Old-Fashioned Applesauce Cake with Butterscotch Frosting
This Applesauce Bundt Cake is soft, moist, and spiced just right, the kind of cake that feels nostalgic but still wows at the table. The applesauce keeps every bite tender for days, while the rich butterscotch frosting slowly drips down and clings to the ridges of the cake. Simple to bake, beautiful to serve, and impossible to stop slicing into.
Servings 16
Calories 752kcal
Ingredients
Applesauce Cake
- 4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3 cups sugar
- 4 eggs room temp
- 3 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1 ½ cups chopped pecans
Butterscotch Frosting
- 1 cup butter cut into pieces
- 2 cups dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a bundt pan well with butter getting into all the crevices. Lightly flour and shake out any excess.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. Set aside.
- Add butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture alternating with the applesauce, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the pecans and pour into the bundt pan. Even out the top so that it is level.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes until a long toothpick or knife comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack in the pan for 20 minutes then invert onto a rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Frosting
- Add butter, brown sugar, salt, cream and milk to a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until the sugar has melted and a thermometer reads 225º, about 2-3 minutes. Pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer and allow to cool until it is warm but not hot, about 10 minutes,
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat on high until it is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar or cream to get the consistency you need.
- Once the cake has cooled, pour the slightly warm frosting over the cake allowing it to drip down the sides. Refrigerate for a few minutes to allow the frosting to set.
Notes
- It only takes a few minutes for the frosting to set, but if your'e in a hurry you can refrigerate it.
- Make sure that a knife or cake tester comes out without crumbs from the center of the cake.
