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This glazed applesauce cake recipe from A Couple Cooks features the coziest spice cake topped with a tangy vanilla glaze.
If you’re looking for a cozy baking project for the weekend ahead, I wholeheartedly recommend giving this applesauce cake from my friends Alex and Sonja a try. ♡
We literally made this cake almost immediately upon receiving their new cookbook in the mail, because (a) it looked so wonderfully fall-ish and cozy (b) we realized we already had all of the ingredients on hand and (c) we had company arriving in town and needed a sweet treat to share stat! Well to say that the cake disappeared quickly would be a bit of an understatement. Everyone absolutely adored it!
The cake itself is perfectly soft and fluffy, made with the coziest warming spices, and lightly sweetened with applesauce and brown sugar. It’s then topped with a simple vanilla sour cream glaze, whose tangy flavor perfectly balances the sweetness of the cake. It’s one of those desserts that makes your home smell absolutely divine. It’s quick and easy to prep, especially if you follow the suggestions in the cookbook for divvying up tasks with a partner. (The cookbook is a big celebration of cooking with those you love, so it’s full of recipes and tips to make your time together in the kitchen all the more delicious and meaningful.) It’s arguably even more delicious served the next morning for breakfast with a cup of hot coffee. And whether you choose to bake this cake the fall or — as Alex and Sonja also recommend — serve it with fresh peaches and ice cream in the summer, it’s one of those recipes that is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit a crowd no matter the season.
Anyway, as you all know, cooking together with friends and family is one of my favorite things ever. So I highly recommend checking out this cookbook if you’re looking for more tips and inspiration for spending time in the kitchen together. And I highly recommend giving this cake a try — I know you will love it!
Glazed Applesauce Cake Ingredients
Here are a few quick ingredients about the applesauce cake ingredients you will need to make this recipe:
Basic dry ingredients: We’ll use a combination of all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda to give the cake its structure, sweetness, and a nice and fluffy texture.
Spices: This cake uses a cozy mix of warming spices, including ground allspice, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
Applesauce: Applesauce is the starring ingredient here that plays so many roles — it gives the cake its signature sweet apple flavor, adds moisture, and helps to keep the texture tender. Be sure to purchase unsweetened applesauce (made from just apples!).
Oil: Feel free to use whatever neutral oil you love best to add moisture to the cake. Avocado, canola, vegetable or grapeseed oil are all great options.
Greek yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt also helps to keep the cake moist and tender, and its subtle tangy flavor also helps to balance the sweeter ingredients.
Egg: An egg serves as our binding agent to give the cake structure and a nice fluffy texture.
Vanilla: A hint of pure vanilla extract adds warmth and enhances the flavors of the spices.
Sour cream icing: We’ll glaze the cake with a simple 3-ingredient icing, made with tangy sour cream, sweet powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
Recipe Tips
Detailed instructions are included in the recipe box below, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind too!
Use fresh spices. So many people forget to check the expiration dates on their spices! They can definitely lose their flavor if they sit in the pantry too long, so be sure that you’re using fresh spices in order to enjoy this recipe to the fullest.
Don’t overmix the batter. This can make the cake dense and tough. As noted in the recipe, it’s best to stir the batter *just* until no dry streaks remain.
Use parchment to line the pan. Lining the baking pan with parchment makes it much easier to lift the cake out and slice it evenly after it has cooled. But if you don’t have parchment paper on hand, no worries, just be sure to thoroughly grease the pan with cooking spray.
Let the cake cool before icing. Be sure to let the cake rest until it reaches room temperature so that the icing doesn’t melt and slide off. 🙂
Recipe Variations
Here are a few more fun variations that you’re welcome to try with this recipe:
Add nuts. Add 1/2 cup of chopped toasted nuts to the batter, such as walnuts or pecans.
Add raisins. Add 1/2 cup of raisins to the batter.
Add citrus zest. Add the zest of one small lemon or orange to the batter.
Add difference spices. Use a different combination of warming spices, adding in other favorites like ground cardamom or nutmeg. (Or if you’d like to save time, you could nix the individual spices and add in 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.)
More Cake Recipes To Try!
Looking for more spiced cake recipes to try? Here are a few of our all-time favorites:
Mix the dry ingredients.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cloves, ginger and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients.In another bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla extract, oil, Greek yogurt, and applesauce until smooth. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir gently with a spoon or spatula until a thick batter forms and no dry streaks remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake.Bake until the cake is fairly firm when you press lightly on the center, 28 to 32 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a baking rack for at least 1 hour. Use the parchment to remove the cake from the pan, then remove the paper and transfer the cake to a cutting board.
Make the icing.In a small bowl, use a spoon to stir together the powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla extract; it will seem dry and thick at first, but keep stirring until it comes together as a smooth icing (if it still seems very dry, add ½ teaspoon of milk; if it is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar). Pour the icing over the cake and smooth it over the top with a spatula. If desired, top with a few grates of a cinnamon stick or a pinch of two of ground cinnamon. Before the icing sets, cut into 16 pieces. Enjoy immediately or allow the icing to set for about 30 minutes.
