Brown Butter Apple Oat Cake with Bourbon Pecan Date Caramel Frosting

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. 

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! 

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! 

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. 

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! 

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

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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Brown Butter Apple Oat Cake with Bourbon Pecan Date Caramel Frosting

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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

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

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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.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 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

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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