Delicious and moist Apple Spice Sheet Cake, paired with beautiful and tangy Blackberry Mascarpone frosting.
For years I thought that sheet cakes are boring. A 'too simple' of a dessert, that doesn't challenge me enough and can't be made as beautiful as a layer cake.
Oh boy, was I wrong.
My friend Emma @emmaduckworthbakes, whom I met only on IG but hope one day to meet in person, convinced me otherwise a couple of weeks ago when she posted her beautiful Caramel Sheet Cake with Browned Butter frosting.
And that's how this Apple Spice Sheet cake with Blackberry Mascarpone frosting came to life. Initially, I wanted to make it as a layer cake, obviously. But seeing Emma's stunning cake made me rethink my decision and try something new.
I was definitely going out of my comfort zone here, both in baking and photography. Emma is such an amazing food stylist and photographer, and I love being inspired by and learning from my friends.
So this one is for her, for helping me being better than I was yesterday. 🙂
How to make this apple spice sheet cake?
I'm glad I decided to make this cake as a sheet cake, because that means literally EVERYONE can make it.
Yes, it's that easy, it doesn't require any special baking skills, so if you're a beginner baker I say go for it! It's an amazing bake to start your baking journey, promise! 🙂
This cake is made using the reverse creaming method. That means that you basically need to combine wet and dry ingredients, with a little help of an electric mixer (hand or standing one).
But even if you don't have one, you can make it with the good ol' whisk.
To bring the apple flavour, I decided to use applesauce. Usually I'll make my own, but this time I was in a hurry, so I bought organic applesauce which I really like.
If you want to know how to make homemade applesauce, then check out this post on Caramel Applesauce cupcakes.
As for spices, I opt for the ones enhancing the apple flavour best, but not being overpowering: cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. But of course, if you're a ginger or an allspice fan, feel free to make this cake your own by adding all the spices you like. 🙂
baking tip
I always suggest checking the cakes before the baking time stated, because not all ovens are the same. If your oven is running cold, opening the oven door before could result in a lightly sunken cake in the middle. But fret not, you're covering it with frosting either way, so no one will notice! 🙂
When making the frosting, make sure to use the best possible ITALIAN mascarpone cream cheese. For this frosting, it's best to have all things cold, because you can't beat heavy cream successfully if it's room temperature.
frosting tip
Depending on your jam thickness and addition to frosting, you can end up with some leftovers. You can keep it in the fridge and use for sandwiches, or you can spread it on the cake pieces when serving - it's delicious! 🙂
for more delicious recipes, check out these...
Caramel Popcorn Chocolate Cake
Apple Crumble Cheesecake with Salted Caramel sauce
Cookie Butter Swirl Brownies
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Yogurt Lemon Pie Bars
Doughnuts filled with Orange pastry cream
Pumpkin Spice Tiramisu
If you make this delicious apple spice sheet cake, let me know by tagging me on Instagram @anasbakingchronicles or tell me all about it in the comments section down below. I love seeing your creations! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
Happy baking!
Love,
Ana
📖 Recipe
apple spice sheet cake with blackberry mascarpone frosting
Description
ingredients
Cupcakes
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 420 g all-purpose flour
- 250 g light soft brown sugar
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 140 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 115 g sunflower oil
- 360 g applesauce
- 100 g greek yogurt
- 2 + ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 3 + ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 + ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Blackberry jam
- 350 g frozen blackberries
- 200 g caster sugar
- lemon zest
blackberry mascarpone frosting
- 350 g mascarpone cream cheese
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 150 g heavy cream
- 4-6 tablespoons blackberry jam
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat your fan oven to 160°C or 325°F. Grease and line with baking paper a 9x13 inch (23x32 cm) pan.
- In a bowl of a standing mixer sift and combine flour, both sugars, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add butter and mix for a minute, until you get sand-like texture.
- Add oil, eggs, greek yogurt and applesauce and mix everything until just combined. Don't overmix it. In the end, add vanilla extract.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and spread it evenly using an offset palette knife. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until it's springy on the top and the skewer inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean - with just a few crumbs.Once it's done, let it cool in the pan on the cooling rack for approx. 30 minutes, before removing it from the pan and allowing it to cool completely.
blackberry jam
- Cook frozen blackberries with sugar and lemon zest over a medium-high heat, until it reaches boiling. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for approx. 15 minutes or until it thickens. It’s better to be thicker than looser, the plan is to lose a lot of water content and have concentrated flavour. Strain the jam through a sieve to get rid of blackberry seeds and make it smooth and beautiful. Cover it with cling film and leave it to cool in the fridge.
blackberry mascarpone frosting
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix mascarpone, powdered sugar and blackberry jam until smooth and combined. Add cold heavy cream and mix until everything is nicely incorporated.
Assembly:
- Put the apple spice cake on a serving plate or a wooden board. Spread the blackberry mascarpone frosting evenly, making some rustic swirls with the offset palette knife. Decorate with thinly sliced apples, blackberries, mint leaves and some spices.
Notes
- You can use a hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer.
- If you still don't own one, I advise you to buy a kitchen scale - they're cheap and easy to use, and always guarantee the same results in baking! 🙂
- Not all ovens are the same. I suggest to check the cake at 37-38 minute mark and then adjust the time accordingly.
- The number of servings depends on how big/small you cut your cake, but it feeds approx. 20 people and the nutrition facts are calculated automatically with 20 as a max serving size.
IMPORTANT
All the recipes are developed and tested using only metric measurements and a kitchen scale. The U.S. cup and spoon measurements are provided for your convenience, but I highly recommend getting a digital kitchen scale and measuring in metrics. It's easy and always guarantee the same results in baking!
Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
Phoebe says
SO GOOD! The perfect recipe for the beginning of fall
tldr, WOULD DEFINITELY MAKE AGAIN!
Ana Zelić says
Ahh, I'm so happy you liked it! Thank you!
Lynn says
Is it possible to use corn oil or vegetable oil as opposed to sunflower for this recipe?
Ana Zelić says
Hi Lynn,
you can use vegetable oil, yes. Sunflower is the one most available to me, so that's what I use. I've never heard of corn oil, and I know a lot of US-based bloggers use canola oil, so that could probably be a good substitute as well.
Hope this helps! x
Jan says
Hi Ana, this sounds delicious! I’d like to make it for Thanksgiving next week. Do you think that this would work as a 3 layer cake? In between the layers I’d pipe the jam and cream. Would the mascarpone frosting hold up on the sides? My thought it to make it a day in advance. Thank you.