Easy Apple Snack Cake

This Easy Apple Snack Cake is a cozy fall dessert that comes together quickly with simple ingredients like apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sour cream. It bakes up soft, moist, and full of flavor, then gets finished with a light glaze on top. It's perfect for weeknight baking or a relaxed weekend treat.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple, apple cake, cake, fall, snack

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 373kcal

Ingredients

Cake:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups diced Honeycrisp apples divided
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
⅓ cup sour cream
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch kosher salt
2-3 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with baking spray, then line it with parchment paper so it hangs over two sides for easy lifting. Give the parchment a light spray as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add 1½ cups of the diced apples and toss them in the flour mixture until they’re coated. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar with the egg and egg white until the mixture looks lighter in color and a bit frothy. Mix in the melted butter, sour cream, applesauce, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy. Spread it evenly into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the remaining apples over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting it out with the parchment and transferring it to a wire rack. Cool for another 10 minutes.
For the glaze, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the warm cake and serve. The cake keeps well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

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