Two years ago, when I was trying to use up a giant jar of homemade applesauce that was taking over my fridge, Liam suggested I try making cake with it. I laughed at first, thinking applesauce belonged in baby food or as a side dish, not in dessert. After some digging through my grandmother's old recipe box, I found her handwritten card for applesauce cake tucked between her famous sugar cookies and banana bread recipes. What started as a way to avoid wasting applesauce has become our go-to comfort dessert that makes the whole house smell like fall, no matter what season it is.
Why You'll Love This Applesauce Cake
This applesauce cake recipe fixes every problem I've ever had with homemade cakes. You know how some cakes turn dry the next day or require perfect technique to come out right? This one stays moist for almost a week because the applesauce acts like a secret moisture ingredient that keeps giving. The texture is incredibly tender without being dense, and the warm spices make it taste like you spent hours planning some complicated dessert when really it takes about ten minutes to throw together.
What really sold me on this recipe happened last winter when my neighbor stopped by unexpectedly with her kids. I had nothing to offer except this Applesauce Cake that I'd made the day before, and I was honestly embarrassed because it seemed too simple. But her kids devoured their slices and asked for seconds, and she kept saying it reminded her of something her grandmother used to make. That's when I realized this easy applesauce cake has that special quality of tasting like childhood memories, even for people who've never had it before.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Applesauce Cake
- Ingredients For Applesauce Cake
- How To Make Applesauce Cake
- Equipment
- Storage Tips
- Variations on Applesauce Cake
- Substitutions
- Top Tip
- Grandma's Secret Fix Passed Down for Generations (Now It's Yours)
- FAQ
- Time to Bake Your New Favorite Comfort Cake!
- Related
- Pairing
- Applesauce Cake
Ingredients For Applesauce Cake
The Foundation:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Vegetable oil
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
The Spice Blend:
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground allspice
- Baking soda
- Salt
Optional Add-ins:
- Extra cinnamon for dusting
- Chopped walnuts or pecans
- Raisins or dried cranberries
- Mini chocolate chips
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Applesauce Cake
Prep Work:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Grease 9x13 inch baking pan
- Line with parchment paper for easy removal
- Gather all ingredients at room temperature
Mix the Wet Ingredients:
- Whisk together applesauce, oil, and eggs
- Add vanilla extract
- Mix in both sugars until combined
- Don't worry about it being perfectly smooth
Combine Dry Ingredients:
- Whisk flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in separate bowl
- Add baking soda last
- Make sure no lumps remain
Bring It Together:
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients
- Stir just until combined - don't overmix
- Fold in nuts or raisins if using
- Batter will be thick but spreadable
Bake to Perfection:
- Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly
- Bake 35-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean
- Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing
- Dust with cinnamon while still warm
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- 9x13 inch baking pan
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Whisk or wooden spoon
- Wire cooling rack
Storage Tips
Counter Storage (5-6 days):
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil
- Keep at room temperature
- Actually gets more moist over time
- Don't refrigerate unless really hot weather
Freezer Magic (3 months):
- Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap
- Store in freezer bags
- Thaw at room temperature
- Tastes just as good as fresh
Make-Ahead Tips:
- This cake is better the next day
- Make 1-2 days before serving
- Flavors blend together overnight
- Perfect for party planning
Travel-Friendly:
- Wrap whole cake in foil for transport
- Won't dry out or fall apart
- Great for potlucks and picnics
- No special handling needed
Keep It Fresh:
- Cut pieces as needed, don't pre-slice
- Store cut side covered with plastic wrap
- Add piece of bread to container (absorbs moisture)
- Avoid storing with strong-smelling foods
Portion Control:
- Cut into squares and freeze individually
- Great for lunch boxes
- Perfect single servings
- No temptation to eat whole cake
Variations on Applesauce Cake
Chocolate Applesauce Delight:
- Replace ⅓ cup flour with cocoa powder
- Add mini chocolate chips
- Use chocolate frosting instead of cinnamon dusting
- Kids absolutely love this version
Apple Walnut Crunch:
- Fold in chopped walnuts and diced apples
- Sprinkle oat streusel on top before baking
- Drizzle with caramel sauce when cool
- Perfect fall dessert
Spiced Raisin Version:
- Add ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
- Extra cinnamon and touch of ginger
- Cream cheese glaze on top
- Tastes like old-fashioned spice cake
Lemon Applesauce Twist:
- Add lemon zest and juice
- Use lemon extract instead of vanilla
- Light lemon glaze finish
- Surprisingly refreshing
German-Style Bundt:
- Bake in bundt pan (45-50 minutes)
- Add cardamom and reduce cinnamon
- Dust with powdered sugar
- More elegant presentation
Substitutions
From making this cake for different dietary needs and ingredient emergencies, these swaps work well:
Applesauce Alternatives:
- Mashed bananas → Same amount as applesauce
- Pumpkin puree → Use ¾ the amount
- Greek yogurt → Plain, unsweetened only
- Mashed sweet potato → Cooked and cooled
Flour Options:
- Whole wheat flour → Use ¾ cup per cup of all-purpose
- Gluten-free flour blend → Same amount as regular
- Oat flour → Grind oats in blender, use same amount
- Almond flour → Use ½ the amount, add extra egg
Sugar Substitutions:
- Coconut sugar → Same amount as brown sugar
- Honey or maple syrup → Use ¾ amount, reduce oil slightly
- Sugar-free sweetener → Follow package conversions
- All brown sugar → Skip white sugar, use all brown
Oil Replacements:
- Melted butter → Same amount, cool first
- More applesauce → Replace half the oil
- Greek yogurt → Plain, same amount as oil
Spice Swaps:
- Apple pie spice → Use 2 teaspoons instead of individual spices
- Pumpkin pie spice → Works great too
- Just cinnamon → Use 2 teaspoons if missing other spices
Top Tip
- About a year ago, I was making this applesauce cake for a church potluck when I realized I was out of regular applesauce. All I had was some homemade chunky applesauce that my neighbor had given me from her apple tree. I was tempted to run to the store, but I was already behind schedule, so I decided to just blend it smooth and see what happened.
- That cake came out with the most incredible texture and flavor I'd ever made. When I tasted it, I could actually detect little hints of the different apple varieties in the applesauce - some tart, some sweet, some with that crisp apple flavor you never get from store-bought. The cake had more depth and complexity than any version I'd made before. It turns out that really good applesauce makes a really good cake, which seems obvious now but never occurred to me.
- Now I always try to use the best applesauce I can find for this best old fashioned applesauce cake. Sometimes I make my own if I have time, but even just buying the good stuff from the farmers market or natural food store makes a noticeable difference. The cheap, watery applesauce from regular grocery stores works fine, but if you want to take this cake from good to great, upgrade your applesauce.
Grandma's Secret Fix Passed Down for Generations (Now It's Yours)
My Great-Grandma Helen had a trick with this applesauce cake that she never wrote down in any recipe card, but every woman in our family knew about it. When I was little, I watched her make this cake dozens of times, and she always did this weird thing where she'd save a few spoonfuls of the applesauce and mix it with a little brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Then, right before the cake went in the oven, she'd drop little dollops of this mixture on top and swirl it in with a knife.
For years, I thought this was just Grandma being extra, until I tried making the cake without doing her little swirl trick. The cake was good, but it was missing something. When I finally remembered to do the applesauce swirl like she taught me, that cake came out with these amazing pockets of concentrated apple-cinnamon flavor scattered throughout. Some bites were more intense than others, which made eating it feel like a little treasure hunt.
FAQ
What does applesauce do to a cake?
Applesauce cake adds moisture and keeps the cake tender for days. It also adds natural sweetness and a subtle apple flavor. The pectin in applesauce helps bind ingredients together, creating that soft texture that makes this easy applesauce cake so special. It's like having built-in moisture insurance.
What does applesauce replace in cake mix?
Applesauce can replace oil or butter in cake recipes. Use ¾ cup applesauce for every 1 cup of oil. It reduces calories and fat while keeping the cake moist. Some people also use it to replace eggs, but oil replacement works better for texture.
Does applesauce replace eggs or oil in baking?
Applesauce works better as an oil replacement than egg replacement. For eggs, use ¼ cup applesauce per egg, but expect denser results. For oil, use ¾ the amount of applesauce as oil called for. This moist applesauce cake uses applesauce as the main moisture source alongside oil.
How does applesauce affect baking time?
Applesauce can slightly increase baking time because it adds moisture to the batter. Check for doneness 5 minutes past the normal time. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs - don't overbake since applesauce keeps it tender naturally.
Time to Bake Your New Favorite Comfort Cake!
Now you have all the secrets to making the best old fashioned applesauce cake - from using high-quality applesauce for deeper flavor to the simple mixing method that keeps it tender for days. This cake has become our family's go-to comfort dessert, and I know it'll become yours too. Every time I make it, I'm reminded that sometimes the most humble ingredients create the most satisfying treats, especially when little hands are helping measure and mix.
Looking for more homemade favorites? Try our Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe that delivers that perfect chewy texture everyone loves. Need something elegant for special occasions? Our Easy Coconut Cream Pie Recipe brings tropical flavors to any gathering with surprisingly simple techniques. For celebrations that call for something spectacular, our Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe creates those gorgeous layers that make every occasion feel special!
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Applesauce Cake
Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and prepare a 9x13 inch pan by greasing it and lining with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the wet mixture and stir until mostly smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until fully mixed. Fold in any optional add-ins like nuts or raisins.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread evenly, and bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.
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