Brown Butter or Cream Cheese... Cream Cheese!

Making an entire cake just for my family is not a great plan unless we have people coming over for a dinner. This cake seemed like the perfect option for our Thanksgiving Dessert Potluck the night before Thanksgiving at church. It's quite a thing, we have a Thanksgiving service - then enjoy a buffet of desserts - bought and homemade. I felt pretty good that this cake was mostly gone when it was time to go home. I tried a piece and loved the spice cake. It has the perfect warm fall spices. I've also made some decisions on brown butter frosting - I'm not the biggest fan. I would have loved some thick fluffy sweet cream cheese frosting. I love brown butter in cookies or baked in other things - but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it in frosting. Next time I'll try some fluffy cream cheese frosting - I have a feeling then this will be a full winner of a recipe. But hey - if you are a brown butter fan? Go for it!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Applesauce Cake:
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
¾ cup neutral-flavored oil
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 tablespoons salted butter
3 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons milk or cream
1 cup toasted pecans, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch metal baking pan and set aside. (If using a glass pan, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.)
For the cake, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the applesauce, eggs, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Don't over mix.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
For the frosting, place the butter in a light-colored skillet or pan over medium heat. As it continues to cook, it will foam and sizzle. Once melted, the butter will begin to foam and sizzle around the edges. Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula to keep it from burning. As it cooks, the butter solids will begin to brown and it will smell caramelly and nutty. Watch closely so it doesn't burn. Once the solids are golden brown, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a medium bowl to stop the cooking.
Let the butter cool until room temperature and sludgy in consistency, 20-30 minutes.
Using an electric handheld mixer (or transfer the butter to the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), add the softened cream cheese to the butter and mix until well-combined. It will look curdled; that's ok. Add one cup of the powdered sugar and mix until mostly combined.
Add the vanilla, two tablespoons of milk or cream and mix.
Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar while mixing on medium-low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add additional milk or cream to adjust the consistency, if needed. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until very thick and creamy.
Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with toasted pecans, if desired. Cut into squares and serve at room temperature or chilled.