Spiced Apple Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream
Soft, fluffy, single-layer Spiced Apple Cake covered in a layer of easy peasy Brown Butter Buttercream. One of my favorite apple cakes that is as easy as it is delicious!
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Servings: 9 Servings
Ingredients
For the Apples
- 2 cups unpeeled apples (cored and small dice)
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) light brown sugar (packed)
- 1 tablespoon (9 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the Cake
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup (112 g) sunflower or grapeseed oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
- 1 tablespoon (13 g) real vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (237 g) all-purpose flour (how to measure flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (60 g) low-fat milk
For the Brown Butter Buttercream
- 83 grams unsalted brown butter (about 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter before browning)
- 3 cups (360 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (60 g) milk or more to thin (see note below recipe)
Instructions
For the Apples
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177 ℃). Grease, flour and line a 9 X 9 baking pan with parchment paper letting the excess fall over the sides of the pan.
- In a medium bowl add the diced apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to coat. Set aside.
For the Cake
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Continue whisking and add in your sour cream, oil and vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt and nutmeg.
- Add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the sugar-egg mixture, ending with the milk. Fold the apple mixture into the batter in as few strokes as possible. Pour of the batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes in the center of the oven or until a toothpick pressed into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 50 minutes in the pan then remove (using the excess parchment paper to pull it out of the pan) onto a rack to finish cooling.
For the Brown Butter Buttercream
- While the spiced apple cake cools, prepare your buttercream. Place 8 tablespoons (113 g) butter in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat. Once melted, crank up the heat to medium high. Stand by, continuously stirring and watching. Small golden bits will start to settle on the bottom of the pan. Once this happens, take it off the heat and pour into a medium, heat-safe bowl to cool until closer to room temperature, but still liquid. (For more details on browning butter, check out my How to Perfectly Brown Butter tutorial)
- In an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the cooled brown butter and powdered sugar and mix on low until fully blended. Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg and the milk until thinned to the desired consistency. Mix until smooth. Spread over the top of the cooled spiced apple cake…I like to leave a ½-inch gutter around the edge of the cake so that you can see it when looking over the top. But you do you! Enjoy!! xo
Notes
Milk
When testing this recipe, I used Whole Milk. You can, however, use whatever milk you have on hand.Want a Brown Butter Refresher?
Check out my How to Make Perfect Brown Butter tutorial.Cake Tips!
Want more cake tips, ideas & recipes?! Check out my 10 Favorite Easy Tips for Perfect Cakes! Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo