This might be the most GORGEOUS cake that will make your house smell like a fall paradise.
But you know I didn’t stop there. This incredible apple snacking cake also gets topped with a fluffy brown butter cream cheese frosting that just so happens to be on my favorite pumpkin cake in my cookbook! It takes an extra step to brown and chill the butter before whipping it into the frosting, but trust me, it’s SO worth it.
Top the cake with a sprinkle of cinnamon and flaky sea salt, slice it up, and enjoy with a warm cup of coffee, or add this to your holiday dessert table. Trust me, it’ll be gone in minutes.
Ingredients in this beautiful apple snacking cake
We’re packing in warming spices and crisp apple into this incredible apple snacking cake, then topping it all with my newly famous brown butter cream cheese frosting. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Butter: you’ll need butter both for the cake itself and for that luscious frosting.
- Apples & applesauce: add extra apple flavor and moisture to the cake with unsweetened applesauce, plus chunks of honeycrisp apple baked right in.
- Eggs: we’re using 2 eggs to help the cake bake up properly.
- Sweetener: we’re also naturally sweetening this cake with some pure maple syrup.
- Flour: the base of this cake is made with regular all-purpose flour. See below for an easy gluten-free swap!
- Spices: get those cozy fall flavors from ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the vanilla extract, salt, and both baking powder and baking soda.
- For the frosting: this epic brown butter cream cheese frosting is from my absolute favorite pumpkin cake from my cookbook! To make it, you’ll need butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
Make this apple cake gluten-free
This cake can easily be made gluten-free by simply swapping the all-purpose flour for gluten-free all-purpose flour. So easy!
Can I make it dairy-free or vegan?
- To make dairy-free: use dairy-free butter in the cake itself and in my regular Cream Cheese Frosting, along with dairy-free cream cheese.
- To make vegan: I haven’t tested this cake using flax eggs in place of regular eggs, so let me know in the comments if you do. Then be sure to follow the dairy-free swaps above.
Try these amazing mix-ins
Looking to get a little ambitious? Mix in ½ cup of butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or even chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans.
This cake would also be delicious with chopped pears instead of apples — simply prep them the same way you would with the apples!
How to brown butter for the frosting
The cream cheese frosting is made extra special with brown butter! It adds a rich, caramel-like flavor that’s truly irresistible. Get all of my tips and tricks for browning butter in this post and get ready to add it to literally everything.
The best apple snacking cake in 5 steps
- Mix the wet ingredients. Mix all of the wet ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy.
- Make the batter. Whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold in the apples. Be sure to not overmix the batter.
- Bake it up. Pour the batter into a prepared 9×9 inch baking pan, then bake and cool it.
- Make the frosting. While the cake is baking and cooling, brown your butter and store it in the fridge for 45-60 minutes until it solidifies to look like the texture of room-temperature butter. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), then beat in the cream cheese until creamy. Finally, beat in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy.
- Frost & serve. Frost the cooled cake, sprinkle with cinnamon and flaky sea salt, slice, and serve!
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: I recommend storing this cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- To freeze: let the cake cool and then wrap it well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place the full cake in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. To serve it, thaw the cake in the refrigerator overnight, then let the cake come to room temp before adding the frosting and serving it.
Tools you’ll need
Check out all of our favorite kitchen essentials here.
More cake recipes you’ll love
- Blow Ya Mind Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (gluten free!)
- Brown Butter Apple Coffee Cake
- One Bowl Gluten Free Gingerbread Snacking Cake
- Dad’s Extraordinary Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake (gluten free, grain free)
Get all of my cake recipes here!
I hope you love this apple snacking cake! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Apple Snacking Cake with Salted Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- Wet Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) salted butter, melted
- 1 cup (250 grams) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (156 grams) pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cups (210 grams) all purpose flour (or sub gluten free all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Mix-Ins:
- 2 cups chopped honeycrisp apple (from 1 large apple), peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- For the Salted Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) salted butter, sliced
- 4 ounces (112 grams) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups (170 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- For topping:
- Cinnamon
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined: melted butter, applesauce, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chopped apples.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
- While the cake cooks and cools, brown the butter for the frosting: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk constantly; the butter will begin to crackle, then foam. After a few minutes, the butter will begin to turn a golden amber color. As soon as the butter turns brown and gives off a nutty aroma, 5 to 8 minutes total, pour the brown butter into a small bowl and transfer to the fridge for 45 to 60 minutes to allow the butter to resolidify so that it’s similar to room temperature butter but not completely hardened (poking it should leave an indent). If it hardens too much, allow it to soften up at room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the cooled brown butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat on high until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Sprinkle a light dusting of cinnamon and a big pinch of flaky sea salt on top, then cut the cake into 16 slices and enjoy! Leftover cake should be stored covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on October 8th, 2024, and republished on September 28th, 2026.
Made this for a gathering and everyone loved it! 💕
Making again to take to a birthday party
So happy to hear that!
Hi! Can you use some amount of pumpkin pie spice instead here? Debating if I should go buy the individual spices or not.
Hi! Pumpkin pie spice typically has cloves, so I’d just wonder how it would taste in this cake. Feel free to experiment with 1 tablespoon of spice!
I did use brown butter for the cake and frosting, also made it gluten free! Came out very tasty, not to sweet and lots of apple! Will be making again this fall.
Amazing! Glad you loved it!
I have not made this yet; it sounds delicious. However, I’m curious as to why, since you’re browning butter for the frosting, you wouldn’t just brown butter at the same time for the cake (understanding that you would have to use more butter because of the loss of of liquid when you brown the butter).
Hi! Because the cake just uses melted butter (not browned).
I’ve made this scrumptious cake twice and next time, I will double the recipe! It is such a unique recipe especially the frosting. I used fresh ginger instead of powder. This is nicknamed “ The Disappearing Apple Cake” for my future reference. Yummm! Chef’s kiss! Muah!
Aw love that! One of our fav cakes, too!
This was incredible!! I am dairy free so I made it with lactose free cream cheese and it was unreal. My family asked if I could make it again for Christmas dinner. Thanks for this incredible recipe.
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
Loved this cake, I will make again.
So happy to hear that!
This cake is fantastic. My husband who doesn’t even like sweets, thought this was great!
About to test this recipe for my mother upcoming 60th! Would you suggest to adding Xantham gum to aid a gluten free flour substitute?
Hi! I’ve actually never baked with xantham gum, so I’m not 100% sure how it will change the recipe.
Wow! This recipe was amazing, everyone who tried it raved about it. The icing was the perfect touch on a moist cake. I added extra apples to the cake and cream cheese to the icing. Don’t skip browning the butter for the icing. Will definitely be making again.
So happy to hear that! Perfect fall dessert 🙂
Would I double the recipe for a 9×13 pan?
I’d recommend 1.5x the recipe — doubling will create too much batter for a 9×13 inch pan!
This cake is SO GOOD! Rave reviews on AK’s Chocolate Chip Snacking Cake I made this summer so I had to give the fall spin a try. It’s so yummy warm with the icing a little melty but also delicious cold with a cup of coffee in the morning. If you have a million apples from kids field trips right now like I did, make this cake!
Delicious, cozy and the perfect combination of sweet & (mildly) salty. Will be my new go-to apple cake. There has not been a recipe of yours that I haven’t loved! Thank you, Monique.
So glad you loved it!
May be a silly question but what would be the length of time in an 8×8 pan I don’t have an 9×9
I would still check the cake around the same time – it must just need a bit longer in the oven!
I’m very excited to try this, do you think it would work well with olive oil?
I haven’t tested it with olive oil, so I’m not sure how it will change the flavor!
This looks amazing, and I love your other snacking cake recipes! Do you think this one would do well with the almond and oat flours like some of the others? I like that better than the GF all purpose flours. Thanks!!
I haven’t tested this recipe with that flour combination so I’m not 100% sure what you’d need to change in terms of wet ingredients!
This recipe is so so so good! The cake is so moist and not too sweet, The brown butter cream cheese frosting is incredible and takes this cake to another level.
So happy you loved it!
As expected, this did not disappoint! Easy to assemble and double. Came out perfect at 35 minutes. I don’t like mine super sweet so I only did 1 cup of powdered sugar in the frosting (2 for doubled recipe), and I could have taken it down a little more for my taste. Excited to take this to Friendsgiving, as an alternative dessert to pie.
Amazing! Glad you enjoyed!
Hi, this looks delicious! I was wondering if I could divide the batter between two loaf pans and achieve the same result?
Hi! I think you’ll be able to bake this in 2 8×4-inch loaf pans. Let me know if you give it a try!
So yum! The brown butter frosting makes it next level!
The best!!
I made this for my book club and everyone LOVED it. The brown butter icing is delectable. I will say that I did add a dash of cloves to the batter because I’m partial to it.
Perfect! Happy it was a hit with everyone!
Excellent recipe!!! I brought it to a get together with friends and not a crumb was left! I love that the apple cake base is more like a dense apple bread – not too sweet but then the salted brown butter cream cheese totally ups it to a dessert level! The brown butter step of the icing is crucial—adds some time but totally worth it!
So happy you loved it! This is our new fav, too 🙂
oh my goodness! This was absolutely delicious! I made it with gluten-free all purpose, flour, and Fuji apples because that’s what I had on my tree. my family agrees that this is a keeper! we loved it!❤️
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Absolutely delicious & the frosting makes this cake pure perfection. So easy to make too!
The best! Glad you loved it!!
This was a fantastic recipe! I did use flax eggs and the cake turned out perfectly. The cake itself is delicious on its own and a great snack for my kids. The frosting, though. Wow!
Amazing! Glad to hear the flax eggs worked out well!
People will say I’m being dramatic but I assure you I am not when I say this frosting is the BEST THING IVE EVER TASTED. Do not skip it! I followed the recipe as written (maybe cut the maple syrup to 1/3 cup) and it turned out great! Like a hybrid of a cake and a muffin. I made this for thanksgiving dinner dessert and it was a hit. Thank you!
SO GOOD!! Glad you enjoyed!