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+ servings
Apple cake with cream cheese frosting.
4.45 from 20 votes

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This apple cake recipe is flavored with homemade chai spices and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 33 minutes
Total 53 minutes
Fat 7
Carbs
Protein 10
Yield 9

Ingredients

Dry

Wet

  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 cups shredded Honeycrisp apple ~ 3 medium apples, moisture removed
  • 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
  • 4 large eggs

Frosting

  • 8 oz. fat-free cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 cup 2% plain Greek yogurt, almost room temperature
  • cup maple syrup or more to taste

Instructions

  • Begin by preheating the oven to 350ºF and line a 9×13-inch cake pan* with parchment paper or spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Next, place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
    Apple cake dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract together until combined and smooth.
    Apple cake wet ingredients in a bowl.
  • Add the applesauce, shredded apple, Greek yogurt, and almond milk to the bowl and carefully mix.
    Apple added to the wet ingredients in a bowl.
  • Crack the eggs into a small separate bowl and gently whisk the eggs to just break the yolks and add them to the wet ingredients and whisk the eggs into the wet ingredients until just combined.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until the dry and wet ingredients are mixed together.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and place the apple cake in the oven and bake at 350ºF for 30-33 minutes.*
    Apple cake batter in a pan.
  • While the cake is baking, place all of the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting into a bowl and use an electric mixer to whip all the ingredients together until the frosting is smooth.*
    Cream cheese frosting in a bowl.
  • Remove the apple cake from the oven and let it cool completely before frosting the cake.
    Apple cake without frosting.
  • Dust the cake with a bit more chai spice or top with your favorite chopped nuts.
    Apple cake with cream cheese frosting.

Tips & Notes

  • We tested this cake in an aluminum baking pan and a ceramic pan and both worked well.
  • Every oven bakes differently, so be sure to keep an eye on your cake about 25 minutes into your baking time to make sure it isn’t browning too much on top.
  • If the cake is browning too much to your liking, tent a piece of tin foil over the top of the cake for the duration of the baking time. If you like your cake frosting on the sweeter side, feel free to add more maple syrup to the frosting.
  • This recipe was updated on 11/4/2022. 

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Nutrition Facts

Calories: 258kcal | Protein: 10g | Fat: 7g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 23g