Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

I love any excuse to have cake for breakfast!

Or lunch, or dinner, or snacks.

Hey, so real quick. Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK. I know, don't panic (I'm panicking).

The good news is, for those of us hosting an overnight guest or two or four, I made us a perfect make-ahead breakfast treat!

This Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze is festive, decadent and delicious. Apples, pecans, and spices come together in a moist cake topped with a rich, sweet glaze that is out of this world. Since we'll be spending much of our time on Thanksgiving day worrying about how exactly we are supposed to cook a turkey (how do people just KNOW how to cook a turkey?!), this cake is baked up the day before. Slice and serve with hot coffee while you and your family watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for pure holiday morning bliss!

P.S. Are you the aforementioned overnight guest? Might I suggest surprising your host with this beauty? They will love you even more than they presumably already do!

There is something so beautifully vintage about a bundt cake. They are showstoppers in and of themselves. But this cake? Well, that drippy glaze? Those crunchy, toasted pecans? It's practically a work of art. A very delicious work of art that fills your home with the most intoxicating scents of autumn!

Breath, bake, and enjoy this cake.


Here's what you need for Apple Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze* (Print Recipe!)

for the cake
2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour, sifted plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice 

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 cup peeled and finely diced apples

for the glaze

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

3 tablespoons half and half

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

chopped toasted pecans for topping

Here's what you do

for the cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9 inch bundt pan. 

In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugars and lemon zest with a hand mixer for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing completely between each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour together with the baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add 1/4 of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until combined. Add 1/3 of the apple sauce and beat until combined. Repeat the process, ending with the flour mixture. Finally, using a strong rubber spatula, fold in 3/4 cups of the chopped apples.

Place remaining apples on the bottom of the greased and floured pan. Top with the batter and smooth out the top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until a toothpick entered in the thickest part of the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. 

for the glaze

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar. Once melted, stir in the half and half. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and glossy. Carefully pour over the cake, allowing it to naturally drip down the sides. Sprinkle pecans on top. 

*Adapted from Taste of Home