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Apple Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12

Ingredients

Apple Cake:

  • 4 cups apple ~4 large apples peeled, cored, and diced into ½” cubes (don’t use too sweet of an apple—we love pink crisps)
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • ½ cup butter melted
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cinnamon Walnut Sprinkle:

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ cup walnuts or pecans optional

Browned Butter Cream Cheese Icing:

  • 1 stick browned butter
  • 1 stick cream cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • In a large bowl, add diced apples, vanilla and eggs. Stir until combined
  • Add sugar, cinnamon,ginger, cardamon and butter. Stir until combined
  • Add flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir again until combined
  • Grease a 9x13 pan and pour in the batter. Set aside
  • For the topping: mix sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts with finger or a fork. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set aside to cool before icing

Browned butter cream cheese icing:

  • In a small saucepan, add a stick of butter and place over medium high heat
  • Stir and keep a close eye until little bits of golden butter form
  • Once the butter gets golden, remove it quickly and move it to a new container to cool and ensure it does not burn. Wait for the butter to become solid again before using in the icing (you can pop it in the freezer to speed up this process)
  • In the base of a kitchen aid or large bowl with a hand mixer, add cooled, browned butter and cream cheese
  • On medium high speed, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy (around 2 minutes)
  • Add salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whip until combined
  • On low speed, add the powder sugar ½ cup at a time
  • Once all the sugar has been added, turn up the mixture and whip on medium high until light and fluffy (around 2 minutes)
  • Spread icing over the cooled, sheet cake in an even layer. This is a generous amount of icing, so add as much or little as you like