National Applesauce Cake Day Date in the current year: June 6, 2026

Apple sauce, traditionally spelled “applesauce” in American English, is a purée made from apples that is widely consumed in North America and some European countries. Applesauce can be sweet or savory and is served as a side dish, condiment, snack, or dessert. It can also be used as an ingredient in cooking.

Applesauce cake is a cake made primarily with applesauce, flour, and sugar. Its history is closely tied to colonial-era baking in New England, where apples were abundant, making applesauce a practical way to preserve fruit and add moisture to baked goods. Applesauce served as both a flavoring ingredient and an economical substitute for some of the butter or oil, resulting in a moist cake made with relatively inexpensive ingredients.

Recipes for cakes similar to applesauce cake were circulating in American households by the 18th and 19th centuries, though they were not always specifically called “applesauce cake”. American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, published in 1796, included a recipe for an apple-based cake similar to the modern applesauce cake.

The cake became especially popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to a combination of factors. Improved apple cultivation and commercial canning made applesauce more widely available year-round. Meanwhile, the spread of printed cookbooks and community recipe collections standardized home baking recipes.

The simple and inexpensive applesauce cake gained further popularity during the Great Depression and wartime rationing of the 1930s and 1940s. By the mid-20th century, it had become a staple of American home baking, frequently appearing in community cookbooks, church recipe collections, and newspaper food sections throughout the 1950s.

Since then, however, its popularity has dwindled. Today, applesauce cake is mostly seen as an old-fashioned or nostalgic dessert. It is also marketed as a healthier and/or vegetarian alternative to traditional desserts because applesauce can replace some or all of the fat and eggs in a recipe while maintaining its moisture.

As mentioned above, the main ingredients in applesauce cake are store-bought or homemade applesauce, flour, and sugar. Additional ingredients may include eggs, fat (such as butter, margarine, or oil), chopped nuts, chopped apples, dates, raisins, cocoa powder, and warm spices (such as allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and sometimes ginger). Applesauce cake can be baked in various types of pans, such as bundt, loaf, sheet, or cupcake pans. Before serving, applesauce cake can be topped with confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, icing, frosting, glaze, or whipped cream.

Although the origins of National Applesauce Cake Day are unclear, there is no doubt that this simple yet delicious dessert deserves to be celebrated. On June 6, bake an applesauce cake and share it with your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers. Don’t forget to spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtag #NationalApplesauceCakeDay!