the middle? ›
Some reasons of undercooked cakes are :
- Less time or more time of preheating of oven.
- If you open it before a particular time of cooking.
- Fluctuation in heating temperature.
- If you missed to add baking powder.
The next time you're baking a cake, keep these simple tricks in mind:
- Prep the ingredients. Have all of the ingredients at room temperature, unless the recipe directs otherwise. ...
- Use the right flour. ...
- Prep your pans. ...
- Alternate wet and dry ingredients. ...
- Preheat. ...
- Release air bubbles. ...
- Test for doneness. ...
- Cool down.
USE VEGETABLE OIL. While butter undoubtedly imparts excellent flavor, vegetable oil can really elevate a cake when it comes to moisture. Replacing butter with vegetable oil in your cake recipes typically yields moist results.
What 4 apples are best used for baking? ›
For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.
Can honeycrisp apples be used for baking? ›
Honeycrisp. One of the sweetest apples around, this Midwestern favorite is good for anything—including baking. It boasts a distinctive juicy crispness and is firm enough that it won't cook down much. It complements just about any other apple variety to make a stellar pie.
What apples should not be used for apple pie? ›
There are a few apples that don't make the cut. While great for snacking, Gala, Fuji and Red Delicious are the most common apples that won't hold up in the oven and will give you a watery-mushy pie, tart or cake.
How to know when apple cake is done? ›
A fully baked apple cake should be golden brown and may start to pull away from the sides of the pan slightly. Knife Test: Similar to the toothpick test, you can insert a thin knife into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
8. My cake is very dense. This could be because a/ the cake mixture hasn't had enough air beaten into it, b/ the eggs were added too quickly and curdled or c/ there's not enough raising agent.
How do you keep apples from sinking to the bottom of a cake? ›
The best way to avoid sinking fruit is to toss the fruit in a couple of tablespoons of the flour (just use some from the measured amount for the recipe) to coat it lightly. Once added to the cake mixture the flour coating will thicken the batter immediately surrounding the fruit and help suspend the fruit.
How do you fix a dry apple cake after baking? ›
Soak your cake in milk or cream.
Simply brush on a few tablespoons of milk or cream to the top of your dry cake or, for a truly indulgent finish, follow recipes like one-bowl tres leches poke cake, baked and soaked in a combination of whole milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.
Why does my cake sink in the middle after I take it out of the oven? ›
What Causes A Cake To Sink In The Middle? Using too-small tins, not mixing your wet batter right, or being too rough with the oven door often leads to a huge baking flop.
Can you still eat a cake that has sunk? ›
If your cake was cooked to the proper temperature, chances are it is still edible even if it sunk in the center. Check that it's baked through the middle, then try a small piece of your cake. It might not taste good if the ingredient measurements were off. Notice the texture to make sure it's not too dense or spongy.
What is the secret of a delicious cake? ›
Success of a cake depends on the correct blending of ingredients, the careful creaming of butter and sugar, as well as the gentle folding of egg whites (if added separately) to maintain maximum aeration. Please read Basic Rules For Baking. Fold or Folding: A method of gently mixing ingredients.
What is your best baking secret? ›
Combine ingredients as gently as possible without overmixing. Creamed butter and sugar should be pale and fluffy, never yellow and gritty. Butter temperature is a vital detail that should not be overlooked. Don't open the oven door until goods are done baking.
Which 2 ingredients help the cake to rise? ›
Firstly, you need to mix your baking powder/bicarbonate of soda through your flour before you add this to the mixture. These two ingredients are the most common raising agents in baking, so I've focused on them here (also make sure they are in date!).
What is the most important ingredient in a cake? ›
Flour is perhaps the most important ingredient in a cake mix, as it creates the basic structure of the entire cake. A major component of flour is gluten, which is a protein that provides a way for the cake to bind to itself.
