Photo: Taylor Ellingson
One of my fall bucket list items every year is to go to an apple orchard. It keeps getting more and more fun as the kids get older, and they also become more helpful gathering apples. The more helpful they are, the more apples we end up with, which means more apple recipes.
This recipe is a delicious way to use up orchard apples. My secret to a delectable and moist apple cake: shredding the apples. They melt into the cinnamon-spiced cake and don’t take away from the outstanding cream cheese frosting.
Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
For the Apple Cake
- 4 Granny Smith apples, shredded
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. nutmeg, ground
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. allspice, ground
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1–2 Tbsp. milk
- ½ tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in the cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and allspice. Add the flour, and stir until combined. The batter will be thick. Fold in the shredded apples. Spread the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40–45 minutes. The top will be brown and the middle should be baked through. Cool completely, about 1 hour. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Spread over the cooled bars. Cut into squares. Enjoy.
Taylor Ellingson’s blog, Greens and Chocolate, has recipes ranging from healthy dinners and sides to desserts and drinks. You can also find her cookbooks on Amazon.
Facebook: Greens and Chocolate
Instagram: @greensnchocolate
X: @greenschocolate
