Spiced Apple Cider Cake | The Best Cake Recipes (2024)

Take in the aromas of the season with this spiced apple cider cake. It’s perfect to pair with a warm drink or serve after dinner for a sweet treat.

Have you heard about snack cakes? They’re all the rage. Small, many times unfrosted and perfectly portable. And now we have one for fall.

This Spiced Apple Cider Cake is loaded with double the apple flavor: applesauce and apple cider. Both pair to make this simple cake perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon snack.

Why you’ll love this cake:

• 100% homemade.
• It’s light and moist.
• No frosting needed…or top with your favorite vanilla frosting for a special treat.
• Makes a small 8×8 cake.

Key Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda & salt
• Granulated sugar: If you’d like you could replace half of the sugar with brown sugar or dark brown sugar for a deeper flavor.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg: I love saigon cinnamon and buy large bottles of it at Costco. And if you can buy a nutmeg whole and use freshly grated nutmeg it really kicks the flavor up.
• Applesauce: I keep unsweetened applesauce on hand so use that, but either will work.
• Unsalted butter: Salted butter will work too.
• Apple cider: This is NOT apple cider vinegar. This is apple cider drink, made from apples picked early in the season and left unfiltered and raw. If you can’t find apple cider you can use apple juice. Whatever you do, do not use vinegar!
• Egg
• Vanilla extract

How to Make Spiced Apple Cider Cake

Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with cooking spray or grease it with butter. You can also use a 9″ square baking pan or even a 9″ round baking pan. Watch the baking time closely if you change the pan size.

• In a small bowl, combine together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In a large separate bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until well combined.
• Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a small dish for sprinkling the top before baking. Set those two tablespoons aside.
• Add the applesauce, melted butter, apple cider, egg and vanilla extract to the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Stir to combine.
• Slowly add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture and whisk to combine. Do not overmix.

• Carefully pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
• Sprinkle the reserved cinnamon-sugar mix over the top of the batter.
• Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Frosting Ideas

Looking for a frosting to add to this spice cake? Try one of these:

• Cinnamon buttercream
• Caramel frosting
• Mascarpone buttercream
• Easy vanilla frosting

Storage Instructions

This cake is safe to store at room temperature for up to 4 days. It also freezes well for up to 6 weeks.

Apple Cake Recipes

If you love apples, try one of these other popular apple cake recipes: