Once you try this brown sugar frosting you won’t ever turn back to white sugar again! Where I live in Pennsylvania the locals refer to this type of frosting as “burnt sugar.” I’d never heard of this before moving here from the midwest and boy oh boy am I ever glad that I’ve discovered this little gem! I love making desserts and applesauce with my favorite apples. This apple cake really caught my eye because of how many apples go into it plus a large serving of applesauce.
I love fall baking and this apple cake is the epitome of October goodies.
Ingredients
FOR THE APPLE CAKE:
4 medium-sized tart, firm apples – peeled, cored, & shredded (use the big holes on your grater), to make about 3-1/2 cups shredded apples – I used 2 Zestar and 2 SweeTango, but also highly recommend Haralson and Granny Smith
1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 c. Domino white sugar, divided
3 c. White Lily® Enriched All-Purpose Wheat Flour
1 T. Clabber Girl baking powder
1 T. McCormick cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. Morton salt
1 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. Wesson vegetable oil
1/2 c. Mott’s applesauce
4 large Eggland’s Best eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
FOR THE FLUFFY BROWN SUGAR BUTTERCREAM:
1 c. Land O Lakes unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt
2 T. Borden half and half
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
FOR THE APPLE CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly spray a 9″ x 13″ pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the shredded apple with lemon juice and 1/4 cup of the white sugar. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the remaining 3/4 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Then add the flour mixture and combine once again. Add the apples and mix until the apples are evenly distributed. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the cake is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out of the cake clean. Let cake cool on a rack.
FOR THE FLUFFY BROWN SUGAR BUTTERCREAM:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip butter on medium-high speed until very fluffy, about 8 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and beat on low to incorporate. Add half and half and vanilla extract, mixing on low until combined. Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 to 6 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Optional – Garnish the cake with walnuts or pecans
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Quick Tip: If you don’t have unsalted butter on hand feel free to use salt in the frosting. I had to do this and it came out just fine.
