This is the ultimate salted apple cake. It’s made with my homemade apple butter for extra depth of flavor, layered with a spiced apple pie filling, and topped with brown sugar, warm spices, and salt. Everything combines for an absolutely epic slice of cake.
Want more apple recipes? I’ve got you covered:
Salted Apple Cake Ingredients
All-purpose flour: I use King Arthur AP flour, spooned and leveled
Butter: Unsalted and softened
White sugar: Granulated
Apple butter: Either homemade or store-bought is just fine
Milk: Room temperature. If you don’t have apple butter, you can double the milk
Eggs: 2 large, room temperature
Vanilla extract: Adds a little depth, can sub vanilla bean paste
Baking powder & baking soda: To help the cake rise
Pumpkin pie spice: This has a beautiful combination of common warm spices, like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom
Salt: Both for the batter and for the TOP of the cake (trust me)
Brown sugar: For the topping
Apples: For the filling, I use 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp, diced. Then I thinly slice a third for the topping (optional)
Filling ingredients: Apples per above, apple cider (or sub water), lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice, cornstarch
How to Make Apple Cake
Step 1: Make the filling
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment. Set aside.
Combine the diced apples, lemon juice, apple cider (or water), cornstarch, salt, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the apples have softened, but still have a little bite. Set aside to cool.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients
Combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together and set aside.
Step 3: Cream together the butter and sugar
Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix, starting on low and steadily increasing to low medium/medium, until it’s combined and fluffy. Do not overmix!
Step 4: Add the wet ingredients (it will look curdled!)
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on low until combined before adding the next one. Then add the vanilla and apple butter, mixing on low until combined. Slowly add the milk, mixing on low. The mixture will look curdled thanks to the acidic apple butter and milk. Don’t sweat it — the dry ingredients will fix that right up.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients
With the mixer on low, add the flour about ½ cup at a time, waiting for it to be incorporated before adding the next ½ cup. Once all of the flour has been added, shut off the mixer and finish mixing the batter with a spatula. We don’t want to overmix this!
Step 6: Layer your cake
Pour about ½ of the batter into the baking dish and spread it around. I just eyeball the amount. Next, take the cooled apple filling and add it in, like this:
Spread that out so it covers the first layer, and then top with the rest of the batter, spreading it out also so that it covers the apples completely (it’s okay if a couple peak though, though).
Step 7: Top the cake
If using sliced apples, add them now to the top layer. I like to do three lines, but you can choose your destiny in whatever works for you. Next, you’re doing to sprinkle a decent amount of brown sugar on top. I eyeball this, making sure everything is covered. Once done, I sprinkle some pumpkin spice on top and then about 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt. I swearrrrr the combination is FIRE.
Step 8: Bake the cake
Bake the cake in your preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes, or until it’s set. Remove and let rest in the cake pan for 15 minutes before moving to a wire rack. I’d say let it cool completely, but I’ve never been able to do that myself. HEHE.
Apple Cake
Equipment
- 1 8×8 cake pan
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 apples, peeled and diced I use 1 Granny Smith & 1 Honeycrisp
- ¼ cup apple cider or water
- 3 tbs brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ lemon juiced
- Pinch salt
For the batter
- 2 cups AP flour spooned and leveled
- 1 stick unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup apple butter
- ¼ cup milk room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For the topping
- 1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced optional
- ¼ cup brown sugar more if preferred
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice more if preferred
- 1-2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 8×8 cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add the filling ingredients to a pan. Bring to a boil, then lower and let simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the apples have softened a bit but still have a bite. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice) and mix together. Set aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low, and increasing to about medium, until creamed together and fluffy. Do not overmix.
- With the mixer on low, add one egg and mix until combined. Add the second egg and mix until combined. Then add the vanilla and apple butter. Once combined, slowly add the milk. The batter will look curdled. This is normal.
- On low, add the dry ingredients about ½ cup at a time, waiting for it to be incorporated before adding the next ½ cup. Once everything is adding to the mixing bowl, shut off the mixer and finish mixing with a spatula. You don't want to overmix this!
- Pour ½ of the batter into the cake pan, spreading it out. Then add the apple filling and spread it out. Pour in the rest of the batter and spread it, making sure to cover the apples (it's okay if a few peak through!)
- Add the sliced apples to the top if using (I do mine in 3 rows), then sprinkle the brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes, or until set. Remove and let rest in the cake pan for 15 minutes before moving to a wire rack. I'd say let it cool completely, but I've never been able to do that myself. HEHE.
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