🍏 What Exactly Is Apple Butter?

Despite the name, there’s no dairy in apple butter—it’s a slow-cooked spread made by simmering apples with cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar until the fruit caramelizes into a thick, silky “butter.” Originating in German and Dutch farm kitchens, apple butter was the tastiest way to preserve the harvest long before freezers existed.

The flavor is deeper than applesauce, richer than jam, with notes of caramel, warm spice, and toasted apple skins. One spoonful instantly conjures flannel shirts, hayrides, and crackling bonfires—aka everything we love about fall.

🎃 Why This Cake Belongs on Your Fall Table

This recipe marries a fluffy white-cake base with ripples of apple butter, so every slice delivers pockets of gooey cinnamon goodness. We finish with a tangy cream-cheese frosting boosted by—you guessed it—more apple butter for double the orchard flavor.

Taste profile: Imagine a classic spice cake, but lighter, moister, and bursting with apple-cider-donut vibes. The icing adds creamy balance, making the cake just sweet enough while letting that caramel-apple note shine.

Serve it: slightly warm with a mug of hot cider, or cold from the fridge for midnight snacking. Either way, crumbs mysteriously disappear.

🧾 Ingredients

🍎 Apple Butter Icing

• 8 oz unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1–2 Tbsp apple butter (adjust for stronger flavor)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt

🎂 Cake

• 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients on box)
• Apple butter for swirling (about ½ cup)
• Non-stick spray
• Two 8-inch round cake pans

📋 Instructions

• Make the frosting: Beat butter & cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar, vanilla, salt, and apple butter. Chill.
• Prep the pans: Preheat oven to 350 °F (or box temp). Grease pans with non-stick spray.
• Mix & swirl: Prepare cake batter as directed. Divide evenly between pans, then dollop and swirl apple butter into each pan with a knife.
• Bake: 25-30 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
• Frost & serve: Spread chilled icing between layers and over the top. Slice, inhale that fall aroma, and enjoy!