Have extra sourdough starter on hand? This easy apple cake is the perfect solution. Made with fresh apples, cinnamon, and a touch of molasses, it’s moist, flavorful, and topped with a light cream cheese frosting.
Fall means apples, and baking, and spices, and cozy afternoons in the kitchen. And this recipe is the embodiment of all of these things. This is one of my very, very favorite sourdough recipes for fall and I make it every year.
Ingredients
I love having boiled cider on hand and I think you will too, for everything from apple cider cookies to drizzling (just a tad!) in your coffee. But if you don’t want to buy any, you can make your own too. It’s done by simply reducing apple cider in a pot on the stove until it reduces by 1/8. (You can find full instructions here. It’s easy but takes a long, long time.)
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For the Cake
- ½ cup butter, unsalted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup boiled cider (if you don’t have it, you can reduce apple cider on the stove or substitute with applesauce + a little extra molasses)
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 medium apples, grated (use a box grater or food processor)
- 1 cup sourdough starter discard (unfed)
For the Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted (this is one stick)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- pinch salt
Instructions
This is easy! I usually just dump the dry ingredients on top, mix them amongst themselves, then stir them in. No real need for a separate bowl. I won’t tell if you won’t.
Step One: Make the Cake Batter
Start by spraying a pan (13×9 works best) and preheating your oven to 350.
This is an easy recipe, and as long as you have an electric mixer of some sort, it won’t take you long to make. I like to shred my apples in the food processor using the shredding disk, but if you have children that you need to put to work, give them a box grater and have them do it!
Start by creaming the butter, sugar, oil, and eggs together in a large mixing bowl.
This will take a few minutes, at least three minutes of beating on medium speed.
Add the molasses and the boiled cider and mix.
Then, in a separate large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add them to the butter/ sugar/ oil/ egg mixture and blend on low until just combined.
Finally, add the discarded sourdough starter and the grated apple and mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Step Two: Bake and Frost
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-minutes
The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean and the edges are slightly browned.
Allow it to cool, right in the pan, for a few hours. You want it completely cool before you frost it.
To make the frosting, just beat everything together until it’s smooth.
Cut into squares and serve directly out of the pan. Easy!
Storage instructions
If you have leftovers, keep them in the fridge so the frosting stays fresh. It keeps very well for a few days if kept tightly wrapped.
My preference is to cut the hole cake into squares, wrap them individually, and freeze in a 2-gallon sized bag. You can pop one in a lunchbox frozen and it will be perfectly ready to eat at lunch.
Troubleshooting
No; it really doesn’t. If you’ve never baked something sweet before with your sourdough starter, don’t worry. There will be no sour taste. There is a (very) slight tanginess, similar to baking with sour cream or Greek yogurt.
Nope. The peel softens in the oven and adds flavor and color, but you can peel if you prefer.
It’s underbaked!
More Sourdough Apple Recipes
Is it strange that I have so many of these? No. It’s fall, it’s baking season, it is the wya it should be.
- Substitute apple cider for water in this apple cider artisan loaf.
- A cinnamon crumble coffee cake with apple flavor
- For an easy breakfast option, make these sourdough apple muffins.
Sourdough Apple Cake
Equipment
- 13 x 9 pan
Ingredients
For the cake
- ½ cup butter unsalted
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup molasses
- ¼ cup boiled cider
- 2½ cups flour
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 medium apples grated
- 1 cup sourdough starter discard/ unfed state
For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- pinch salt
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Instructions
Make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350° with a rack in center. Prepare a 13 x 9 pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Beat the butter, oil, sugar, and eggs together with an electric mixer for 3-5 minutes in a large mixing bowl, until fluffy and lightened in color. Add the molasses and boiled cider and mix.
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) in a separate large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir by hand or with the mixer on low until just combined. Don't overmix.
- Add the grated apple and sourdough starter to the batter and mix by hand until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs. Place pan on cooling rack and allow the cake to cool to room temperature in the pan, for at least an hour.
Make the frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth with an electric mixer. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and whip until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly.
- Frost the cake once cool and serve directly out of the pan. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
This cake has so much flavor! I’ve made it multiple times, always to rave reviews.
thank you Susan! I LOVE this recipe too but haven’t made it this year, think I will 🙂
I found boiled cider at KAF website. I use it in my apple pies as a flavor enhancer.
Where can I get the sourdough starter receipe? Thanks
hi harvetta, follow these instructions https://heartscontentfarmhouse.com/sourdough-starter-recipe/ 🙂
I’d like to make this as a layer cake. Do you think it will work ok? Any comments or suggestions?
hmmm… it’s not super sturdy because it’s so moist! I don’t know! Please let mee know how it goes if you do!
I just made this cake and it is really good. I started nibbling before it even cooled off because the fragrance is so enticing.
so happy you enjoyed it! its one of our favorite fall sourdough recipes 😊
I’m going to make this for a birthday celebration pans am eager to try the boiled cider. What type of molasses do you recommend? Will any type work?
I use grandma’s brand, but any brand will work. but i. wouldn’t use the “robust” kind 🙂
Can you ferment the batter before baking?
I tried this today, and it was a huge success. I had to tweak a couple of ingredients (no boiled cider, so I added a good squeeze of golden syrup, and I used more allspice to make up for the lack of extra ginger and cloves), but the flavour is still lovely! And the cake is moist and fluffy. Thank you for this lovely recipe!
we love apple cake at our house! Can’t wait to try this out
Very delicious cake here…I hadn’t even heard of boiled cider before but wow, it sure infuses a lot of flavour into that cake.
This cake is such a perfect treat!
Katie, I absolutely LOVE the flavors of this cake. However, in the ingredients list I see 1/2 C vegetable oil. But the directions never mention adding that oil. Is it a mistake or should the oil be mixed in w/ the butter, sugar, & eggs (aka ‘wet’ ingredients)?
marsha! yes oil with the sugar butter eggs! i’m fixing it now, thank you!!! 🙂
These are a perfect treat. The only substitution I made to the batter was using molasses and applesauce instead of the boiled cider. I baked in an 8×8, cupcake and mini cupcake tins. The children and husband didn’t even wait for them to be iced they ate them warm straight from the oven. So good! I highly recommend this recipe for using up sourdough discard.
gabby I’m so glad you liked them! I will have to try cupcakes!
Hi! I don’t have apple cider either… what measurements of applesauce and molasses did you use to replace that? thanks!
Can I use water if I have no cider? It is hard to get out in my area. I would recommend ordering the boiled cider if you can swing it!
hi Francia, yes the cake will still work, it just won’t have as much apple flavor!
Delicious cake and frosting. Had a half gallon of cider and couldn’t find boiled cider so I made my own per your link. Thank you!
Jill I’m so glad you liked it! I made it again this weekend too!