This apple cake recipe is moist, easy to make, and delicious with a cup of coffee for breakfast or as a lighter dessert. It uses applesauce and shredded apples for natural sweetness and extra moisture, and is flavored with chai spice for warm fall notes. The cake stores well and keeps its texture throughout the week.

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Perfect Apple Cake

When you need a crowd-pleasing dessert or a satisfying breakfast treat, this apple cake delivers. The batter comes together quickly: mix the dry ingredients, whisk the wet ingredients, fold everything together, bake, and finish with a light cream cheese frosting. The texture is tender and not overly sweet, making it versatile for different occasions.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This recipe keeps ingredients simple so the cake can be enjoyed as breakfast or dessert. The balance aims for subtle sweetness, bright apple flavor, and a tender crumb.

Main ingredients

• Apples — a tart apple like Granny Smith or a sweet variety like Honeycrisp both work. The recipe uses shredded apple; if you only have whole apples, shred or finely chop them and squeeze out excess moisture if needed.
• Applesauce — adds moisture and boosts apple flavor without extra fat.
• All-purpose flour — keeps the cake light rather than dense.
• Chai spice — a warming mix of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg complements the apples. Use your favorite blend.
• Light brown sugar (or coconut sugar) — for caramel notes and extra moisture.
• Eggs — provide structure; use large eggs.
• Greek yogurt — adds tang and tenderness while reacting with the leaveners to give a light crumb.
• Vanilla extract — enhances overall flavor.
• Baking powder and baking soda — the right combination helps the cake rise evenly.
• Almond milk — thins batter as needed; use unsweetened plain almond milk or another milk of choice.
• Maple syrup — a bit in the batter and also in the frosting for natural sweetness.
• Coconut oil — the fat in this cake; can be substituted with another neutral oil if preferred.

How to Make Apple Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch cake pan with parchment paper or grease it well so the cake releases easily.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, baking powder, baking soda, chai spice, and salt. Whisk to blend.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Add the applesauce, shredded apple, Greek yogurt, and almond milk and gently combine.
4. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl to break the yolks, then stir them into the wet mixture until just combined.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just mixed. Avoid overmixing to keep the cake tender.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake at 350°F for 30–33 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake no longer jiggles.
7. While the cake bakes, prepare the cream cheese frosting: beat room-temperature cream cheese with Greek yogurt and maple syrup until smooth and spreadable.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting. If the cake is still warm, the frosting will melt.
9. Once cooled, spread the frosting evenly over the cake. Dust lightly with extra chai spice or sprinkle chopped nuts if desired.

Everything You Need to Know

Recipe Details

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 30–33 mins | Total: about 50–55 mins | Servings: 9

Ingredients (serves 9)

Dry

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 teaspoons chai spice (or similar warm spice blend)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wet

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups shredded apple (about 3 medium apples), with excess moisture removed
• 1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
• 1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
• 4 large eggs
• coconut oil or neutral oil as called for in the batter

Frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (reduced-fat or regular)
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, nearly room temperature
• 1/3 cup maple syrup, or more to taste

Instructions (condensed)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9×13 pan with parchment or nonstick spray.
2. Whisk dry ingredients together, then set aside.
3. Mix sugars, maple syrup, and vanilla; add applesauce, shredded apple, yogurt, and milk. Whisk eggs separately and add in.
4. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Pour into pan and bake 30–33 minutes.
5. While baking, beat frosting ingredients until smooth. Cool cake completely before frosting.
6. Garnish with extra chai spice or chopped nuts if desired.

Tips & Notes

• Tested in aluminum and ceramic pans — both worked well. Use whatever you have on hand.
• Oven temperatures vary; start checking at 25 minutes to avoid over-browning.
• If the top browns too quickly, tent foil over the cake for the remaining bake time.
• For a sweeter frosting, add more maple syrup to taste.
• This recipe was updated on 11/4/2022; adapt quantities and ingredients to suit dietary needs and flavor preferences.

Photography: photos in this post were taken by the photographer credited with the original post.