Apple Pie Cake

If you’re looking to impress your family this holiday season, this amazing 3-layer Apple Pie Cake will sure do the trick! A delicious apple pie filling is sandwiched between soft layers of vanilla bean cake, all covered in a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Thank you to Silver Spring® for sponsoring this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m sure many of us love our prime rib with a side of creamy horseradish. That is the first dish that popped into my head when I think “horseradish”. But when Silver Spring® reached out to me to create a holiday dessert, it completely changed the way I think about horseradish. It’s more versatile than you think and can work with both savory and sweet!

If anything, this Apple Pie Cake has taught me to think completely outside the box and was a delicious challenge. Now, you’re probably wondering, where did I hide the horseradish in this cake?? The secret is in the cinnamon cream cheese frosting my friends! Silver Spring Foods horseradish gives the frosting a little bit of zing and a truly special flavor. 

Full disclosure: This apple pie cake has gotten rave reviews from my husband’s coworkers, so it is not just me saying it’s good because I made it. Real people loved it!!!

Making the cake batter

This massive 3-layer vanilla cake is scaled up from my beloved mini vanilla birthday cake. It is a hot milk cake, which yields a very fine, soft, dense but moist crumb cake. 

1. Add egg, sugar and vanilla bean paste to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light in color and creamy. Substitution note: 1 tbsp of vanilla bean paste = 1 whole vanilla bean = 1 tbsp of pure vanilla extract.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add the kosher salt, and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Add this to the liquid mixture.
3. Stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and creamy.
4. Warm the milk in the microwave, dissolve butter in the hot milk and add the oil. Add this warm milk mixture to the batter while stirring.
5. Use a spatula to scrape the side and bottom of the bowl to ensure thorough mixing. The cake batter will be thin and runny. This is normal.
6. Divide cake batter evenly between 3 buttered and lined cake pans, about 580 g of batter per pan. Bake until golden.

The easy apple pie filling

I used a similar apple pie filling for a couple of my other recipes like these apple hand pies and apple pie bars. It’s a quick pie filling that can be precooked in just under 10 minutes.

7. Brown the butter slightly in a saucepan.
8. Mix together the diced apples, apple cider, sugar, salt, apple pie spice in a mixing bowl and add the mixture to the brown butter. Cook until the sugar dissolves and the apples are just starting to soften. Substitution note: If you don’t have apple cider, you can use lemon juice.
9. Pour a cornstarch slurry made of cornstarch and water into the saucepan, stir until the pie filling thickens. Substitution note: If you have apple cider, use apple cider instead of water. But don’t use additional lemon juice here, it may be too tart.

The horseradish cinnamon cream cheese frosting

I used the Silver Spring Food fine cut Non-GMO Prepared Horseradish, which is not yet available on retail but will be in early 2021. It has a small, uniform grind size, which is perfect for mixing into this creamy frosting.

10. Beat together softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until creamy.
11. Add powdered sugar and cinnamon, stir to mix, then slowly increase mixer speed to medium and beat just until all the sugar is incorporated and the frosting is creamy and fluffy.
12. Add horseradish. Tip: I suggest adding 1 teaspoon at a time and taste the frosting as you mix it to make sure the heat is to your liking. 3 teaspoons were the perfect amount for my taste.
13. Beat to combine. If the frosting seems soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes to firm up before using.

➤ This frosting recipe will yield just over 4 cups, enough for a naked cake style. If you want thicker frosting, I suggest increasing the frosting ingredients by 1.5 times.

How to assemble the apple pie cake

Make sure your cake layers and apple pie filling are completely cooled before you assemble the cake so the frosting doesn’t slide off it.

14. Spread a layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer, pipe a frosting border around the edge.
15. Layer half of the apple pie filling within the piped frosting border. Repeat for the second layer.
16. Place the third layer of cake on top and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting.
17. Decorate with sliced apples and cookie crumbs if desired.

Baker’s Tips

• Rotate your cake pans halfway or ⅔ way through baking to ensure all your cakes bake evenly. My oven heats unevenly, so the cake in the back of the oven was done about 2 minutes before the rest.
• The cake and apple pie filling can be made the day before and refrigerate if you want to get a head start.
• Even the cream cheese frosting can be made ahead and kept refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature and re-whip until fluffy before using.

Storage

This cake can be kept at room temperature for a few hours while you’re serving it but leftovers should be refrigerated due to the cream cheese frosting. It will last up to a week in the fridge and will stay soft and moist.

I haven’t tried freezing this cake but have frozen other cakes such as this Lemon Blueberry Cake with a lemon curd filling and this Hummingbird Cake with a classic cream cheese frosting successfully. I think you should be able to freeze this cake fine.

I recommend freezing individual slices of this apple pie cake, so it is easier to thaw and serve. Just wrap each slice well in plastic and store in a freeze bag up to 3 months.

What I admire most about Silver Spring Foods is that for nearly 100 years, their business has been family-owned and operated, through 4 generations. Their dedication is shown through the quality of their products. 

Once you’ve tasted this Apple Pie Cake, I promise you will not think of horseradish the same way ever again. I’m excited to try it in other desserts too! What do you think?

More awesome cake recipes

• Pear Almond Cake
• Gingerbread Bundt Cake
• Carrot Cake
• Chocolate Cake
• Red Velvet Cake

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Join my newsletter to get notified when I publish a new recipe. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for more inspirations.

📖 Recipe card

Apple Pie Cake

If you’re looking to impress your family this holiday season, this amazing 3-layer Apple Pie Cake will sure do the trick! A delicious apple pie filling is sandwiched between soft layers of vanilla bean cake, all covered in a cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 50 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 slices

Calories: 645kcal

Author: Trang

Equipment

• Stand Mixer
• 8" Cake Pan
• Pastry Bag
• Pastry Tip Size 807
• Small Offset Spatula

Ingredients

Vanilla cake (3 layers)

• ▢ 3 cup all-purpose flour (400 g)
• ▢ 3 teaspoon baking powder (12 g)
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 6 large eggs
• ▢ 2 ¼ cup granulated sugar (431 g)
• ▢ 3 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (notes)
• ▢ 1 ½ cup whole milk (360 g)
• ▢ 6 tablespoon unsalted butter (3 oz, 84 g)
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil (104 g)

Apple pie filling

• ▢ 4 medium apples (517 g peeled & diced)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider (or lemon juice)
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar (100 g, lightly packed)
• ▢ 2 teaspoon apple pie spice
• ▢ A pinch of kosher salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoon unsalted butter (1 oz, 28 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water (or apple cider)

Frosting (makes > 4 cups)

• ▢ 16 oz cream cheese (room temperature, 453 g)
• ▢ 8 oz unsalted butter (room temperature, 227 g)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ⅔ cup powdered sugar (181 g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 – 3 teaspoon Silver Spring Prepared Horseradish

Instructions

Make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Butter three 8” or 9” cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a piece of round parchment paper cut to fit.
• In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add the kosher salt, and mix with a whisk to distribute evenly. Set aside.
• Add egg, sugar and vanilla bean paste to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
• Microwave the milk in a large heatproof measuring cup or bowl for 1 minute and 50 seconds, add butter to the hot milk and stir to melt completely. Then add the oil to the hot milk and stir. Add the hot milk mixture to the stand mixer bowl while stirring to combine. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to ensure thorough mixing.
• Divide cake batter evenly between the 3 prepared cake pans, about 580 g of batter per pan.
• Bake in the middle oven rack for 35 – 38 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool to the touch. Run a butter knife along the edge to loosen the cakes if necessary and remove them from the pan. Peel off parchment paper at the bottom and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the apple pie filling

• Toss the diced apple, apple cider, brown sugar, apple pie spice and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
• Brown the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat, about 1.5 – 2 minutes, immediately add the apple mixture to the saucepan. Cook until the sugar dissolves completely and the apple pieces are just starting to soften, about 4 minutes.
• Mix the cornstarch with cold water, and add this cornstarch slurry into the saucepan, stir until the pie filling thickens, about 1 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside to cool completely.

Make the frosting

• Add softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer bowl and beat on medium speed with the whisk attachment just until creamy.
• Add powdered sugar and cinnamon, stir to mix, then slowly increase mixer speed to medium and beat just until all the sugar is incorporated and the frosting is creamy and fluffy.
• Add horseradish and beat to combine.
• Refrigerate about 15 minutes before assembling the cake to allow the frosting to firm up.

Assemble the cake

• Add 1 cup of frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (size 807) and set aside.
• Line a cake stand or plate with a few strips of parchment paper and place 1 layer of cake on top.
• Add ¾ cup of frosting on top of the cake and spread it out evenly with a spatula. Pipe a border around the edge of the cake layer using the previously prepared frosting in a pastry bag. Add half the apple pie filling within the frosting border and place the second layer of cake on top. Repeat this step for the second layer.
• Add ½ cup of frosting on top of the third layer of cake and use the remaining frosting to frost the side of the cake.
• Decorate the cake with apple slices and cookie crumbs if desired. Refrigerate for 2 hours to let the frosting set before serving.

Notes

• Rotate cake pans about halfway to ⅔ way through baking.
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste is equivalent to 1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract or 1 whole vanilla bean.
• You can adjust the amount of horseradish in the frosting to your liking.

Nutrition

Serving: 220g | Calories: 645kcal

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