Moist Applesauce Spice Loaf Cake Recipe

Applesauce Cake Iced

The Spruce / Diana Rattray 

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 12 to 16 servings

Applesauce cake is a deliciously moist dessert that's perfect for autumn. Warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and vanilla add to its inviting seasonal flavor, while dates and walnuts contribute to its charm. The recipe is easy, and the cake is sure to be a hit at any gathering of family and friends. It's also festive enough to be a perfect fit for holiday dessert tables.

This recipe is made from scratch using pantry staples, and you can bake this applesauce cake in two loaf pans or a single Bundt cake pan. It's easily customizable too. For instance, one home cook reduced the sugar to 1 cup and used equal parts brown and white sugars with excellent results. You can also switch from dates to raisins, dried cranberries, or chocolate chips, use pecans rather than walnuts, or skip the fruits and nuts entirely. Top the baked cake with a dusting of confectioners' sugar or a sweet vanilla glaze to finish it off.

With a recipe that's so versatile, this applesauce cake can easily become a regular in your baking lineup.

Ingredients

  • Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

  • 1 1/2 cups applesauce

  • 1 cup vegetable oil

  • 3 large eggs

  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 cup chopped dates

  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

  • Sifted confectioners' sugar, or vanilla glaze, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C, Gas 4).

  2. Butter and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan or 2 (8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch) loaf pans.

  3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.

  4. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice until well blended.

  5. Fold in dates and chopped walnuts.

  6. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan or loaf pans.

  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

  8. Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack.

  9. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the rack.

  10. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar or drizzle with vanilla glaze.

Recipe Variation

  • Skip the dates and walnuts if you like. Or use raisins instead of dates and chopped pecans instead of walnuts.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
383 Calories
20g Fat
48g Carbs
4g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 16
Amount per serving
Calories 383
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 26%
Saturated Fat 2g 11%
Cholesterol 37mg 12%
Sodium 249mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 48g 17%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 32g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 1mg 3%
Calcium 35mg 3%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 145mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags: