BEST EVER Caramel Apple Cake (Video Recipe)
Apples and caramel are always a perfect match. Celebrate this apple season with a caramel apple cake. Made with fresh apples, a hint of spice, layered with caramel buttercream and drizzled with more delicious caramel sauce. Whether you make this for a celebration or festive dinner this apple cake with caramel sauce will have everyone talking about it for days.
Last week I made this cake to celebrate the Jewish new year, Rosh Ha Shannah. Of course, at this time apple and honey always take a center stage. Every year, I almost always take my apple and honey Tarte Tartin because it's Ziv's favorite dessert. And I always make my easy apple tart with Puff Pastry because it's my Rhea's favorite and of course the Aadi's favorite is the apple strudel.
Guess what? this time I decided to make one of my favorite desserts. My caramel apple cake. Sometimes, you just have to do it. Right? Now, you must forgive me for blowing my own trumpet here but OMG!! Everyone was raving about this cake and I was so overwhelmed with their appreciation.
About this caramel apple cake (Save/Pin)
To put it simply, it's absolute apple heaven. If you love apples you will not be able to stop at just one slice. (don't ask me how I know that). I think I put on a few extra pounds this week from all the apple and pumpkin desserts I made.
The cake, of course, is delicious on its own with delicious spiced apples. The applesauce adds so much more to batter while apples themselves stay soft and tender. My caramel buttercream I shared with you yesterday is made with real caramel sauce, which again I have shared with you previously. I made two consistencies of the caramel sauce in one recipe, one for the drip and the other for the buttercream so you have a wonderful thick firm caramel buttercream consistency.
Ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)
- Apples - You can use any apples you like to eat for this cake. The apple cook in the cake batter but still stay nice and tender. I have used golden delicious today but any apple you like to eat would work for this recipe.
- Applesauce - I prefer to use unsweetened applesauce to add more apple flavor to the cake but if you don't have apple flavor you may substitute it with more buttermilk.
- Brown sugar - The light brown sugar brings the added flavor of molasses to the cake which adds a nice hint of fall richness. I would not recommend dark brown sugar as the flavor of molasses will dominate the cake. If you don't have light brown sugar - you can use white sugar and add a tablespoon of molasses instead.
- Buttermilk - it takes five minutes to make homemade buttermilk (here's how) so there is no reason why you need to substitute.
- Vanilla - Always use a good quality vanilla extract as it makes a huge difference. It can be expensive but you can also make your own vanilla extract, bean paste or sugar.
- Spices - I think nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon are very fall flavors but you can also use pumpkin spice, or gingerbread spice mix instead.
Useful Tips and Tools
- If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because, often, we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer also works great.
- I believe in measuring ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scale one of the most valuable items when baking.
- And the same goes for my measuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
- Also, I think one set of baking pans is a must for anyone a home baker. I often use three 6-inch round cakes, which I often split into 4 layers for a tall display. Some times, I use three 8-inch round pans or three 7-inch cakes.
- Once baked, always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This enables air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
- Lastly, every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too fast or too slow compared to the time given, it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration.
- An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly.
How to Make A Caramel Apple Cake (Save/Pin)
Prepare
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/340 F
- Grease and line 3 x 6 inch round pans or 2 x 8 inch round pans.
- Mix the spices together and set aside.
Prepare apples
- Peel, core and chop apples into 1/2 inch pieces
- Add half the mixed spice and 3 tbsp flour (use from the measured flour)
- Combine well and set aside.
Prepare dry ingredients
- Combine together the flour with baking powder, baking soda, mixed spices, and salt
- set aside.
Mix Batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time
- Followed by the vanilla and applesauce
- Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three additions.
- Lastly, add the chopped apples - combine well but do not over mix.
Bake
- Divide the batter between the baking pans
- Spread the top so it's an even layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then on a wire rack until cool completely.
Caramel Sauce
- Place the sugar, lemon, and water in a deep light-colored pan (so you can see the color)
- With the heat on medium-low cook the sugar.
- Shake the pan as you need but do not use a spoon. It is important to keep the heat on medium-low so the sugar will caramelize not burn.
- Swirl the pan slowly guiding the heat distribution
- The sugar should now start to color into a golden amber.
- One all the sugar is amber, add in the butter and whisk constantly.
- Followed by the cream. (watch your hands and the mixer will rise when you add the butter and cream)
- Cool for a few minutes in the pan then pours into a glass jar or pot. As the mixture cools it will get thicker.
Caramel Buttercream
- Place the butter and salt in the mixer bowl.
- Using the paddle attachment – mix the butter until light and creamy.
- Next, add half a cup of caramel sauce – combine well.
- Add the remaining sauce – combine again.
- Lastly, the powdered sugar – combine well.
- Once all the ingredients have been added – whip for three minutes until the butterscotch is light and fluffy.
Assembly
- Level the apple cake layers if they have any dome.
- Layer them with caramel buttercream frosting in between as shown in the video
- Frost the outside with more caramel buttercream - chilling in between steps as necessary.
- Lastly, use the caramel sauce to create the drip as shown in the video.
- To decorate - put any remaining frosting in a piping bag with a piping nozzle
- Create some pattern on the top.
10 Tip for baking a cake from scratch
Caramel Apple Cake Recipe with Caramel Buttercream
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Ingredients
Cake
- 380 grams (3.00 cups) All-purpose flour
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) Baking powder
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp (1/4 tsp) Salt
- 228 grams (1 cups) Butter unsalted (2 sticks) room temperture
- 330 grams (1.5 cups) Brown sugar
- 4 (4 ) large eggs
- 60 ml (0.25 cups) Applesauce unsweetened
- 120 ml (0.50 cups) Buttermilk
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) Vanilla
- 3 cups (3 cups) Apples chopped
- 1/4 tsp (1/4 tsp) nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) cinnamon
Caramel buttercream
- 120 ml (0.50 cups) Caramel sauce
- 450 grams (2.00 cups) Unsalted butter
- 250 grams (2.00 cups) Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp (1/2 tsp) Salt
Caramel sauce
- 200 grams (1 cups) sugar
- 3 tbsp (3 tbsp) water
- 1/4 tsp (1/4 tsp) lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons (4 tablespoons) -butter
- 120 ml (0.50 cups) fresh cream
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/340 F
- Grease and line 3 x 6 inch round pans or 2 x 8 inch round pans.
- Mix the spices together and set aside.
Prepare apples
- Peel, core and chop apples into 1/2 inch pieces
- Add half the mixed spice and 3 tbsp flour (use from the measured flour)
- Combine well and set aside.
- Combine together the flour with baking powder, baking soda, mixed spices, and salt
- set aside.
Cake
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time
- Followed by the vanilla and applesauce
- Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three additions.
- Lastly, add the chopped apples – combine well but do not over mix.
- Divide the batter between the baking pans
- Spread the top so it’s an even layer.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then on a wire rack until cool completely.
Caramel sauce
- Place the sugar, lemon, and water in a deep light-colored pan (so you can see the color)
- With the heat on medium-low cook the sugar.
- Shake the pan as you need but do not use a spoon. It is important to keep the heat on medium-low so the sugar will caramelize not burn.
- Swirl the pan slowly guiding the heat distribution
- The sugar should now start to color into a golden amber.
- One all the sugar is amber, add in the butter and whisk constantly.
- Followed by the cream. (watch your hands and the mixer will rise when you add the butter and cream)
- Cool for a few minutes in the pan then pours into a glass jar or pot. As the mixture cools it will get thicker.
Caramel buttercream
- Place the butter and salt in the mixer bowl.
- Using the paddle attachment – mix the butter until light and creamy.
- Next, add half a cup of caramel sauce – combine well.
- Add the remaining sauce – combine again.
- Lastly, the powdered sugar – combine well.
- Once all the ingredients have been added – whip for three minutes until the butterscotch is light and fluffy.
Assemble
- Level the apple cake layers if they have any dome.
- Layer them with caramel buttercream frosting in between as shown in the video
- Frost the outside with more caramel buttercream – chilling in between steps as necessary.
- Lastly, use the caramel sauce to create the drip as shown in the video.
- To decorate – put any remaining frosting in a piping bag with a piping nozzle
- Create some pattern on the top.
Recipe Notes
Tips for making this Caramel Apple Cake
- Any apple works with this recipe but granny smith or golden delicious hold their shape well.
- The caramel sauce can be made 3 to 4 days ahead.
- Make sure to whip the buttercream well so it holds its shape. If not the buttercream will be too soft.
- Grease and line the pans with parchment for easy release.
- Keep cakes moist by brushing the layers with simple syrup – simple syrup is a mixture of sugar and water boiled until the sugar is dissolved.
- Cool the cakes for a few hours before frosting or the frosting will melt on warm cakes
- Use cake strips to bake flat cakes.
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Frequently asked questions
If properly stored, this caramel apple cake will last for 2 to 3 days at room temperature. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 or 6 days.
Yes. Freeze it on a tray for a few hours then wrap well in cling/plastic wrap, followed by a parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Thaw wrapped in the fridge for 24 hours so the condensation will stay on the papers, not the cake.
No, but you can use my Eggless Vanilla Cake. Add some tea to make it a chai late cake. Bake it in two 8 inch cake pans
If you don’t want to make a layer cake like this one, you can make this into a sheet cake – a ‘Caramel Apple Sheet Cake’. You can also pour the batter into a well-greased and dusted bundt pan for a ‘Caramel Apple Bundt Cake’. See my Moist Apple Pie Cake with Crumble Topping
This recipe can also be baked into 24 beautiful Apple cupcakes. See my Apple Blueberry Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting or Pumpkin Spices Apple Cupcakes with Caramel
There are so many other choices for frosting. Such as:
Swiss or Italian Meringue Buttercream
French or German Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
I have over 30 plus frosting recipes on this blog. And I highly recommend checking them out.
Apple Pie Hamentaschen
Apple Pie Cake with Crumble Topping
Pumpkin Spice Caramel Apple Dessert
Cinnamon Caramel Apple Tart
Pumpkin Spice Apple Cupcakes with Caramel
Apple Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Easy Apple Strudel with Filo Pastry
Apple Tarte Tatin
Rustic Apple Tart with Puff Pastry
Cinnamon Apple Mousse
Apple Crumble Tart
Apple Crumble Bars
Don't forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
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Lynn Giddens
I just want to clarify something on the recipe. In making the frosting you say to add half of the caramel sauce and then later on in it you say to add the other half. And then further down you say use caramel sauce for the drip. I'm assuming you reserve some of the original caramel sauce for the drip. Is that right? Or do I need to make more caramel sauce for the drip?
Veena Azmanov
Hey Lynn. You will need to make the caramel sauce first. This is almost a cup.
For the frosting use only 1/2 cup. Of that, you will add half firt (1/4 cup) and then half (1/4 cup) as mentioned in the recipe.
For the drip, you will use any remaining sauce you made.
I hope that makes sense. Please feel free to ask again.
K
I can’t wait to make this cake for a friends 50th! Although I don’t think I can go three high!!
I am addicted to your blogs. You write beautifully with complete coverage on anything that can go wrong. I love it.
One question please, can I cover this cake with fondant for further decoration? Will it take the weight of a fondant?
Much appreciation
K
Veena Azmanov
Hey k, Thank you so much and I'm thrilled that you love my blog.
You can make it only two layers as well.
Yes, this cake would be well with the weight of fondant for sure.
Thanks
Adrianne
Yum, what an awesome cake!! I think this is so beautiful and everyone would like it. I especially like your presentation, food styling and photography! Cheers
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Adrianne. So happy to hear that.
Lauren Vavala
This cake is absolutely stunning! I love all the flavors too - just perfect for Fall and Thanksgiving! I just need to get some of the smaller cake pans so I can make this as pretty as yours - or at least try!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Lauren. Yes, this would be perfect for fall or Thankgiving dinner
Sarah
Attempting to make this cake tonight, but my perfectionist brain is a little confused about how much flour to use. The recipe itself it says 2 and a 1/2 cups, but then when you prepare the apples it says to use 3 tablespoons. Do you subtract the 3 tablespoons from the two and a half cups that the recipe calls for, or is the 3 tablespoons completely separate from the dry ingredients used for the cake batter? I hope I'm making sense.
Veena Azmanov
Yes, Sarah. You use the 3 tbsp from the recipe itself. You can see me do that in the video. So yes, 3 tbsp out of the 2 1/2 cups
Claire
Your cake is absolutely stunning! I'm definitely going to have to pick up some apples next time I'm at the store so I can make it.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Claire. I hope you enjoy this one.
Ashley
Apple heaven - talk about a selling point!! This cake is drop dead gorgeous and would be the perfect way to end any fall meal. YUM!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Ashley. Definitely perfect for any meal.
Veronika's Kitchen
Wow! This cake looks amazing and so professional! Apple and caramel are the the best combination and I cannot wait to try it!)
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Veronika - yes, apple and caramel are definitely the best combination
Jyothi(Jo)
What a perfect way to celebrate fall with this incredible apple caramel cake! You are an amazing baker and I love your baked goodies. That cake looks so so incredible Veena. Love it
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Jyothi. Thank you for your kind words, I do love baking.
Nicolas Hortense
This is just incredible!! And the layers inside are perfect! Can't take my eyes off the screen (:
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Nicolas.
Amanda Mason
You have my mouth watering on this one...oh my goodness!! I love the detail you go into! So helpful when making this cake! Perfect for apple season! I'm going to make this soon! You make it look so easy!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Amanda. So happy you like how I write. It really is very easy.
Marisa Franca
What a fantastic autumn dessert! I love the gorgeous three layers -- truly beautiful. The combination of caramel and apple is perfect. This is one cake that I'd request. Since no-one around here makes cakes I guess it's up to me to make it. I do have 3 cake pans -- I'll have to dig them out. My mouth is watering at that frosting.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Marisa. I think you will love this cake very much.
Denise
Just when I think you made my favorite cake, you go ahead and make something ever better! This looks so darn good. I have nothing good like this in my home and I'm a hopeless baker but I love looking at all your creations!
Veena Azmanov
Aww, thank you, Denise. I love such cakes especially ones with fruit in. I hope you try this - it' so easy.
Helen @ Fuss Free Flavours
Oh my gosh! this cake is absolutely amazing! I need to throw a party so I can make one, otherwise I'd eat the entire thing myself. Love the flavours!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Helen. We had this at the celebration a few weeks ago and oh it was gone. You will love this
Elaine Benoit
You make the best baked goods! This apple cake not only looks beautiful but delicious!! I would really like you to make this for me, but since that won't be happening soon, I will have to make it for myself.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Elaine. I wish I could make you a cake but yes, since we are so far, you have to make one yourself.
Allison
What a beautiful fall cake. The combination of apples and caramel is one of my favorites!
Veena Azmanov
Mine too. Thanks, Allison.
Dawn
Love how tall this one is and those layers are perfect....not to mention those drips over the side! What a show stopper 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Dawn
Jenni LeBaron
The height of this cake is super impressive. It would be a beautiful cake at a wedding or other special event. I also love that you've used caramel in the buttercream as well as on top. Decadent and so worth it!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Jenni. I love caramel and it works great in buttercream.
Kelly Anthony
The height on this cake is breath-taking! Looks so yummy and perfect for the fall!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Kelly.
Jolina
Caramel and apples are just so great together. They're one of my favourite flavour combinations. And that buttercream! It looks glorious.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Jolina. Yes, caramel and apples are always a great flavor combo.
Gloria
This is the perfect dessert of FALL. I think this would make a great birthday cake...and my daughter's birthday is next weekend. She is NOT a chocolate lover, so this is right up her alley. I just might have to give this recipe a try.
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Gloria. I think she will love it. You must make this for her.