Fresh apples baked in a moist, delicious cake and topped with pecans and an amazing glaze! This delicious Apple Snack Cake recipe is perfect for a coffee break, a lunch box treat or a delicious dessert any day of the week!
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Frosted Apple Snack Cake – my favorite snack cake recipe!
I know I’ve probably mentioned it a time or two, but fall is hands-down my favorite season. College football, cool crisp weather, pumpkins, fall festivals and back to school supplies – all of these things bring such warm feelings and happy memories. Now that we live in Northern Virginia the past several years we’ve begun a new fall family tradition of going apple picking in the Shenandoah mountains.
There are some gorgeous orchards not far from where we live, and we always seem to come home with way more apples than we know what to do with. This year I’ve got a great recipe to enjoy those sweet, delicious apples – my Frosted Apple Snack Cake!
How this simple snack cake recipe comes together:
Step 1: Start with a Cake Mix!
With the help of the Pillsbury Purely Simple Vanilla Cake and Frosting mixes, this snack cake couldn’t be easier to make! The batter comes together quickly and easy. For this snack cake, I poured the batter into a 15″ baking pan, which will allow for nice sized squares of cake.
Once I spread the batter, I will sprinkle my apple chunks right on top. When baking, this cake will make your house smell amazing! The aromas of apples and cinnamon are such a wonderful fall fragrance!
Step 2: Bake the Cake and Let Cool
After baking, allow your cake to cool for about 10 minutes. From here, have your chopped pecans ready, and mix up your Pillsbury Purely Simple Vanilla Frosting. You could easily spread this over the entire cake, however, I like to drizzle it, which makes it look really pretty! Allow the frosting to set for a few minutes before cutting and enjoying the cake.
Would you prefer a homemade frosting option? Check out my simple tutorial for How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting here:
Step 3: Glaze and Add Pecans
The pecans sprinkled on top add a nice crunch to the cake. I love pairing pecans with apples, as they complement each other well. You could easily spread the frosting over the entire cake, however, I like to drizzle it, which makes it look really pretty!
Allow the frosting to set for a few minutes before cutting the cake into slices.
Step 4: Slice and Enjoy
Cut the cake into snack sized squares for everyone to enjoy! The inside of this snack cake turns out wonderfully moist and delicious thanks to the sour cream. I really love adding sour cream to mixes, as it keeps it so moist!
I also mixed in cinnamon and nutmeg to the batter for a delicious, spiced fall flavor that pairs wonderfully with the apples.
What can I serve with apple snack cake?
Snack cake is great just by itself, but would be even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
Are you a fan of easy sheet cake recipes? Check out some of my best sheet cakes:
Buttermilk Sheet Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Banana Pecan Sheet Cake with Maple Frosting
Grandma’s Best Chocolate Sheet Cake
If you loved this delicious fall snack cake recipe, be sure to check out some of my other fall treats:
Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Apple Cider Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Dutch Apple Tart with Cinnamon Pecan Crumble
Here’s the easy recipe for my Frosted Apple Snack Cake:
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Frosted Apple Cinnamon Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. Pillsbury Purely Simple Vanilla Cake Mix
- 1 c. sour cream
- 1/4 c. water
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 c. fresh apples peeled and diced
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/3 c. chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 c. Pillsbury Purely Simple Vanilla Frosting Mix
- 2 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 15" baking sheet with baking spray. Set aside.
- With a hand or stand mixer, mix together the cake mix along with the sour cream, water and eggs. Mix until creamy and no lumps remain. Add in the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until combined.
- In a small bowl coat the chopped apples with the 2 Tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Evenly sprinkle the top the batter with the apples. Bake the cake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
- While the cake cools, prepare the frosting by mixing together the frosting mix and milk. Stir until no lumps remain. Chop pecans.
- Drizzle the cake with the frosting, and top with the chopped pecans. Let frosting set before cutting. Enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Leftovers will keep for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition
This cake makes such a fantastic fall treat! Surprise your kids with a yummy after-school snack or lunch box treat. Bring these snack cake squares into work to enjoy with your co-workers and staff. This cake is also perfect for a PTO meeting, or a fall festival or celebration!
I hope you get to enjoy the bounty of fall and the wonderful treats that come with this glorious season. Enjoy! ~Erin
I want smell-o-vision for this recipe!! YUM!
That looks so good! I have an apple cake I love to make in the fall, but I put a full layer of cream cheese frosting over it. I like this drizzling idea instead. It’s much prettier and would also be easier! #client
Looks so yummy! Perfect for an after school snack to start the school year right!
O this looks great for fall! Pinning! 🙂
Featuring your recipe on the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & shared. Hope to see you again soon.
Well now I’m ready for a snack! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner Link up!
Apples are great in so many forms. You made this one look really pretty. And it doesn’t have to be entirely from scratch. Thanks for sharing on Family Joy Blog Link-up. Please come back and join us again! Remember to leave your host a comment to increase the chance of being featured.
This apple cake sounds amazing. Pinned.
Bev
Loved it! Made it last night and all the ladies in my office asked for the recipe!! This will be a go to in my recipe box!
This looks so yummy!! It screams Fall.
Tis the season for yummy desserts like this one!
This sounds like the perfect snack!
I pinned your awesome Snack Cake, it looks awesome! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and come back to see us real soon!
Miz Helen
Love that it’s so simple to make and looks so impressive! Pinned and will be sharing this in an apple round-up.
thank you for sharing this yumminess at TFT. Pinned and featured xo
Oh boy, I also love Fall and all that goes with it. Can hardly wait to make this. Hope our Target has those cake/frosting mixes. Know Walmart doesn’t which is where we do our big shopping when we get paid, 4th. Wed.of each month which is sometimes 5 weeks between paydays. Last time we got paid was 8/23 and finally get paid again on 9/27, OUCH.
So if Target has these mixes the wait will be worth it. Happy week
Oh yum!! Thank for sharing.
Fall is by far my favorite season and these look like the perfect treat! Can’t wait to try these out!
I am drooling for this right now. Anything cinnamon makes this girl happy. Great recipe!
I love the smell and flavor of cinnamon. I’m a little bit behind but I wanted to make sure to check out your post – and thank you for joining the What’s for dinner party. Have a wonderful weekend and hope to see you at tomorrow’s party too!
These look absolutely delicious. I love the smell of cinnamon through the house. Perfect for autumn! Thanks for joining us at last week’s Reader Tip Tuesday! This week’s party is up and growing all week! We hope to see you there…
Perfect fall dessert! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann