Go Back

Apple Cider Cake

Apple cider cake with warm spices and a tender crumb, baked in two 9-inch pans and layered with fluffy cream cheese frosting. Reduced apple cider adds a gentle tang, and a caramel drizzle finishes the stacked cake.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 540
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cider cake
  • 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp allspice
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 lb unsalted butter softened
  • 1.5 cup brown sugar packed
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup apple cider reduced to 1/2 cup
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
For cream cheese frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 0.25 cup butter
  • 3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp cider apple cider
Caramel drizzle for finishing
  • 1 caramel

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 2 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Reduce cider and prep pans
  1. Reduce apple cider to 1/2 cup, then cool completely so it won’t melt the batter. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch pans with a thin coat.
Mix dry ingredients
  1. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt until evenly combined. The mix should look uniformly speckled with spices.
Cream butter and sugar, then add eggs
  1. Beat softened butter and packed brown sugar until very fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, then beat in the reduced apple cider until smooth.
Alternate dry ingredients and sour cream
  1. Alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream to the butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
Bake and cool
  1. Bake for 35–40 minutes at 350°F, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
Make frosting and assemble
  1. Beat cream cheese frosting ingredients (cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons cider) until fluffy and spreadable. Frost the top of one cooled layer, stack the other layer, then frost the outside.
  2. Drizzle caramel over the stacked cake so it cascades down the sides. Use a spoon to create thin, uneven lines for the layered look.

Notes

Pro tip: reduce the apple cider until you truly measure 1/2 cup—too much liquid can make the batter dense. Store the assembled cake covered in the fridge for up to 4 days; freeze unfrosted cake layers wrapped tightly for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the fridge, then frost. For a lighter option, use low-fat cream cheese and reduce butter to 3 tbsp in the frosting.