This moist brown butter cinnamon apple cake combines nutty browned butter, juicy apples, warm cinnamon, and a tender sour cream cake for an easy fall-inspired dessert.
Estimated nutrition
Per serving
Based on 9 servings
- Calories
- 405 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 55 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
Actual values can vary with brands, amounts, and preparation.
Ingredients
Loading serving controls…- 170 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 120 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp fine salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.3 tsp ground nutmeg, optional
- 3 medium apples (about 450–550 g), peeled if desired, cored and diced into 1–1.5 cm pieces
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
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Instructions
- 1
Prepare the pan: Heat oven to 175°C / 350°F. Grease and line an 8×8-inch (20×20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper.
- 2
Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until it foams and the milk solids become deep golden brown and smell nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Immediately pour into a heatproof bowl, scraping in all the browned bits. Cool for about 10 minutes until warm but not hot.
- 3
Prepare the apples: Toss the diced apples with lemon juice and brown sugar. Set aside while preparing the batter.
- 4
Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg if using.
- 5
Mix the wet ingredients: Whisk the granulated sugar into the warm brown butter. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in the sour cream, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- 6
Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Fold gently just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.
- 7
Add the apples: Fold the prepared apples into the batter along with any remaining juices. The batter will be thick.
- 8
Fill the pan: Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- 9
Bake: Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The center should spring back lightly when gently pressed. If the top browns too quickly, loosely tent with foil during the final 10–15 minutes.
- 10
Cool: Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Lift it out using the parchment and cool for another 20–30 minutes before slicing.
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