Apple Butter Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Old-fashioned apple butter spice cake made with buttermilk and topped with cream cheese frosting. Recipe makes one 9 inch square or round cake, or a 9 x 5 loaf cake. A delicious and simple fall cake that's great with coffee, cider, or tea.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword Apple Butter, Apple Butter Cake, Cream Cheese, Loaf Cake, One-Layer Cakes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Cooling Time 1

Total Time 1 50

Servings pieces

Calories 254kcal

Author Emma J. Watling

Equipment

8 or 9 inch square or round pan OR a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan

Ingredients

For the apple butter cake:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves optional
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk see substitute below
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup apple butter

For the cream cheese frosting:

1½ cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons salted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 Tablespoons milk or cream as needed to thin

Instructions

Make the cake:

Preheat oven to 325° F. Grease or spray cake pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) on medium-low speed, cream together the sugars with the shortening until combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Stir in vanilla.
On low speed, stir in half of the flour mixture just until combined.
In a separate cup, stir the baking soda into the buttermilk until foamy. Pour all of the buttermilk into the batter and mix on low until incorporated.
Stir in remaining flour mixture (just until no flour is visible).
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the apple butter until blended.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake until top springs back or a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes for a 9 inch square cake.
Remove cake from oven and let cool in pan about 15 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and cool completely before frosting (about 1 hour total cooling time).

Make the cream cheese frosting:

In a large bowl, add all frosting ingredients and stir until combined. Add a little milk or cream to thin, if needed.
Use a spatula or spoon to spread frosting on the cake.

Notes

Bake time for a 9 x 5 inch loaf cake will be 60 to 70 minutes.

Storage:

If cake is frosted, store in the fridge, covered, up to 4 days.
If cake is unfrosted, it can be kept at room temperature.
To freeze: tightly wrap unfrosted cake and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature overnight then frost, if desired.

The best buttermilk substitute for this recipe is:

1/2 cup full fat sour cream + 1/4 cup milk stirred together. Baking soda can be added to the flour mixture if subbing the buttermilk.

Recipe adapted from: The Washington Post (1982)

Nutrition