Featured Recipe

Apple Butter Spice Cake

Name: Apple Butter Spice Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter softened; 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 3 large eggs room temperature; 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup apple butter; Zest of one large orange; For the frosting===; 8 ounces cream cheese softened; 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened; 1/4 cup apple butter; 3 cups powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

By Kate

Created on 31 January 2026

Dense, moist cake using apple butter for moisture and flavor. Swapped half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat to add texture and nutrition. Orange zest replaces vanilla for a citrus twist. Cream cheese frosting comes with added cinnamon for warmth. Mix dry carefully to avoid overworking gluten. Watch for cracks on top as a doneness signal rather than strict time. Room temp ingredients key. Substitutions include Greek yogurt for butter to reduce fat or maple syrup for sugar if sweet tooth varies.

Prep: 25 min

Cook: 45 min

Total: 1h 10min

Serves: 12 servings

dessert cake baking apple cinnamon

Introduction

Starting out with butter and sugar — that old creaming trick. No mystery here but crucial. If butter’s too cold, sugar won’t aerate properly. Eggs room temp, slow in, careful not to whip wildly. Flour mix? Half all-purpose, half whole wheat. Adds bite without being heavy. Apple butter brings built-in moisture; no extra liquids needed, keeps cake tender and dense. Orange zest swaps usual vanilla—try to smell that bright oil while mixing—it wakes up the batter. In baking, smell often tells you more than times. Oven temperature dialed back five degrees to keep edges from drying out while centers bake through. Don’t just watch the clock, keep eyes on the cake’s surface: tiny cracks mean done, toothpick clears with moist crumbs—not sticky batter. Frosting is less sweet, a counterbalance with cinnamon bite. The texture: creamy but never runny. Spread on cooled cake; otherwise, it slumps, a sloppy mess. And if you miss that preheat? Expect uneven rise, sometimes a dense puzzling center. Kitchen hacks: tap your batter-filled pan on counter before baking to knock out big air pockets. Saves big holes or tunnels inside.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup apple butter

Zest of one large orange

For the frosting===

8 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup apple butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

About the ingredients

Butter soft but not melting is key for creaming properly; cold butter equals dense cake. Substitute Greek yogurt for half butter to trim fat, but watch moisture; reduce apple butter slightly if too wet. Sugar can be replaced by maple syrup or honey, but reduce liquids correspondingly. Whole wheat flour adds nuttiness and chew – use fresh ground if possible for better flavor. Orange zest replaced the original vanilla to add a fresh brightness that pairs unexpected with apple butter’s deep flavor. Cinnamon in frosting boosts spice notes and ties the cake and frosting together. If powder sugar clumps, sift or use icing sugar. Avoid adding frosting too soon or it’ll melt. Room temperature cream cheese makes a smoother frosting, cold one breaks up and lumps. If you don’t have cream cheese, mascarpone works but increase sugar because it’s milder.

Method

Preheat oven to 370 degrees F instead of 375. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish, no need to overdo it or nonstick spray can pool and turn too wet.

Cream butter and sugar till fluffy but stop when mixture lightens and slightly holds track of beater's movement. Overbeating adds air to batter that later collapses, causing density.

Add eggs one by one. Mix after each just to combine. Too much mixing eggs too fast affects final crumb. Think teamwork, eggs marrying butter and sugar, not drowning the mix.

Whisk flours, salt, and baking powder. Whole wheat adds protein and chew but don't skip sifting to prevent clumps turning into pockets.

Gently fold dry into butter mix. Work just till homogenous batter without streaks. Then fold in apple butter and orange zest evenly dispersed for bite and aroma.

Spread evenly on tray. Tap pan lightly on counter to release big air bubbles to prevent uneven holes during bake.

Bake 40-45 minutes but watch for visual cues. Golden edges, slight crack near center, and toothpick test. Pull too early and center stays gummy. Let cool without covering to prevent soggy top.

For frosting, soften cream cheese and butter at room temp but toss in mixer till creamy smooth. Add apple butter and cinnamon before slowly adding powdered sugar. Avoid dust clouds; add sugar gradually to keep it manageable.

Spread over cool cake to prevent melting. If frosting too soft, chill briefly before icing.

Store covered at room temp up to 3 days or refrigerate but bring back to room temp before serving to soften the frosting.

Technique Tips

Baking is timing plus observation. Don’t blindly follow the clock — cake’s done when it springs back lightly and cracks appear near center, signals moisture escaping. The sugar and butter creaming creates trapped air essential for rise; avoid overmixing once flour added or gluten tightens and toughens crumb. Tapping pan evens batter level and deflates large bubbles, no holes later inside. Mixing frosting gradually with powdered sugar avoids a mess and lets you control thickness. Spread frosting once cake is completely cool, else it turns greasy and soft. If in a rush, cool in fridge but take out before serving to avoid frosting hardness. Frosting with cinnamon warms up flavor profile, a nice twist instead of plain cream cheese. Smooth butter extraction from mixer paddles: scrape sides every few mixes to ensure uniform texture. For baking times, trust senses: crack pattern, pull of edges from pan, and dry toothpick over timer.

Chef's Notes

💡 Cream butter and sugar carefully. You want fluffy but avoid overdoing. If mixture fails to lighten, it collapses later. Keep it light.
💡 Use room temp eggs. Crack each in slowly. If hurried, batter becomes dense. Don’t drown mixture with too much at once. Gentle is better.
💡 Fold dry into wet but don't stir too much—keep gluten relaxed. Focus on a homogenous batter. Avoid hard clumps of flour in mix.
💡 Watch for the batter's surface. Light cracks and golden edges tell you it's done. Toothpick should pull out clean with some moist crumbs.
💡 For frosting, mix cream cheese at room temp. If too cold, clumps. Add powdered sugar gradually to keep it manageable, minimize mess.