Apple Layer Cake with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream
This Apple Layer Cake with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream makes a delicously sweet and spiced dessert. It couldn’t be easier to make either, thanks to Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables.
One of my favourite treats to have for dessert with coffee is a slice of delicious cake smothered in delectable buttercream. I can remember the first time I ever tasted buttercream. It was on a homemade cake my mom made for my little sisters birthday. I was completely blown away and obsessed with it ever since.
I was really inspired to try and take Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables and see what kind of awesome and super easy flavoured buttercream I could whip up with it. If you haven’t checked out Gay Lea’s Spreadables, they combine creamery butter with unsaturated canola oil to make it spreadable on any food, right from the fridge. It’s a source of Omega 3, with no added preservatives and real cinnamon and brown sugar.
I honestly wasn’t sure how the buttercream would turn out because of the canola oil but it actually turned out perfect. It was nice and fluffy but stiffened perfectly and the flavour is sweetly spiced. An amazing accompaniment to the apple cake!
For the apple cake I decided to use a yellow cake mix as the base rather than going from scratch and I decided to just add apples and leave out the spices you would normally find in a traditional apple cake as I wanted the cake itself to be light and fruity to balance out the spice of the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream.
Apple Layer Cake with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream
Ingredients:
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix + Ingredients Listed on Box
2 Granny Smith Apples, Chopped
1 Granny Smith Apple, Grated
1 pkg (1 Cup) Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 tbsp Milk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees C.
Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box, using only 2/3 of the water called for.
Mix in both chopped and grated apples then stir to combine.
Pour into two 8″ round cake pans and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into cake.
Let cool 5 mins then transfer to a cooling rack.
When the cake is cool, prepare the butter cream.
With a mixer, cream together the Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables and the Powdered Sugar then add the milk to thin out as needed. The buttercream should be fluffy and stiff enough that it holds a peak when your whisk is held upside down.
To assemble the cake, spread a thick layer of buttercream over one of the cakes then lay the other cake on top.
Spread remaining buttercream over top and sides of cake.
Serve & Enjoy.

Apple Layer Cake with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix + Ingredients Listed on Box
- 2 Granny Smith Apples, Chopped
- 1 Granny Smith Apple, Grated
- 1 pkg Gay Lea's Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables, 1 Cup
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tbsp Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees C.
- Prepare the cake mix as directed on the box, using only 2/3 of the water called for.
- Mix in both chopped and grated apples then stir to combine.
- Pour into two 8" round cake pans and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean when inserted into cake.
- Let cool 5 mins then transfer to a cooling rack.
- When the cake is cool, prepare the butter cream.
- With a mixer, cream together the Gay Lea's Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables and the Powdered Sugar then add the milk to thin out as needed. The buttercream should be fluffy and stiff enough that it holds a peak when your whisk is held upside down.
- To assemble the cake, spread a thick layer of buttercream over one of the cakes then lay the other cake on top.
- Spread remaining buttercream over top and sides of cake.
- Serve & Enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Disclosure: I am part of the Gay Lea Ambassador Campaign with Influence Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.
That cake looks so good, I could go for a slice right about now (hey if it has apples, its okay for breakfast right?)
I use Gay Lea butter when making sausage rolls or eggless pancakes!
I love their spreadable butter! We use it on our english muffins for the eggs benny!
I would say butter for a delicious slice of banana bread!!!
Chocolate cream cheese for bagels.
Their butter to spread on pancakes and crepes.
I am in love with the Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables.
I love using the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter….much nicer than margarine….especially for a special brunch. Thanks
butter – for eggs & toast
Butter for eggs and tosdt
I like their butter
I love the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for homemade bread toasted.
The spreadable Cinnamon & Brown Sugar is so good on a bagel.
The Gay Lea Spreadable Butter is great in winter as it isn’t hard when the house is still cold
I love their butter!! Use it on almost everything
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for pancakes
This Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Spreadable sounds really delicious to me, especially if I make your Apple Layer Cake with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Buttercream.
My favourite is the Real Coconut Whipped Cream.
I’d love to try the spreadable butter
I love their cinnamon butter for toast!
I always have Gay Lea butter on hand for cooking and baking. We also like to have a can of Gay Lea whipped cream on hand for waffles and pie.
Gay Lea Butter and Chocolate cream cheese (so good in oreo balls)
I also like their butter
The Real Coconut Whipped Cream is my favorite – thank you!
Unfortunately, Gay Lea products are not available in western Canada, but I think I would like their butter and whipped cream
I like serving Gay Lea French Onion Dip at a brunch.
It would have to be their butter, we use it all the time.
The butter, pretty much use for everything
Gay Lea Unsalted Butter is my favourite Gay Lea product to use for a brunch. Pancakes, waffles, toast, home fries, almost anything becomes better with butter!
The Gay Lea spreadable butter is so awesome. It doesn’t bust up my pancakes or toast when I try to spread it.
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter is my favourite!
Their unsalted butter is divine for all sorts of breakfast goodies!
My favourite is the salted butter. We’ve only just started getting Gay Lea butter in NL and I love it. I use it for baking everything.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the cinnamon spreadable! Its SOOO good!
The butter to spread on pancakes
I like to use their butter for my butter tarts.
Chocolate cream cheese
My favourite is the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter.
their whipped cream to put on waffles
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter. thanks
butter and whipped cream for my waffles!
the butter
Gay Lea whip cream on my pancakes and waffles!
I’m am very glad for their spreadable butter. Our house is only 2 1/2 yrs old but the heating in my apartment (basement hasn’t worked properly from day one!). This means that normal butter which I kept on the counter had to be microwaved to make it spreadable. With Gay Lea Spreadable Butter that isn’t necessary any more 🙂
love their butter for pancakes!
gay lea butter
I have only ever tried the spreadable butter. So that is the only one I know but I like that it is so easy to put on. I hate cold hard butter that won’t spread.
Their butter for sure
Gay Lea whipped cream
Their butter is amazing!
the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter
gay lea butter
I like using the spreadable butter for pancakes, toast and waffles.
I love the Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables, it is so good on toast and even better on raisin toast or cinnamon raisin bagels.
I LOVE Gay LEA butter on pancakes, breads, I cook with it, so many delicious uses for it!
Butter for eggs and toast!
Cottage cheese
I love the richness of Gay Lea’s butter on french toast!
Coconut whipped cream! Nom. A thousand noms!
I love making pancakes for brunch and using Gay Lea spreadable butter~!
I love their gay lea butter, its so smooth and creamy!
GayLea Butter…Salted!
butter for sure!
My favourite Gay Lea product for brunch is Gay Lea Sour Cream. I love to use it as a topping for fruit or potatoes
It has to be their butter
GayLea Butter for the waffles 🙂
I would like to try the Coconut whipped cream
There is nothing better then the great taste of Gaylea Salted Butter. I love it on my toast, pancakes and french toast. Even a little butter in the frying pan when preparing my eggs.
We only buy their spreadable butter!
The coconut whipped cream is great for pancakes!
The spreadable butter is awesome for brunch! Love it on chocolate chip pancakes.
Gay Lea butter for sure, I use it in all my baking. delicious 🙂
I’d put Gay Lea’s New Coconut Whipped Cream on my pumpkin pie.
Gay Lea unsalted butter makes the most delicious raspberry scones!
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter
We love Real Coconut Whipped Cream.
I like to use the regular sour cream
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for pancakes
My new favorite is the Coconut whipped cream! I’m a little hooked.
I have to admit the only item I’ve tried is the spreadable butter
use Gay Lea butter when making grilled sandwiches
I love love love using Gay Lea butter and Gay lea Whip Cream on top of my waffles. So yummy 🙂
Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables
Their butter to spread on bread!
I love the Gaylea Sour cream to dollop on my salsa that is on top of my scrambled eggs, mmmm, but I also love the Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Spreadable, I can put that on everything!!
gay lea whipped cream! delish!
I use Gay Lea butter for Baking and my favourite brunch recipes! Everything is better with Butter. Gay Lee is our fave as it is fresh and creamy. Perfection every time. Thanks for the chance to win. Ps: I pinned your gorgeous cake! It looks divine! TI have just the Birthday Pal that will love this.
Coconut Whipped Cream
Like their rich and tasty light whipped cream.
butter on my toast!
Low Fat Sour Cream
Their butter for sure
I use GayLea speadable butter
Gay lea whipped cream!
Butter!
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for everything served.
I like the Gaylea butter for baking
Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables. Are great on taost in the morning and on pancakes. my son an d i love it
Love their butter! great on anything !
I use Gay Lea butter when making hash browns
I use it in eggs
I’ve never used Gay Lea products but after seeing the list and the yummy cake, I’ll be on the look-out.
I adore the cream cheese for making cream cheese icing for cinnamon buns! Gay lea is the best.
They make the best butter. It’s my fave!
gaylea butter is the best!
Gay Lea Butter, when making grilled cheese sandwiches
Gay Lea spreadable butter for pancakes & waffles = perfection!
The spreadable Cinnamon & Brown Sugar
The spreadable butter is great on toast .
At our home we try to always have Gay lea butter for everything. A brunch is not the same without the Gay lea butter & whipping cream
I use their cinnamon butter for toast
I like their butter to make homemade cinnamon toast
The Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables are a huge hit at our house.
BUTTER!! Makes everything better 🙂
I like using the Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables on my toast in the morning.
Has to be Gay Lea Whipped cream.
Love their butter!
Cottage cheese! It is delicious just as-is. 🙂
Spreadable butter is just the best.
Cannot live without butter.
Gay Lea Fat Free Sour Cream is amazing on our cheese nachos !
We love Gay Lea in our home. I like their spreadable butter. Nothing worse than tearing your toast apart at breakfast!
we love the Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables., we add it to our French toast to give it a little something extra
The spreadable butter for waffles. yummy
Real Coconut whipcream num!
I use their Regular Whipped Cream for on top of our pancakes!
I like the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for pancakes
Whipped cream on pancakes or fritters.
I love their spreadable butter for pancakes and toast
I absolutely love Gaylea spreadable brown sugar and cinnamon on toast, waffles, bagels anything!!
What a delicious cake idea. I have not tried GayLea yet but I certainly intend to now. Thanks for your grea tblog and sharing terrific recipes! I don’t have a smart phone so no access to Instgram. Facebook notified me a couple of days ago that I can’t LIKE anything for a month because I liked some contests and blogs which they named where apparently the ad was removed. So it is not that I don’t like the sites only that FB won’t let me LIKE them. Woe is me!
For brunches: the butter on fresh bread, whipped cream for Everything!, and Hewitt’s Goat milk is awesome!
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter!
I love the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter for pancakes and waffles!
I love using the spreadable butter on my waffles. Tastes good.
Gotta be their coconut whip cream,yummmmmmmmmmmmm
Gay Lea whipped cream – wonderful!
Butter. Banana Bread!
I only use their butter.
I love Gay Lea light whipped cream!
Anything with cinnamon works for me. Love it
I love using their spreadable butter.
My favourite is gaylea salted butter
We love the spreadable butter, it’s so convenient and use it on everything toast/bagels/english muffins and corn on the cob.
i use the butter but love the spreadable Cinnamon & Brown Sugar on waffles or pancakes
spreadable butter
Gay Lea Real Whipped Cream is great for parfaits.
I love using their butter for my sponge cakes
I can’t name a Gay Lea product!! had to go look them up, had no idea I use them all th time. Real Whipped Cream being the main one!! Also the SourCream. thanks!
like the spreadable butter
This blend of flavours, apples, cinnamon and butter, are my very favourite! I’m adding this recipe to my list to try.
The spreadable butter!! It is so versatile – use it on pancakes, waffles, English muffins, baked loafs (banana bread!!) and all the other yummy brunch items. The recipe above looks soooooo yummy!! Will definitely need to give that a try.
Gay Lea butter- it is so versatile.
Gay Lea Butter for the bacon sandwiches
Sour Cream for my pancakes. If you’ve had it, you’ll agree.
Gay Lea Whipped Cream goes with a good many brunch items here.
I like using their butter.
Gay Lea unsalted butter for my morning toast
Gay Lee Butter to make yummy fruit scones for brunch!
I use their butter all the time
the butter
i like the butter
I love the Gay Lea salted butter as it can be used so many ways-for rolls, pancakes, french toast-so many ways for a beautiful and delicious Mother’s Day brunch.
their butter
salted butter!
spreadable butter!
I use the spreadable on an assorted baked bagels and they taste so good!
I use their butter and coconut real cream for waffles ummmm
The Light Spreadable Butter tastes great on my morning toast!
I like their Ivanhoe feta for my egg white omelettes.
I would have to say the Spreadable Butter is my favourite Gay Lea product; we use it for breads, muffins and bagels, but I also use it in a lot of my baking.
Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil is great for frying etc. Thank you.
Gay Lea Spreadable Butter is great on breads/toast, bagels, crispbreads – the list just goes on & on.
No one said it better than Julia Child “With enough butter, anything is good.” or to paraphrase “Hmmm .. mm. . m butter (purr)”.
The Gay Lea whipped cream is great for all kinds of treats.
I use a lot of Gay Lea sour cream. I have a recipe for sour cream donuts that are great for breakfast (and anytime)!
The cinnamon butter on my waffles topped with some real maple syrup.
I like the cinnamon spread for desserts
I really love their whippe cream on waffles!!
Gay Lea Butter.
whipped cream on waffles 🙂
I love butter. It’s the best.
I LOVE Gay-Lea’s cinnamon and brown sugar spread <3
Cinnamon spread
I would say it would be butter.
Butter 🙂
I like the Gay Lea salted butter to make french toast.
I like their spreadables.
Gay-Lea’s cinnamon and brown sugar spread
It has to be the cinnamon butter – amazing for adding in where reg butter is required. I love it with my french toast
Definitely the cinnamon spread! Yum!
I like to use the spreadable butter on my morning muffin!
Sour Cream goes in so many recipes and adds such a nice taste.
My favourite Gaylea product to use is butter it is great when frying up french toast, eggs, and pancakes; it adds extra depth to food.
Well, I love so many but since I just finished a can of the Coconut Whipped cream I will have to go with that! And the cake recipe you shared, looks absolutely amazing. Will be making that!
My favorite for making a delicious brunch is Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables
we use Gay lea butter
I’ve actually never tried Gay lea product but would love to
If I could buy it here I’m sure I would love the butter and probably most all their other products.
Butter! (There seems to be a consensus!)
Butter
I like using Gay Lea Spreadable Butter on waffles.
i like Gay Lea’s Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables.
Real Coconut Whipped Cream for pancakes,waffles,crepes or to dip berries in
I like the unsalted butter.
Gay Lea Butter
I love the Gay Lea whipped cream
i love the Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables
I like their Cimmamon spreadable butter.
I love the Gay Lea brown sugar and cinnamon spreadables!
I like using the Gay Lea Spreadable Butter.
I have never tried their products before, but would love to try them in the future.
the Spreadable Butter is my favourite Gay Lea product for sure
I love the plain unsalted butter and can use it for a lot of things. Great creamy taste and perfect texture.
Love the Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Spreadables, so good!
I love their whipped cream! A must for nearly every dessert.
I love their real whipped cream. It’s grade on waffles and pancakes and I love to add it to my coffee and hot chocolate too!
The spreadable butter sounds perfect for breakfast biscuits!
The spreadable butter is a godsend.
I NEED to try this!
My favorite is the spreadable butter for the pancakes!
Elizabeth, all of your apple recipes sound wonderful!. I live in Oklahoma, USA. Oklahoma is the very center of America. , I noticed everyone seems to like your Gay Lea products. They sound like really great! The trick is we do not have these in Oklahoma (as far as I know). Do you have the regular cinnamon and brown sugar buttercream frosting recipe? Thanks for your help.
Georgia
Hi Georgia! Replace the Gay Lea with 1 cup butter, 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Enjoy!
I love cinnamon and brown sugar, used to eat it plain on toast..but this recipe takes it to a new divine level