Learn how to make the best apple butter cake with this easy recipe. This apple snack cake is flavoured with apple butter, cinnamon, a little brandy, and chunks of apple, and garnished with a pecan streusel topping, creating a delightful play on the classic apple crumb cake.
This delicious apple cake is very different from the classic apple bundt cake with caramel sauce or this apple crumb cake, both of which rely on fresh apples alone for apple flavour.
This apple coffee cake has a very intense apple flavour because it's made with apple butter, as well as fresh apples. These two ingredients make for better flavour but also a very moist apple coffee cake! I used this apple butter trick in these apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, which is how I knew it was a good idea!
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Ingredients
- butter—use unsalted butter or if using salted, reduce the salt in the recipe
- flour—bleached all-purpose flour
- leavening agents—we are only using baking powder in this recipe. Please read about baking soda versus baking powder if you are not sure what the difference is
- spices—ground cinnamon is a natural paring in this apple cake
- salt—I used Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt in this recipe. If you are using regular table salt, use half the amount
- sugar—I used dark brown sugar in this recipe to enhance the caramel notes in the flavourful apple butter
- eggs—use large eggs to ensure you're adding the right weight of eggs
- apples—I used a combination of fresh apples and apple butter for the most flavour
- brandy pairs so nicely with apples but you can skip it if you don't want to add it. Use something like Calvados, an apple brandy Add 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of pure vanilla extract instead
- oats—use rolled oats (or large flake oats). Do not use minute oats, quick oats or steel cut because the texture will be different.
- nuts—I used pecans in the topping because I love the flavour of apples.
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
Apple butter is different than apple-flavoured butter and it's not apple sauce. Apple butter is made by boiling down apple sauce into a sweet, dark, thick spreadable preserve that is dark and mahogany in colour.
It's not to be confused with a sweet compound butter, where apple is mixed with butter. Do not try to substitute the apple butter for a compound butter, which would add more fat to this recipe.
Do not replace the apple butter with apple sauce. The water in apple sauce may throw off the recipe, resulting in a damp crumb and/or a cake that is less flavourful.
With this in mind, here are a few changes you can make to this recipe:
- nuts—I used pecans but you can use chopped walnuts or even chopped hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, use sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds.
- apple butter—replace it with another fruit butter, like pear butter (which is easier to find). You can still incorporate fresh apple with this.
- fresh apples—I've tested this recipe with Cortland apples and Gala apples. Honeycrisp would also work. Use any apple variety that holds up to baking well. Don't use McIntosh, for example, which turns to mush when heated.
- want more brandy—I have replaced up to ¼ cup of the apple butter with brandy to give the cake more brandy flavour. This worked well!
How to Make Apple Cake with Apple Butter
Step 1: Prepare the streusel topping by first chopping the pecans (image 1), then combining them with the brown sugar, flour, oats, and salt (image 2). Use a fork to stir in the melted butter (image 3) until the mixture clumps together (image 4).
Step 2: Prepare the apples, dicing one of the apples on a cutting board (image 5) and slicing the other (image 6). Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl (image 8).
Tip: If you use a variety of apples that browns when cut, please soak them in a lemon juice bath (dilute lemon juice in water) to ensure they don't brown excessively after cutting. Strain and blot them dry before incorporating in the cake.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar (image 8) before adding the eggs, one at a time (image 9), followed by the apple butter and the brandy (image 10).
Please note if the apple butter is cold, the mixture may appear speckled from the butterfat solidifying after adding it along with the brandy. It doesn't seem to affect the texture of the cake.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients (image 11) and then the chopped apple (image 12), then transfer the cake batter to a square baking pan, using a mini offset spatula to smooth the top (image 13).
Step 5: Scatter the streusel topping on top and the sliced apple (image 14), then bake until the edges are golden brown (image 15) and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean (don't poke through the fruit, which will skew the results!).
Cut the cake into squares after it's cooled down to serve it. This apple cake will keep for 3 days, covered.
Baking Tip
Like most fruit-based cakes, this apple pecan cake takes a long time to bake. Be sure to use a few methods to check if the cake is done baking (like the skewer test).
Check the cake at a few spots and press the surface gently to make sure the cake has set and springs back when pressed. Even if the edges brown significantly, the inside will not dry out.
Other Desserts with Apples
If you'd like to bake more with apples, check out these recipes:
If you tried this recipe for apple butter cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Apple Butter Cake
Ingredients
For the streusel topping
- 120 grams pecans chopped
- 100 grams dark brown sugar
- 63 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 30 grams rolled oats (or large flake oats)
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 72 grams unsalted butter melted
For the apple butter cake
- 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 10 mL baking powder
- 5 mL ground cinnamon
- 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 160 grams unsalted butter softened
- 100 grams dark brown sugar
- 2 large egg(s)
- 240 grams apple butter
- 30 mL brandy
- 2 Cortland apple(s) cored, peeled, and diced fairly small
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Prepare a 9x9-inch (23x23 cm) loaf pan by greasing and flouring it, then line the bottom with parchment.
To make the streusel topping
- In a medium bowl, combine the nuts, brown sugar, flour, oats, and salt.
- Drizzle in the melted butter and stir it in with a fork until the mixture resembles a coarse crumble. Set aside.
To make the cake
- Slice one of the apples and peel, core, and dice the other one. Set both of these aside (see note).
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition, then add in the apple butter and brandy.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl, and stir to just combine, then add the chopped apple.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and set aside.
- Arrange the sliced apple and sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the top.
- Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted through the centre (not through the fruit if you can avoid them!) comes out clean. This takes about 45 minutes,
- Let the cake cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Substitutions that will work:
- Nuts—I used pecans but you can use chopped walnuts or even chopped hazelnuts. For a nut-free version, use sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds.
- Apple butter—replace it with another fruit butter, like pear butter (which is easier to find). You can still incorporate fresh apple with this.
- Fresh apples—I've tested this recipe with Cortland apples and Gala apples. Honeycrisp would also work. Use any apple variety that holds up to baking well. Don't use McIntosh, for example, which turns to mush when heated.
- If you use a variety of apples that browns when cut, please soak them in a lemon juice bath (dilute lemon juice in water) to ensure they don't brown excessively after cutting. Strain and blot them dry before incorporating in the cake.
- Check the cake at a few spots and press the surface gently to make sure the cake has set and springs back when pressed. Even if the edges brown significantly, the inside will not dry out.
Nutrition
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