You need just one bowl and one pan while preparing this quick and delicious spice cake with applesauce and pecans.
This is a great recipe because it's easy AND it's good! I always cut the amount of sugar in cakes, and cut this to 1 cup sugar only and it was fine (unless you have a very sweet tooth). I made it first with too much applesauce (to finish the jar I had), and it came out way too dense although my children loved it. When I made it a second time with the right amount of applesauce, the consistency was pefect. I also sprinkled the top with a sugar and cinnamon mixture before it baked and it made the cake look nice without any frosting.
Read MoreThis is a great recipe because it's easy AND it's good! I always cut the amount of sugar in cakes, and cut this to 1 cup sugar only and it was fine (unless you have a very sweet tooth). I made it first with too much applesauce (to finish the jar I had), and it came out way too dense although my children loved it. When I made it a second time with the right amount of applesauce, the consistency was pefect. I also sprinkled the top with a sugar and cinnamon mixture before it baked and it made the cake look nice without any frosting.
WONDERFUL!! Quick, easy, moist and delicious. I cut the recipe in half -cooking for one- and used an 8" sq pan, baked for 40 min, but next time I'll probably use the full recipe and freeze half. I used a simple vanilla glaze and spread over a still warm cake. Even had some for breakfast this morning- after all it does contain fruit.
Everyone LOVES this recipe! It alwasy comes out perfectly. May suggest slightly undercook by 1-2 minutes. Great for kids too...the cake itself is not overly sweet, and does not need icing, although is does taste yummy either way. Simple directions, basically...a no fail delicious cake.
I forgot to add to my previous review - I omitted the nuts in the cake and added instead organic raisins soaked in rum for 24 hours. I also used maple frosting (confectioners sugar frosting with mostly cream cheese, a little bit of butter, a dab of milk and some maple flavoring.) A delicious combination!
Very moist and tasty. Instead of using a 9 x 13 pan, I filled 6 individual bundt pans plus 6 cupcakes and baked for about 20 minutes (till toothpick came out clean). I served this on Thanksgiving. See the photo of how the little cakes were decorated.
This was a very flavorful and tasty cake. I would definitely make it again. However, my cooking time differed drastically from the recipe. My cake was done in 25 minutes.
This cake is moist and delicious - a complete crowd pleaser. I had to leave out the walnuts because I can't eat them and was going to substitute pecans but realized I had none, so that will be my next attempt at this recipe. The only thing I changed besides that was to add just a bit of nutmeg because it just seemed to be begging to be in there! Excellent recipe, a winner all the way. This one is definitely going into the family recipe album!
This cake has great flavor and texture. Very moist and delicious. However, a cream cheese frosting would, in my opinion, be too overwhelming. Instead, I used a simple caramel glaze (1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. light brown sugar, 1 tbsp. milk or cream; bring to boil over medium heat then glaze cake). Everyone loved this cake with the caramel glaze. In the future, since I omitted the pecan cream cheese frosting, I would add more walnuts to the cake itself.
This was pretty good and it is very easy to make...my daughter and boyfriend made this cake (under my supervision) with good results. My daughter really liked this cake. However, I did omit the pecans when making the frosting as the walnuts in the cake were enough "nuts" for us. Thanks Glenda.
Very good cake. We liked the flavor of the cake and the nuts in the frosting. But the frosting was a little too sweet.
This was good. I replaced half the white flour with whole wheat pastry flour (you'd NEVER know). I cut down the sugar in the cake by 3/4 cup, and cut the frosting sugar in half. It was still plenty sweet for our taste. I was too lazy to put the pecans in the frosting but I'm sure that would have been good. Next time I'm going to slightly increase all of the spices.
This is a very good cake, especially the cooked pecans in the frosting. My husband raved about it. I will be making this on a regular basis. The recipe will have a place on my refrigerator for quick reference. Thanks soooo much!
This was a great cake! It was very moist. I did up the cinnamon to a full teaspoon and I also added 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg because I wanted it to be more spice than applesauce flavor. I didn't use the recipe for frosting because I already have a cream cheese frosting that I love (found on this site) that is not overly sweet. I thought this one called for way too much sugar, so I didn't even try it. The flavor of this cake was outstanding! Like a nice carrot cake, minus the carrots and raisins. Oh! One other slight change. I subbed 3/4 cup of the sugar for Splenda. I did think that the order of mixing the cake was very odd, but it turned out just fine. The butter was very hard to encorporate as written. Next time, I'll mix traditionally, creaming the butter with the sugar, then adding eggs, etc... All in all, this recipe (albiet a tad quirky) is a keeper and I will make it again and again.
I made this into cupcakes and topped some with maple cream cheese frosting and some with caramel frosting. Both combinations were absolutely delicious. The cupcakes were moist and had just the right amount of spice.
This was superb! I left out the nuts and added cinnamon to the frosting and it was LOVED by everyone that tried it. It was moist, flavorful and delicious!
I made this for my daughter's first birthday and it was wonderful! I left out the cloves, allspice and nuts, though I did put in a whole teaspoon of cinnamon. I also used homemade applesauce, which was not pureed but just mashed up with a potato masher. I used a fluffy white (7-minute) frosting recipe, but I think it would have been just about perfect with a cream-cheese frosting!!! The cake was delicious and moist and I will be making this again, and again and again! Thanks for the recipe!!!
The 2nd time I made this I used MELTED butter, IMO the method in the recipe makes a drier,coarser cake. I also cut the amount of sugar. Nice balance of spices, the cake is definitely better the day after baking to allow the flavors to blend. Can't comment on the frosting, I used my own recipe.
this was a very good, very moist cake. tastes better the second day. i used almond extract in my frosting and it worked very well.
Loved this cake! I used my homemade applesauce, added a pinch of nutmeg and raisins. With fall in the air it was a perfect dessert....thanks so much!
Quick, easy and called for stuff I always have around. The best way to use all those quarts of applesauce from last fall. Moist and tender flake; the icing was lovely but not necessary to enjoy this wonderful treat. Even better refrigerated and enjoyed the next day. Recipe begs for add-ins like shredded carrots or zucchini. Y.U.M.
This cake is top notch! I used cake flour and homemade spiced applesauce. I will be making this cake again! I didn't use the icing recipe as I have my own perfected cream chees icing. SOOO GOOD!
I thought this cake was delicious, however, at first I thought it was a bit dry. After letting it sit for a few days it became more moist. I had read the same comment from another reviewer. I thought it had great flavor but I was not crazy about the nuts in the cake. I would leave them out next time. The icing is fantastic!
This recipe is WONDERFUL!!!! I made it for a birthday, and it was a huge success. Moist, flavorful, great texture, the works. This is going in my forever-file. My only changes - I took it out somewhere around 42 minutes instead of 50, and since I had to omit the nuts, I added 1 T. of butter of the frosting to make up for the lack of the butter pecans. Great job - thank you!!
I loved the taste of this cake. It had just the right amount of spice and the frosting was out of this world! The only negative was that my cake did not rise, it got to be only the height of a bar-type cake. Did anyone else have this problem?
This is fantastic! It took quite a bit less time to bake than the recipe said, but I'm sure that had partly to do with using a glass baking dish. I only baked it for 35 minutes. I used whole wheat pastry flour, only used 1 1/4 cups sugar, and left out the nuts. No frosting. I'm taking it to my in-laws and am sure I'll get raves. One thing I will change next time is doubling the cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Yummy, moist and wonderful!
Too sweet for my tastes. The cream cheese frosting was a bit overpowering, too. Both those are really easy fixes, though. Next time I'll cut the sugar in half and use a vanilla frosting. This is a very nice recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I followed the recipe exact. I personally did not like the texture and taste, however, everyone one else that I served it to did. It was a little to moist. The frosting was a 5 star. I would use it on other cakes.
Nice recipe--very tasty. I would recommend that you note the cooking time since my 1st attempt was not quite as moist as I would have liked. I will check mine after about 40 min. (for my oven) the next time I make it. Didn't put the pecans in the frosting, and don't even think I'll add frosting the next time. It really didn't need it.
This recipe is fantastic and was a big hit! I picked it because I needed to use up some leftover buttermilk and I just happen to have applesauce at home as well. The only thing I changed was instead of 1 1/2 cups of white sugar, I did 1 cup of sugar and then a 1/2 cup of soft dark brown sugar. Instead of all of the individually listed spices I just used pumpkin pie spice and a little extra ground cinnamon. Just minor changes - nothing radical - and again, this is a fantastic cake!
This was a little more dense than I expected but everyone seemed to love it nonetheless! A good basic applesauce cake. I would definitely make it again.
This was an excellent cake. I used homemade applebutter in place of the applesauce and halved the spices. Other than that this was made exactly as stated and it was moist, spicy, not too sweet and kept really well. The icing could probably be cut in half and still have been enough for the cake since it was rather sweet and I still had some left over with the amount in the recipe, but that was just preference. Easy enough to fix, though. We used it as a spread on some banana bread and it was another perfect match! Thank you for a great recipe.
Moist and delicious cake. Last time I tossed in there a bag of dried fruit and turned into a beautiful fruitcake. My kids loved it!
My whole family enjoyed it. Very easy to make. I also left out the nuts since my children don't like in the foods.
All I have to say is "Wow!" I loved this cake! I, too, had buttermilk and cream cheese that I wanted to use (and a huge jar of applesauce). I made some slight changes. I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flavor (always do). It's really good quality flour, so you can't even tell. I also cut and shredded one granny smith apple and added it to the batter. I omitted the nuts/melted butter in the icing and just made cream cheese frosting. I didn't quite put 4 cups of sugar either. Oh, and mine didn't take 50 mins either, but I never bake anything for as long as recipes state. My oven is very hot, so it always takes less time. This recipe is a keeper. It is absolutely delicious!
I kept to the recipe only adding a teaspoon of vanilla and a half cup of organic raisins. I also used homemade applesauce. I made muffins out of this recipe (I skipped the frosting today, though next time I make this, I will try it) and I actually got 18 muffins out of one recipe. Moist and delicious. When I make this again, I would double the spices but honestly, that's a personal preference. Four and a half stars.
I love this. The only thing is the kids weren't to crazy about the nuts in the cake. Maybe next time will leave out.
The cake was moist and tender but not that apple-y. The butter didn't blend well with the applesauce. If I were to use this recipe again, I'd stick to my intuition: beat the butter and sugar a few minutes (to aerate), beat in the eggs, stir in applesauce and buttermilk, and fold in the dry ingredients.
I used the advice of some of those before me and used apple sauce with no added sugar and baked the cake for about 35-40 minutes... Turned out perfectly!
A delicious cake! Moist, nice spice combination, and the crunchy nuts are a wonderul addition. I left out the suggested topping and applied regular cream cheese frosting. Yummy!
I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago without the nuts because I had intended to freeze it, and it still turned out wonderfully. My boyfriend took one bite, turned to me and said "Honey, this the best cake ever." Thank you Glenda. P.S. If it makes it to the freezer, it freezes very well.
I used this cake in our Oktoberfest Baking Contest! I won second place!!!! I changed using chuncky applesauce and used my own cream cheese icing recipe. Also I made this into a layer cake and in the middle spread caramel ice cream topping. It was SUPER YUM!!!
The flavor was outstanding. I made the cake in 2 9" pans, for a layer cake. The next time, I think I'd make 3 8" layers, as the cake went over the edges of the pans, but the flavor was out of this world. (I adjusted the baking time to 25 minutes, with my convection oven.) As another reviewer did, I omitted the nuts, and added a bit of maple syrup to the frosting. Yummy and a nice addition to our Thanksgiving meal!
This is the best applesauce spice cake. I used milk instead of buttermilk and i didn't have cloves or allspice so I used 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. It is wonderful.
A kid's review Me and my mom made this cake and it was simply delicious. We did not use or make the frosting though, but it was fantastic anyways. It smells delectible, and is a moist treat. I found this cake a pleasure to eat. Despite what other reviews might say, this is a fine cake, that required no changes to anything. I would make this again.
I had made some applesauce and was looking for a recipe for applesauce cake to use some. Am I ever glad I found this one! Moist, flavorful and oh so easy to make. I like a little darker cake, so I added 2 tablespoons of molasses, but that's the only change. We love it.
This cake was awesome! I've made it twice now and it turned out perfectly both times. The second time I burned the pecans so had to leave them out of the frosting, and it was still yummy! I'm also vegetarian, so I replaced the eggs with an egg replacer product, and it still rose wonderfully. This recipe is a keeper!
Absolutely delicious. Omitted the cloves (don't care for them) and used cinnamon flavored applesauce. Got rave reviews from taking to a birthday party last night. Will definitely make many more times. My oven took 40 minutes--it was perfectly done.
Oh my! So yummy! Slight variations I made were adding nutmeg, omitting allspice, melting the butter. Super delicious. Per suggestion I made a caramel glaze for the top and it was perfection!
I used pear "sauce" instead of applesauce -- I had been canning pears earlier in the day. I subbed walnuts for pecans, peach yogurt for buttermilk and nutmeg for allspice. (Sometimes you gotta use what you got!) It turned out delicious. I'll make it into a layer cake next time. Thanks!
I made the recipe pretty much with as written. I have to agree that the frosting is way too sweet (and I have a sweet tooth), plus it makes more than I need. I see that other reviewers reduced the sugar in the cake, but I used an unsweetened, all natural applesauce so the sugar for the cake was fine. I increased the cinnamon to about 1.5 teaspoons (wanted to empty out the little I had in the jar) and didn't have allspice so substituted an equal amount of freshly ground nutmeg. The cake is moist, sweet, spicy, just what I was looking for. Glenda, thank you for this submission.
Unbelievable!!! I've made many cakes and this one is very quick, easy and delicious! My boyfriend is a real critic when it comes to deserts, but he loved this cake. I followed the recipe exactly except I didn't quite have enough applesauce so I topped it off with some plain yogurt instead... I finished the cake with some vanilla butter cream frosting and it was perfect!!! Thank you... I will definitely be making this again!
The spice cake and frosting were very good. However, I did not include any of the nuts because the cake was for my son's first birthday and nuts are not recommended at his age for allergy reasons. I added brown sugar and cinnamon to the frosting in place of the nuts.
Awesome cake! I didn't use the nuts, because it was for my 2yr old b-day cake, great chioce. It was a hit from young to old!
The cake is great. The frosting is great. But together, the frosting overpowers the cake (too sweet). If I ever made them again, I'd make them separately, maybe just dusting the cake with powdered sugar or even leaving it plain. Chunky applesauce would be tasty.
This cake as written for us was too heavy and I followed the recipe exactly. BUT, made with cake flour (which means about 2 tbps. extra flour per cup) it is a much lighter cake and very very moist. Then I would rate it with 5 stars.
I thought this would make a nice birthday cake for my one year old since he has a September birthday. It had a nice flavor and wasn't too "spicy". I frosted it with cream cheese frosting...mmmmmm!
This cake is fabulous! I served it with vanilla ice-cream and drizzled with homemade butterscotch sauce. An easy dessert that got rave reviews :)
This is delicious! Sooo moist! I did add more of each spice and substituted half the sugar with Splenda and 1/4 with turbinado sugar. Didn't make the frosting. I feel that it doesn't need it.
Yum! Great tasting spice cake - easy, too. Will be making this one again, I know!
Delish. I wasn't sure at first... it was a little dry. But once it sat for a few hours with the icing, everything softened up and it was really moist and delicious. A keeper since I know I have a ton more applesauce to get rid of! I put raisins in mine instead of nuts, so it was very similar to carrot cake. I also used sweetened applesauce because that's what I had. The cake wasn't too sweet even with the additional sweetener.
I made this recipe for our employee/volunteer luncheon at the campground which my husband and I are volunteering. It was a huge hit. One of the guys said he never eats cake because he feels like he needs a gallon of coffee just to wash it down. He took some home with him. I didn't have any allspice so instead I add 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. I also did not add the nuts because of nut allergies. However, as we were eating I thought that boiled raisins would be a great addition.
Easy great cake recipe. I make this A LOT for parties, teachers, school functions. Can't comment on the icing because I never stray from Paula Deen's cream cheese icing.
Delicious cake. I don't like cream cheese frosting so I topped this with the Scrumptious Penuche Frosting on this site and it was awesome!
Very moist cake. Mine did take 45 minutes to bake. I omitted nuts, and rather than making the frosting I just bought a can of cream cheese icing and added about 1/2tsp maple extract. Went nicely with the cake.
An easy and mildly flavored applesauce cake which is even better the second day. As my husband can't eat nuts, I substituted raisins and it turned out perfectly. I used a thick butter vanilla glaze instead of the frosting. Thank for sharing.
I was disapointed in this recipe. I was expecting a light cake, but the texture was more like that of banana bread. It didn't raise very much. The frosting recipe was wonderful and I will use it again.
I Love Love Love this cake and icing.. I have made it several times. Can't say enough about it
This cake was delicious! I did make a few changes. I used part brown sugar instead of all white sugar, used oil instead of butter, and also I also frosted with a brown sugar frosting. Made the frosting by bringing 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, 2 tbsp butter, and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar to boil. Let boil for 2 minutes. Let cool for an hour, then using a mixer, add in another the rest of the stick of butter you cut the 2 tbsp from, plus a second stick. Refrigerate the frosting to set.
Very easy and tastes great. Very moist. Good to give as a gift. I left off the frosting, still very sweet and good.
Very moist cake. I reduced the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 cups....would reduce to 1 cup next time. Also reduced the amount of powdered sugar to 3 cups. Was still really sweet. Would reduce that next time too. I did not put nuts in the the frosting instead I chopped them fine and sprinkled on top and sides for decorative effect. Turned out pretty. Everyone enjoyed the cake.
This was pretty good and it is very easy to make...my daughter and boyfriend made this cake (under my supervision) with good results. My daughter really liked this cake. However, I did omit the pecans when making the frosting as the walnuts in the cake were enough "nuts" for us. Thanks Glenda.
Very good. This is definitely a spice cake; if you want more of an applesauce flavor, you might want to cut back on the spices in it. It is, however, rather lovely as is and is awesome with the frosting as well, which reminds me a bit of German Chocolate frosting. I love the pecans and the flavor. Thanks for the recipe!
wonderful!! In place of cinnamon, cloves,and alspice I used 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice.
This is a great, classic applesauce cake recipe! My only complaint is that I had to cook it for about 20-30 mins more than the recipe said, but that could be because I was using a disposable metal pan since I don't have a regular bundt or cake pan. I followed the recipe almost exactly except I used some homemade spiced applesauce and chopped macadamia nuts instead (since it was all I had). The cream cheese frosting really makes it, but you can leave it off too if you want a simpler cake for breakfast or with coffee.
Pretty good but wayyy too much sugar. Even my Mom, a self-confessed sugar addict, deemed it a bit too sweet. I skipped the frosting and added raisins to the batter instead of walnuts. It's a nice moist cake, and very attractive too, especially when baked in a bundt pan.
Made this for my Daughter's 3rd Birthday. It was a huge hit. Everyone loved it. Did make one change. I didn't make the frosting and used Frech vanilla coolwhip made it a bit lighter and not so sweet. Make this cake the day before and keep it in the fridge. Better the next day.
I used gf flour. Cut the sugar down to 1 cup. For the frosting, I used 1 - 8 oz pkg of cream cheese, pure maple syrup added until I liked the flavor. Sprinkled walnuts on top. Excellent recipe!
I baked it in a jelly roll pan because I was looking for a sheet cake recipe (I thought it would be easier to divide up for 25 people) for 20 mins at 350 and it was perfectly cooked.
I'm on a quest to find the perfect applesauce cake/bread recipe, and this is one of the best ones I've tried so far. It's super simple so I felt comfortable modifying the recipe slightly according to my personal taste (I don't care for allspice so I left that out, added an extra teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of nutmeg; also added 3/4 cup raisins.) One important note: My bread took 1 hour 20 minutes to bake, rather than the specified 50 minutes. Not sure if this was due to the addition of the raisins or some other factor. Just be sure to check the center with a toothpick or knife! Also want to note that the finished texture is definitely denser and more bread-like as opposed to a more open cake-like crumb--but not in an unpleasant way. I left off the cream cheese icing to make this more of a breakfast item. Will definitely make again.
I followed the recommendations of others and only added one cup of sugar and made my own applesauce. I even ground my own spices. But this was rather bland and could have used more spice. It tasted like a muffin or bread, not a cake. I could not even taste the amazing applesauce That was my inspiration. Also, make sure to follow the recipe exactly. This recipe is NOT ‘no-fail’!! Cream the butter and sugar before adding the eggs. I accidentally mixed them in early and ended up overbeating the batter so it was chewy. Also, if you are using a Bundt pan, double the recipe to make a full Bundt ‘cake’ as it does not rise much. And make sure to use a toothpick to test doneness in the middle because mine looked cooked and was springy to the touch but ended up underdone. I would make this again as a bread or muffins or add the full sugar for a cake. I drizzled confectioner’s glaze on mine and sprinkled chopped walnuts on top (didn’t put nuts in the cake) but they would be good in the cake. The less sweet cake would probably be perfect if you added the cream cheese icing. I am a very experienced baker and I found this cake disappointing.
This is the greatest applesauce cake I have ever tried. I am passing this one on to my daughters-in-law!!!! A real keeper!
Getting rave reviews from everyone I share the cake with. Recipients are raving about the moistness, perfect spice balance, and excellent, not too sweet flavour. Also made a gluten free version with Bob's Red Mill One for One mix, which was delicious. A friend who tasted both the regular version and the gf version, said the regular was lighter in texture, and the gf was heavier, denser, but also somewhat richer in flavour. Both were winners, and I am delighted with my gluten free option...
Good recipe, made with Gluten free flour, reduced the sugar as the reviews said. Baked in a 9x13 glass pan at 24mins . Cake had a great taste and moist, cooking any longer it would have been very dry. Good recipe will be making the cake again
This cake did not rise much baked half the time I went by the instructions at 350 oven
This was a real family hit! It was easy, and turned out very moist. I followed the recipe exactly, until it came to the frosting. I found I only needed 1/2 the amount of frosting, and omitted the butter and nuts. It was still very good!
I would give this 4.5 stars. I used cinnamon applesauce and a little less sugar. Nice texture, and frosting topped it off nicely.
I was looking for something that I could use for a Pumpkin/Mousse Spice cake. So instead of using apple sauce, I used pumpkin puree, and 1 3/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, but everything else was the same (didn't add nuts or raisins...Will next time). The cake had an awesome flavor but was quite dense. I had to use a 9x13 pan (couldn't find my round pans), when cooled, cut in half, and then cut the others to make a layer cake with a pumpkin mousse in between, and topped with a cream cheese icing and then toasted pecans. This was awesome!!!!!
