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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Brown Butter Apple Oat Cake with Bourbon Pecan Date Caramel Frosting

    Published: Dec 6, 2021 Last Modified: Dec 6, 2021 by Allison

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    This wholesome brown butter apple oat cake features nutty brown butter, warm spices, maple syrup, oat flour, and more. It is a wonderful cake to enjoy both as a snack and for dessert. Take things over the top with the bourbon pecan date caramel frosting, which is whipped up in a food processor. 

    overhead photo of the whole cake, cut into nine slices, on a blue backdrop with apples, tea, and pomegranate around it.

    Are we tired of apple desserts yet? Now that we are into December, I am certainly more inclined to go for gingerbread and chocolatey desserts, but I have to say, apple desserts can still be enjoyed into the winter months! At least, that’s what my dad would tell you. He loves this cake! For all my chocoholic tendencies, he is very much into apple and pumpkin desserts… which is why I’ve been able to diversify my dessert offerings here on the blog. If it were up to me, I would only be sharing chocolatey dessert recipes, ha! 

    a straight on shot of one slice of the apple oat cake on an orange towel

    Anyways, this brown butter apple oat cake with bourbon pecan caramel frosting is very delicious. Even I enjoyed some, and that’s saying a lot given how much I prefer my chocolatey sweets. It’s a riff on my Brown Butter Apple Oat Flour Muffins, which I shared a few weeks ago. This cake is made all the more special thanks to the frosting, made with toasted pecans, dates, butter, salt, bourbon, vanilla, and milk. It’s sweet, caramel-y, and just a wee bit boozy. It is December, after all! 

    offset overhead photo of the cake, with apples and pomegranate around it

    ingredients you’ll need 

    For the brown butter apple oat cake, you’ll need salted butter, eggs, maple syrup, applesauce, milk, vanilla, oat flour, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and apple. 

    For the pecan date caramel icing, you’ll need toasted pecans, Medjool dates, butter, sea salt, bourbon, vanilla, and milk. 

    a straight on shot of one slice of the cake

    the method

    Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 8×8 or 9×9-inch square glass baking dish with butter. Then line it with parchment paper. 

    Make the cake: In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter until it smells nutty and toasted, whisking occasionally, three minutes. Scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot as needed. Let cool for a couple of minutes. 

    In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Once the butter has cooled, whisk it in, along with the maple syrup, applesauce, milk, and vanilla. 

    In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. 

    Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined. Fold in the apple. Transfer into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift out and transfer onto a wire rack to finish cooling. 

    Make the bourbon pecan date caramel icing: In a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade, grind the pecans into a meal. Add the dates, butter, salt, bourbon, vanilla, and milk. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. 

    Once the cake has cooled, frost with the date caramel icing. Slice and enjoy! 

    overhead photo of the cake after being iced

    your questions answered!

    • Is this cake gluten-free? Yes, oats are naturally gluten-free. If gluten is an issue for you, be sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour in this cake. Be sure to use gluten-free bourbon, or omit it. 
    • Is a cracked top normal? Yes, for this cake, a cracked top is normal. That’s just the way it rises in the oven. Don’t panic! The icing covers up all the cracks. 

    more dessert recipes to try this December

    • Vegan Pecan Caramel Bars
    • Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies (Gluten-Free)
    • Vegan Chocolate Cream Pie (No Bake!)
    • Raw Vegan Banana Cream Pie

    straight on photo of a slice of the cake with a bite taken out of it

    straight on shot of a bite of cake on a fork

    I hope that you love this brown butter apple oat cake with pecan bourbon date caramel frosting! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made. 

    Enjoy! 

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    overhead photo of the whole cake, cut into nine slices, on a blue backdrop with apples, tea, and pomegranate around it.

    Brown Butter Apple Oat Cake with Bourbon Pecan Date Caramel Frosting


    ★★★★★

    5 from 2 reviews

    • Author: Allison
    • Total Time: 50 minutes
    • Yield: 9 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    This wholesome brown butter apple oat cake features nutty brown butter, warm spices, maple syrup, oat flour, and more. It is a wonderful cake to enjoy both as a snack and for dessert. Take things over the top with the bourbon pecan date caramel frosting, which is whipped up in a food processor.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • ⅓ cup salted butter
    • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
    • ½ cup maple syrup
    • ½ cup applesauce
    • ¾ cup milk, at room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 cups oat flour
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ginger
    • ½ teaspoon cardamom
    • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
    • ⅛ teaspoon cloves
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
    • 1 medium apple, finely chopped

    Bourbon Pecan Date Caramel Icing

    • ½ cup toasted pecan halves
    • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates (fresh and juicy dates blend up the best)
    • 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • 1 tablespoon bourbon
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • ⅓ cup milk, at room temperature

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 8×8 or 9×9-inch glass baking dish with butter, then line it with parchment paper if you’d like to be able to lift the cake out of the pan after baking.
    2. Make the cake: In a small saucepan over medium heat, brown the butter until it smells nutty and toasted, whisking occasionally, three minutes. Scrape any brown bits off the bottom of the pot as needed. Let cool for a couple of minutes.
    3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Once the butter has cooled, whisk it in, along with the maple syrup, applesauce, milk, and vanilla.
    4. In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
    5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined. Fold in the apple. Transfer into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift out and transfer onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
    6. Make the bourbon pecan date caramel icing: In a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade, grind the pecans into a meal. Add the dates, butter, salt, bourbon, vanilla, and milk. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
    7. Once the cake has cooled, frost with the date caramel icing. Slice and enjoy!
    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 35 minutes
    • Category: Dessert

    Keywords: brown butter apple oat cake recipe

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @upbeet.kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #upbeetkitchen

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    1. Ashley

      December 07, 2021 at 7:30 pm

      Perfect cake. So tasty and full of all the good stuff. Your recipes are so fun!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Allison

        December 07, 2021 at 7:57 pm

        Thanks, Ashley!

        Reply
    2. Arlene

      January 18, 2022 at 7:18 pm

      This cake is delicious! I loved the date icing. Nice and sweet but not too rich.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Allison

        January 18, 2022 at 9:45 pm

        I’m glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    3. Helena

      January 25, 2022 at 10:30 pm

      Any reason why the baking dish needs to be glass? I’m thinking of making this for my son’s first birthday tomorrow, but I’d like to do it in two 6″ round cake pans to make it look a little more festive.

      Reply
      • Allison

        January 25, 2022 at 10:35 pm

        Hi Helena, I’ve only tested this cake in a 8-inch square baking dish, but it should work in two 6-inch round cake pans! I hope you and your son enjoy it!

        Reply

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