Apple Cider Cake

Y’all my spiced apple cider cake recipe is a fall dream come true. It’s moist, tender, and packed with apple cider and warm spices. Then I get super sassy frost the whole thing with an addictively creamy maple brown butter frosting. Fall baking has never tasted so good!

It’s apple season y’all so I gotta get this Spiced Cider Apple Cake recipe made in your kitchen.  It adds layers of sweetness, spice and creaminess with the addition of brown butter frosting. Made with butter, brown sugar, apple cider and some additional spices, this cake is beautifully balanced while also celebrating the best of Fall flavors. This is truly a recipe you will find yourself coming back each Autumn!

Table of Contents

Toggle

The Lowdown of This Apple Cider Cake Recipe

Cuisine Inspiration: American Comfort

Primary Cooking Method: Baking

Dietary Info: Can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps

Key Flavor: Warm, spiced, and sweetly apple with hints of nutty brown butter

Skill Level: Intermediate (Pull out those frosting skillz)

Fall Vibes In Each Bite

Apple cider and warm spices give this cake major autumn vibes. You won’t get enough of this boos.

Moist and Beyond Fluffy

Thanks to the apple cider, this spiced cider cake stays super tender and soft even days later. The fluff is on point in each bite. Nothing dry around these parts.

Brown Butter Frosting on Point!

This frosting is creamy, maple-y, and beyond addictive. Cream cheese and the nutty goodness of brown butter are a match made in heaven. The hint of maple takes it over the top.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Apple Cider Cake

• Butter and Oil: Butter brings the rich flavor and oil brings the moisture boos.
• Sugars: I use a combo of light brown sugar and granulated sugar to produce a perfectly sweet cake base.
• Vanilla: Vanilla extract adds aromatic warmth.
• Eggs: They give our cake structure.
• Dry Ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt help build the best foundation for our cake.
• Spices: The combo of cinnamon and allspice give that perfect fall spice to this cake.
• Apple Cider & Milk: Apple cider adds a sweet, tart bite giving all those fall vibes and the milk keeps the texture tender.
• Brown Butter: Unsalted butter browned to nutty perfection is the base of this dreamy frosting.
• Cream Cheese: This gives the frosting that rich, tangy flavor.
• Confectioner’s Sugar & Salt: Confectioner’s sugar sweetens things up, while a bit of salt balances it all.
• Maple Extract: Just a little adds a nice deep maple flavor complementing the brown butter and bring those fall vibes together.

How To Make Apple Cider Cake

1. Kick things off by cranking your oven up to a toasty 350°F. Grab three 8-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and give the sides a good spritz with non-stick baking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, throw in your butter, both kinds of sugar, oil, and a splash of vanilla extract. Crank that mixer up to medium-high and let it do its dance for about 4-5 minutes, until everything is light, fluffy, and friends with each other.

3. Time for the eggs to join the party! Toss them in one at a time, giving a good mix after each. Don’t forget to scrape the sides down and make sure nobody’s left out.

4. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. It’s the dry gang!

5. Dial down your mixer to its slowest groove and gradually welcome the dry ingredients to the batter. It’s a gentle dance.

6. Now, pour in the apple cider and milk, and let it mix on low until everything is silky smooth and just combined.

7. Evenly divide that batter into your prepared cake pans and pop them in the oven for a 22-25 minute bake, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

8. Let the cakes chill for 10 minutes in the pans, then flip them out onto cooling racks and let them cool all the way down to room temperature.

9.Once cool, frost them with your brown butter American frosting, and voilà – you’ve got yourself an Apple Cider Cake that’s ready to steal the show!

How to Make Brown Butter Frosting

Lastly, let’s talk about that brown butter frosting. By browning the butter, you create a lovely nutty, caramel like tone that adds a new dimension.  

The butter, cream cheese and heavy cream make for a fluffy, light and creamy buttercream you could eat by the spoonful. Does it get any better than that?

How to Serve Cider Cake

• Dollop it Up: Add a lovely dollop of homemade whipped cream with each slice.
• Cake and Ice Cream: Add scoops of this classic vanilla ice cream recipe or go with more fall vibes with apple pie ice cream.
• Autumn Fall Brunch: Whip up these apple pancakes or apple crisp french toast along with some candied bacon and end with this delish apple cider cake.
• Fall Southern Sunday Supper: Make some delish beef tips, cheese grits, Southern green beans and sweet potato biscuits. This cake will be right at home as a dessert.

Meal Plan: Cozy Fall Dinner

Carrot ginger soup is the perfect way to start this cozy meal.

Mississippi pot roast is the ultimate warm your bones main dish to serve for this menu.

Fried apples give a little sweetness as a side dish for this dinner.

Mashed sweet potatoes give the warm flavors of sweet potato and cozy up to those juices in the pot roast. It’s a great way to get ready for the cider cake.

Recipe Substitutions

• Unsalted Butter: You can grab some salted butter and use instead. Just leave out the salt in the recipe.
• Brown Sugar: If you only have granulated sugar, learn how to make brown sugar by adding some molasses.
• Cinnamon and Allspice: Replace this with nutmeg and ginger or use an apple pie spice blend to keep things no-fuss.
• Confectioner’s Sugar: Make homemade powdered sugar if you don’t have any around. Just grab some granulated and a mixer and get going.

Recipe Variations and Additions

• Add Caramel: Add this easy caramel sauce in between layers and drizzle over the top. You can even swap out the frosting and use caramel frosting instead.
• Get Nutty: Add some chopped and toasted pecans to the batter for a little bit of crunch.
• Add Apple Butter: Sandwich the layers with a spread of apple butter.
• Booze It Up: Just a couple of tablespoons of bourbon in the batter or even brushed on top of the cake layers will add an adult twist.

Expert Tips and Tricks to Make Apple Cider Cake Recipe

• Concentrate the Apple Cider: If you wanna up the cider flavor even more, reduce it on stovetop to intensify it.
• Go Room Temp: Bring those eggs, butter, milk and apple cider to room temperature before you mix your cake batter. It will make everything much smoother.
• Don’t Overmix: When you add your dry ingredients, don’t overdo it. It can activate the gluten too much and make the cake tough in the end. That’s a no go boos.
• Flex Those Frosting Skillz: Here is one of my fave tricks. When you are ready to frost your cake, slap a dollop of frosting on the cake stand before placing the first layer. It anchors your cake in place, so it doesn’t slide around while you work.

How to Store Spiced Cider Cake

Room Temperature: If you plan on enjoying right away within a day, a cake stand with a cover or a large airtight container will do the trick. Keep it on your counter away from direct sunlight.

Refrigerate: If you need to store longer, pop in the fridge. It will last up to five days. Make sure it’s covered tightly with plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container.

Freeze for the Future: Place individual slices on a baking sheet to freeze initially, and then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. When you’re ready to indulge, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bring it to room temp before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Fall Baking Recipes to Try

• Caramel Apple Cheesecake recipe
• Apple Fritters
• Baked Crumble Apples
• Caramel Buttercream
• Butterscotch Apple Bars

Spiced Cider Apple Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

A perfectly moist and tender fall cake flavored with apple cider and spices gets frosted with the most addictively creamy maple essenced brown butter frosting. Fall baking has never tasted so good!

4.35 from 49 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Want to Save This Recipe, Boo?

I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

I agree to be sent email.

Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Dessert

Servings: 18 servings

Ingredients

For the Cake

• ▢ 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• ▢ 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 4 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 tsp allspice
• ▢ 3/4 cup apple cider room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup milk room temperature

For the Frosting

• ▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• ▢ 16 oz cream cheese somewhat softened but still a bit stiff
• ▢ 4 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 tsp maple extract

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

For the Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper on the bottom and prepare the sides with a non stick baking spray. 
• Add the butter, both sugars, oil, and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl on medium high speed and mix together about 4-5 minutes until light, fluffy and well combined.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
• While cake continues to mix, add flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice to a bowl and whisk together to combine.  
• Slow mixer down to lowest speed and slowly add dry ingredients to batter.
• Next pour in apple cider and milk and mix on low speed until silky batter is just combined.  
• Once ready, carefully divide batter into three cake pans making sure they are even. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes then flip to remove from pan onto cooling racks. Allow cake layers to come to room temperature.

For the Frosting

• In a medium sized light colored pan, melt butter over medium heat and occasionally stir. 
• Allow butter to brown until tiny brown specks appear and a nutty aroma develops (this is after about 6 or 7 minutes following a foaming period). Once butter has browned, remove from heat, and immediately pour into a heat-proof bowl. Refrigerate until solid.
• Once butter is solid, add butter and cream cheese to bowl of your mixer and mix on medium speed until combined. 
• Next turn the mixer down to low and slowly add confectioner’s sugar and salt in small portions until all is added then turn the speed to medium high to combine.
• Lastly add maple extract and mix until nice and fluffy. 
• Frost completely cooled cake layers and serve.

Video

Notes

Make sure all of your ingredients, particularly your butter and eggs, are at room temperature when making your cake batter.

Storage

Room Temperature: If you plan on enjoying right away within a day or two, a cake stand with a cover or a large airtight container will do the trick. Keep it on your counter away from direct sunlight.

Refrigerate: For a slightly longer life span, say up to five days, pop it in the fridge. Make sure it’s covered tightly with plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container.

Freeze for the Future: Place individual slices on a baking sheet to freeze initially, and then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. When you’re ready to indulge, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bring it to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 316mg | Potassium: 225mg | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 470IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GrandbabyCakes or tag #grandbabycakes!

pinterest   facebook   twitter   email