Insanely easy apple spice cake with only a few ingredients
This easy apple spice cake is so simple to make. It’s a cake mix based recipe, so it only takes a few ingredients and mixes together super fast.
This cake is amazing and doesn’t taste like a cake mix cake at all. Top it with cream cheese buttercream and everyone will love it.
Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
You do NOT have to spend hours in the kitchen in order to create a really tasty fall cake.
This cake mix based recipe will give you a super moist cake that doesn’t taste like a cake mix and it comes together really quickly.
You can just add a glaze if you want, but cream cheese buttercream is amazing on this cake though.
Let’s Talk About Some of The Ingredients in this Cake:
Spice Cake: You’ll need a spice cake mix for this recipe. Starting with a cake mix is what makes this recipe super quick, easy and fail-proof.
Now sometimes spice cake mixes are hard to find, so if you can’t find one, you can use a yellow cake mix with some spice additions, which I’ll have for you in the recipe card below.
You also will not be adding in any of the ingredients that are listed on the back of the cake box, so just ignore the ingredients and instructions listed on the back of the box.
Apple Pie Filling: You’ll use an entire 21 oz. can of apple pie filling. Make sure it’s not just canned apples. It needs to be apple pie filling.
Eggs: You’ll need three large eggs for this cake.
Cream Cheese Buttercream: This is optional, but it’s SO good on this cake. You could also just use a cream cheese drizzle or glaze if you want to.
Note: You will only add in those three ingredients. You won’t be adding in anything else to make the cake, so don’t pay any attention to the instructions on the back of the cake mix box.
The recipe card close to the end of this post will go into all the ingredients and amounts.
Mixing Method for this cake:
Ok, the mixing method for this cake is what I call the ‘dump it’ method. Seriously all you have to do is dump the ingredients and mix. That’s it.
Tips & FAQs for making the Easy Apple Spice Cake:
You can use a yellow cake mix and then add in 2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ginger and ½ teaspoon cloves
It probably doesn’t matter which brand, but make sure you get the large 21 oz. can of apple pie filling. You don’t want just plain canned apples. You want the actual pie filling.
Ok let’s get to the recipe!
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Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Easy Apple Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 15 oz box spice cake mix (see notes for option if you can't find a spice cake mix)
- 1 21 oz apple pie filling
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cream cheese buttercream:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups confectioner's sugar (may add another cup if needed to thicken the buttercream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (may add an extra teaspoon for even more flavor)
- jar caramel topping (optional for drizzling on top)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9 inch glass pan with baking spray.
- In large bowl, add the dry cake mix, pie filling, eggs and vanilla. Mix for about 2 minutes. The batter will be thick. (Do not add any of the ingredients on the back of the cake mix box. Only mix together the dry cake mix, pie filling, eggs and vanilla.)
- Spread the batter into the pan and smooth.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Cool cake before adding cream cheese buttercream.
For the cream cheese buttercream:
- Mix your butter and cream cheese together in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add three cups of confectioner's sugar and mix well.
- Check your consistency. If the buttercream feels too thin, add another cup of confectioner's sugar. If it’s feels too thick, just add in a teaspoon of milk and mix again until smooth.
- Spread the buttercream over the cooled cake. Optional: Drizzle with caramel topping.
Notes
Nutrition
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DEBBIE CRANDALL
Can you make this cake as a 2 layer cake rather than a sheet cake.
Kara Jane
Yes, I think that should be fine. I haven’t tried it, but I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t work as a layer cake. I’d use two, 8″ round pans.
Janie
Made this very easy Apple Spice cake for dinner guests….oh my word, everyone loved it and asked to take some home. I did cut the apple pie filling chunks into smaller pieces. Definitely making again!!
Kara
Yay! So glad you liked it, Janie. That’s a good idea to cut the apple slices up.
Nancy
Can leftover Cream Cheese Buttercream be frozen?
Kara
Hi Nancy, yes I have done this before and it worked out fine for me. Here’s a post on how I freeze buttercream if you’re interested: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/freezing-buttercream-plus-what-to-do-with-leftover-frosting/
Maria
Can you do as a Bundt cake.
Kara
I think it would work fine as a bundt cake, although I can’t be 100% though as I haven’t tried it that way. I’d probably turn the oven temp down to 325 though and bake it a little longer…that way it doesn’t overbrown.
Briante
Could this same recipe be used to make cupcakes?
Kara
I haven’t tried this recipe out as cupcakes, but it might work okay. They may be denser and not quite as fluffy as normal cupcakes though, but you could try it. I’d bake them at 350 F, but start checking them at around 20 minutes although you may need to bake for a couple minutes more. Just check them with a toothpick to make sure they’re done.
judy
Very good and easy to make! I was surprised how light and fluffy and moist this cake is .I made a buttercream frosting since I didnt have cream cheese and added chopped walnuts on top. I was wondering how your buttermilk brown sugar icing would taste on this cake?
Kara
Hi Judy, So glad you liked this one! I think the brown sugar, buttermilk icing would actually be really good on this cake. I have another apple cake recipe on the site that uses a brown sugar glaze (without buttermilk). If you’d like to check that one out, you can find it here: https://iscreamforbuttercream.com/old-fashioned-fresh-apple-cake-2/
I feel like the topping for that one would be really good for this cake as well.
Thanks again for the great review!
Scott R Barrett
This was perfect for a fall festival gathering I was hosting yesterday! It was a huge hit!
Kara
Thanks for the great review, Scott! So glad everyone loved it!
Brenda Neeley
My cake is really dense and not fluffy. Maybe I over mixed it with my mixer. I did mix it for two minutes.
Was I supposed to mix it by hand or with a mixer?
Kara
Hi Brenda, I’m not sure why it would come out so dense. Usually over-mixing is more of a problem with scratch cakes than cake mix cakes. I will say that this cake is a little more dense than just making a regular box mix though. It’s meant to taste and have a texture that’s a little more like a scratch cake than that of a box cake. It’s doctored cake mix recipe, so it’s not one that would turn out super fluffy as if it was made with just the straight box mix, if that makes sense. Having said that, it shouldn’t be super dense though. It will be a denser than a straight-up cake mix cake, but not super dense. Hope that makes sense. I would check to make sure you used the right sized can of apple pie filling and that the eggs were large eggs and not small or medium. If you try it again, let me know how it goes. 🙂
Angel
Can you put chopped pecans in the batter?
Kara
Hi Angel, yes feel free to add chopped pecans. That would be a great addition.
Rachell
I dreamt of an apple pie cake for my birthday and this is the recipe I went with just as a round cake. Instead of a cream cheese frosting I put more apple pie filling between the layers, whipped up some vanilla frosting to ice it with so it would be like a la mode and made a streusel topping to sprinkle on it 🤤🤤 THANK YOU! You made it easier (and very delicious) to make the birthday cake I dreamt for myself
Kara
I love this! What an awesome way to customize this and make it your own. It sounds amazing! Thanks so much for sharing and for the wonderful review!
Jennifer L Connell
This was really delicious and easy! I will cut up the apple slices next time. It would also be great with some raisins or toasted pecans/walnuts mixed in. It was a hit – everyone loved it!
Kara
Oh awesome! So glad you liked it. Adding raisins and/or nuts is a great idea!
Jenee
How I make this but with real apples? (Have a bunch from orchard trip)
Kara
Hi Jenee, I haven’t tried making this one with real apples. It might turn out just fine though. Maybe try about 2 cups to 2 1/2 cups of chopped apples in place of the apple pie filling. I can’t promise it’ll turn out perfect, since I haven’t tested it out, but it’s worth a try!