Caramel Apple Cake, this cake is the quintessential autumn / fall flavour pairing. I was just going to call it a rustic cake coz it didn’t look as pretty as I thought it would be . After we tasted the cake, I think this is just how want it to look all the time and every time. The caramel apple cake is just something I would even pour some hot caramel sauce with a giant cup of tea and lazing up with a movie. The cake is full of chunky apple pieces and flavoured with rich molasses and autumn spices. This Caramel Apple cake is full of rich and dark salted caramel. I wanted to leave this Caramel Apple Cake as natural as it can get by leaving it naked. I did fill the cake with light and oh so fluffy cinnamon speckled cream cheese frosting. The cake as I like to call it doused in more caramel sauce giving it all extra rich notes. Its topped with a caramel apple tossed in toasted pecan bits! The caramel sauce can be store bought or homemade, my recipe for homemade salted caramel is here.
The candied / caramel apple for the caramel apple cake is optional. I think this topper is what brings the whole show to the road. To make it fun for kids you can make a bunch of these for snacking and kids would loveee to pick up twigs for the apples.
Caramel Apple Cake:
- Apple cake (3x 6″), a rich spiced cake with chunky apple bits and molasses. You can also add apple sauce or puree if you dont like the apple chunks in your cake.
- Spiced Cream Cheese frosting, a luscious and light spiced cream cheese frosting. Fluffy and sweet to make the perfect combination with the cake and the caramel sauce. If you want to frost the cake completely as in the updated pictures, use 2 x the cream cheese recipe. For naked cake just the regular portion mentioned in the recipe.
- Caramel sauce, a rich silky salted caramel recipe (link above). You can jazz it all up a bit with a splash of Whiskey if you are feeling naughty.
Caramel Apple Cake
Apple cake with molasses and cinnamon, filled with caramel sauce and frosted with spiced cream cheese frosting. Topped with Caramel apple and toasted pecans
Ingredients
Apple Cake (3 x 6 inch)
- 180 gm All purpose flour 11/2 cups
- 150 gm Butter 3 sticks
- 150 gm Caster sugar 3/4 cup
- 3 Large Eggs ((Separate Yolk and Whites)
- 3 Medium Apples (Ambrose/ Golden delicious) 200 gm
- 11/2 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tbsp Molasses
- 90 ml Milk 1/3 cup
- 2 tsp Cinnamon powder
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 tsp Pumpkin spice/ Apple Spice / All spice
- 100 gm Butter 1 stick
- 200 gm Cream Cheese
- 200 gm Icing Sugar (add a tbsp or more as needed)
Caramel Sauce
- 200 gm Thick Caramel sauce
- 100 gm Thinned out caramel sauce (add 1 tsp at a time until runny)
- 100 gm caramel sauce for caramel apple
Caramel Apple
- 100 gm Caramel Sauce
- 20 gm toasted pecans
- 2 Apples
Instructions
Apple Cake
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Preheat the oven to 350F or 180 C degrees, grease and line the cake tins with parchment.
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In a large bowl, sift all purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder. Mix it thoroughly.
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Peel and chop the apples into tiny apple chunks.
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Separate the egg whites and yolks, add the egg whites into a large bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer.
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Add the butter and sugar, cream until light and fluffy. Add and beat the egg yolks. Add the milk and molasses
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Add the dry ingredients in small batches and mix thoroughly. Fold the egg whites and the apple chunks into the batter.
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Divide the batter into 3 cake tins and bake for about 30 minutes. Check with a skewer to see if completely baked. Once baked, let it cool on a cooling rack.
Caramel Apple
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Add the caramel sauce in a small saucepan, heat on low until caramel thins and is slightly runny.
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poke a skewer in the apple, sunk the apple in the caramel sauce and swirl it around.
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Sprinkle chopped toasted pecans and let it cool in the freezer for a few minutes and cool in the refrigerator.
Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
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In a bowl, add the butter and cream it using the paddle attachment of the stand mixer. Sift icing sugar in batches.
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Add the cream cheese and pumpkin spice/ apple spice or even all spice into the bowl and whisk on medium high for 2 minutes.
Assembly
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On a cake board or a cake stand, add a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Place the bottom layer of the cake ( the cake is super moist and light coz of the molasses and whipped egg whites, take care while moving).
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Using a round nozzle or cut off the tip of the piping bag. Pipe the cream cheese frosting like a dam around the edge of the cake.
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Add spoonfuls of thick caramel sauce, smoothen the layer with an offset spatula.
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Repeat the same for the middle layer and place the top layer with the bottom facing the top. Add dollops of cream cheese and smoothen it to be flat.
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Drizzle the cake with thin caramel sauce (make sure its room temperature). Place the apple on top. Chill the cake for 30 minutes to overnight.
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Enjoy on a cold autumn day with a hot cuppa:D
Updated Image 2021 : for fully frosted cake…
Happy Baking
xx