A homemade apple cake with the most luscious frosting! You'll love every sweet bite of this Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting. The perfect fall dessert!
Grease and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper (greasing the pan first helps the parchment paper stick and stay in place when you go to pour the batter in). If you are just going to serve the cake straight from the pan (and not lift it out before cutting) then just spray with nonstick spray and don't worry about the parchment paper.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice.
In a separate large bowl combine vegetable oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, unsweetened applesauce, eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract,
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (a little at a time) and stirring until just combined don’t overmix or the cake won’t come out tender).
Gently stir in the chopped apples into the batter and then pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan
Bake for 30-35 minutes, making sure the top of the cake doesn’t get too dark. If you notice it is getting too dark, cover the pan with aluminum foil after about 20 minutes.
Remove pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool while you make the frosting. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting:
To the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl with an electric hand mixer) beat the butter until light and fluffy (about three minutes).
Add the brown sugar and continue beating until well mixed.
Next, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt and mix until well combined.
Add heavy cream (a Tablespoon at a time) to reach desired consistency.
Spread evenly onto cooled cake. Top with toasted chopped walnuts and Heath toffee bits (optional)
Cut into squares and serve
Notes
Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Store cake wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.