This apple butter cake is perfectly sweet and lightly spiced, for a delicious dessert!
You’ll love this apple butter bundt cake! It’s the perfect spice cake with a hint of apples, and the cream cheese frosting is to die for! You can make it in the Instant Pot or oven, too!
Note: This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase, this site may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
I’ve loved spice cakes ever since I was a kid, when one of our church members gifted us her homemade version every year for Christmas.
It was perfectly moist, with just the right blend of warm spices, and always wrapped in foil. I could eat my weight in it!
That cake has served as inspiration for many desserts that I’ve made over the years, including tomato soup cake and this apple butter bundt cake.
We love apple butter recipes in our home, whether it’s the homemade Instant Pot apple butter that my kids eat with a spoon, or the apple butter snickerdoodles that we make with it.
So it should have been no surprise that this cake disappeared in less than a day in our home!
More Delicious Apple Butter Recipes:
- Instant Pot Apple Butter with Maple Syrup
- Spiced Apple Butter in the Slow Cooker
- Apple Butter Bread
- Instant Pot Pumpkin Apple Butter
- Apple Butter Muffins
Moist Spiced Apple Butter Bundt Cake
Similarly to using applesauce in a cake, adding apple butter to the batter helps to keep the cake nice and moist.
Plus, the apple butter adds a depth of flavor, with a hint of apple and all of the warm spices we know and love.
Best of all, this recipe starts with a cake mix, so it’s super simple to make!
How to Make an Apple Butter Cake with a Cake Mix
It’s really easy to make a delicious apple cake using a cake mix!
Some of my favorite cakes are made with a doctored up mix, and there’s no shame in making a delicious dessert that isn’t completely from scratch.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Spice cake mix
- Apple butter
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
How to Make It:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Mix the batter. First, you’ll combine the cake mix, oil, eggs, and apple butter to make the batter.
Bake the cake. Next, you’ll pour the batter into a prepared bundt pan.
If you are going to bake the cake in the oven, you’ll go ahead and pop it in and let it bake.
However, if you’re going to “bake” the cake in the Instant Pot, you’ll want to add some water to the insert pot of the Instant Pot.
Related: The Best Instant Pot Cake Recipes
Next, cover the pan tightly with foil (this keeps condensation from dripping into the cake), then use a foil sling to lower it onto the trivet in the insert pot of the Instant Pot.
Then, you’ll pressure cook the cake!
Last, drizzle the glaze. Last, you’ll want to mix up the glaze/frosting and drizzle it onto the cooled cake. Enjoy!
Notes and Adaptations:
- As written, this recipe makes a smaller bundt cake (using half of a cake mix and a 6-cup bundt pan). This pan can be baked in the oven or Instant Pot. If you want a full-size bundt cake, I recommend using the full cake mix and doubling all ingredients.
- Feel free to add some chopped pecans or walnuts to this cake if you desire!
- Don’t have apple butter? You can use pear butter as a great substitute.
Recommended Equipment:
- Bundt pan- I use a 6-cup pan in this recipe, or you can double the recipe and make a full-size bundt cake.
Easy Apple Butter Bundt Cake (Instant Pot or Oven)
This easy apple butter bundt cake is super moist and lightly spiced, then topped with a delectable cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1/2 of a spice cake mix (about 1 3/4 cup of dry mix)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 2 eggs
- For the Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Grease a 6-cup bundt pan well with cooking spray. If baking in the oven, preheat to 350F. If cooking in the Instant Pot, pour 1 1/2 cups of water into the insert pot and set the trivet in place.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cake mix, oil, apple butter, and eggs. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, then increase to high speed for 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into prepared pan.
If Cooking in Instant Pot:
- Cover the pan tightly with foil, and use a foil sling to lower the pan onto the trivet. Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.
- Select a cook time of 26 minutes at high pressure. Allow a 10 minute natural release of pressure, followed by a quick release of remaining pressure.
- After pressure has released, carefully remove lid and lift out the pan.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before inverting onto a plate to cool completely.
If Baking in the Oven:
- Transfer pan to oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean--about 25-30 minutes.
- Allow cake to cool in the pan for a few minutes before inverting onto a plate to cool completely.
- When cake is completely cool, drizzle frosting on top.
To Make the Frosting:
- With an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until a paste forms.
- Slowly drizzle in the milk, a little bit at a time, until desired consistency is achieved. You want it to be thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough to stay on the cake.
Notes
- As written, this recipe will make a smaller bundt cake (the 6-cup pan size that fits in the Instant Pot). If you want to make a full-size bundt cake, I would recommend using the entire cake mix and doubling the rest of the ingredients.
- Feel free to add chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 246mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 1gSugar: 22gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Need another apple cake recipe? Try this apple cider bundt cake!
I’m looking for an apple butter donut recipe. Do you think I can mix a spiced cake and just apple butter to make a donut. I just read a recipe that used a yellow cake mix ad a 15 oz pumpkin puree to make donuts. I want to try it but just trying to see if anyone else would think it would work. I’m on a limited budget and I have a grandson that likes the apple butter I found and use in my wheat apple bread. I make fu foods the grandsons like for birthdays and Christmas. Thank you so much.
Hi Wileen! You’re so sweet to make special treats for your grandson. I have tried the recipe with cake mix and pumpkin puree to make muffins. They turned out okay, but were slightly dry for my taste. Using apple butter might work better, since it contains more liquid than pumpkin puree. I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say for sure. Otherwise, I think you could use this cake recipe to make baked donuts. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out!