Salted Caramel Apple Cake
This cake. Oh. My. Gosh.
I have had the page doggy-eared in Baked Explorations ever since I bought the book, which was something like four or five years ago. One of the downfalls of having a huge stash of cookbooks is that a lot of really great recipes can fall between the cracks. This was one of those unfortunate incidents, and am I ever glad that I dragged that book back out a couple of weeks ago. My fall cake eating will never be the same again. This is a very good thing.
Even though I adore baking, I don’t make layer cakes all that often just due to the time factor. They’re usually a little fussy and time-consuming, so I put this off for awhile, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised at how NOT very fussy or time-consuming it was. It certainly helps that you use the same thing to both fill and frost the cake!
This cake is incredibly dense and moist, thanks to the abundance of applesauce that is used as the “wet” ingredient. The cake itself is wonderfully spiced, then filled and frosted with an old-fashioned-style cooked buttercream that is spiked with my favorite salted caramel sauce. The frosting reminded me of the filling for one of my all-time favorite desserts – Ho-Ho Cake. Which is to say, it’s utterly fantastic. Since I believe that all caramel apples should be rolled in chopped peanuts, I sprinkled the top of the cake with peanuts. I love the extra salty kick it gave the cake.
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Everyone who got to sample this cake was pretty much rendered speechless. My father-in-law already requested it for his birthday in February. My husband said it’s one of the five best cakes I have made… EVER.
So basically, you have to make this cake. There’s no way around it!
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Salted Caramel Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 4 cups (482 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, at room temperature
- 2½ cups (496 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups (904 ml) unsweetened applesauce
For the Salted Caramel Buttercream:
- 1½ cups (298 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups (340 ml) whole milk
- ⅓ cup (76 ml) heavy cream
- 1½ cups (340 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (109 ml) salted caramel sauce
To Garnish:
- Salted caramel sauce
- Chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with a round of parchment paper, grease the parchment, then flour the pans, tapping out any excess.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on low for an additional 30 seconds to combine.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment, and allow to cool completely.
- Make the Salted Caramel Buttercream: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixtures comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and vanilla; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. (It might seem like it won’t get to the fluffy point, but stick with it, it’ll get there!) Add the salted caramel sauce and continue mixing until combined and fluffy. (If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it reaches a fluffy consistency.)
- Assemble the Cake: If any of the cake layers have domed on top, trim the top off to create flat surfaces. Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1¼ cups of the frosting on top. Add the next layer and top with 1¼ cups of the frosting. Add the third layer on top and spread a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, until firm. Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Drizzle some additional salted caramel sauce on top and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Return to the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes prior to serving.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This cake is beautiful and looks delicious! But I’ve always shied away from making apple cakes with applesauce in them because of bad experiences trying to substitute applesauce in other cake recipes for oil..The texture has always ended up being a little weird even when doing half oil or butter and half applesauce. Did you find that so much applesauce weirdly affected the texture of this cake at all?
Hi Olivia, I don’t think this cake had an add texture at all – it was moist and dense and wonderful. Part of the issue might be substituting applesauce in recipes that are specifically formulated for butter or oil. This cake, by contrast, has been specifically formulated to work with applesauce.
This cake looks amazing!! The layers look so perfect and that frosting looks so good!!
Hi Michelle, what a beautiful cake, too beautiful to eat!!! What do you use to cut a cake so neatly, a serrated knife? Or how did you do it? Thanks.
Hi Ela, I use the knife from this carving set: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/wusthof-classic-carving-set/. It also helps when the cake is slightly chilled.
Gorgeous cake, Michelle, and I love these flavors! Fall definitely isn’t all about pumpkin — caramel apple is right up there as one of my favorite fall treats!
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love the baked, boys — I can’t wait for their newest book, later this month!! This is a stunning cake, I’m sure it tasted incredible :)
What a gorgeous cake! It sounds incredible!
Stunning! And with those flavors, I am sure it tastes amazing too!
Oh wow! Utterly fantastic!
Pinned.
Have a beautiful Monday!
My family and friends fell in love with your Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Cake. I will be impressing them with this one! I received a Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book for my 30th birthday in August. I wish I could bake for my full time job like you! My 5th graders need me, I guess! :) I love reading your page each day. Keep up the delicious work.
This sounds sooo delicious and those pictures and that cake slice are absolute perfection!
My thanksgiving table centerpiece!!!!! Gorgeous!!!! Is it wrong to feel like this way about cake???? Big sparkly baubles, gorgeous leather handbags and cake…my trifecta! ;)
I just picked up a jar of Apple Salted Caramel sauce at W-S this weekend – I will be trying this cake with the sauce. It’s an absolutely beautiful cake! Thank you!
This has got to be one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve seen! Wonderful photography!
Thank you!! I got on your site to look at cakes to make and you’ve posted a perfect one for me to try! :)
Yum! This fall I’m wanting to bake apple cake, apple butter, apple sauce, apple dumplings, anything apple sounds wonderful. Which is different for me, I usually can’t wait to bake with pumpkin. I wish that I live near an apple orchard. Welcome Fall tonight.
I usually don’t make cakes, but this looks too god to not try. What are the other 4 cakes?
Hi Paula, I just asked him, and he said the other four in his “top five” are the Snickers Cake, Apple-Pecan Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Filling & Praline Frosting, Texas Sheet Cake, and the Six-Layer Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling & Malted Chocolate Frosting :)
He also said the Ho-Ho Cake has to be included in there somewhere :)
I opened this in my email this morning, and thought it was the most gorgeous thing I could look at on a dreary central Ohio Monday morning.
Then I had the soul crushing realization that I could never make a gluten free version of it that would look or taste as good! Stupid Gluten…
WHOA!! I’m about to make a gluten-free version to die for. I do have confidence, wish you were here! :)
Could you send me the recipe??? I like to make an awesome cake for my birthday each year, and this would fit the bill!
what did you end up using to sub for the 4 cups of flours? Please do share as I’d love to make it too
Looks sooooo good/ Question: if I wanted to bake this in 2 9-inch cake pans instead of 3 8-inch cake pans, would it be okay?
Hi Zainab, It’s a lot of batter, and I think it would be too much for 2 9-inch pans.
Thank you! I wonder if it might work if I halved the recipe. I have 9-inch pans but not 8 inch.
I made this in 9-inch pans tonight, and just divided the batter evenly between 3 pans. I reduced the cooking time to 40 minutes. They came out wonderfully.
I made this in 3-9 inch pans. I think it would be better in 3-8 inch pans but it worked fine. Made a very large cake. I think it could serve 20 easily if you cut it like a wedding cake. It was delicious.
This looks incrediby FABULOUS! Pinned it until I take the time to actually make it… Thanks :)
My favorite baker and blogger…My question is this: How do you stay so slim, even when pregnant? That cake looks so good, it is sinful!!
Lots and lots of sharing :)
This is a gorgeous layer cake!! And I can imagine the flavors are absolutely incredible!
I’m currently baking my way through all of the Baked books, can’t wait to get to this recipe. It looks amazing!
Wow! I have to come up with a pretty special occasion to justify making and eating this cake!! I don’t think that will be too hard! Sounds fabulous! Pinned!
You have done it again – now I will be thinking about this cake until I can make it…hmmm better get to the store now! This looks amazing!!
Michelle, this cake looks amazing. I will have to add this to the “bake me list”. You have done an outstanding job again!!!!!
Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, be still my heart… This is GORGEOUS… I think i have been waiting for this cake all my life!!
I don’t think anybody’s fall cake eating will be the same after this beauty! It looks beyond incredible. And there’s salted caramel. So yeah…it’s the best!
What a showstopper!!! The cake looks amazing, moist, so rich and perfect! And then that cooked buttercream that’s spiked with salted caramel sauce…WOW! Pinned :)
I’m going to the store in the morning with a sole purpose to the ingredients to make this cake. Ah if it wasn’t 11pm right now ;D
This looks absolutely amazing! I wonder, though, if it would translate well to cupcakes. Would there be any significant changes?
Hi Margaret, I haven’t tried making cupcakes out of this, so I can’t comment to the potential outcome. You would definitely need to reduce the baking time.
Hi! My family loved this cake. Have you ever followed-up on the idea of cupcakes with this recipe? And if so, what would be the cooking time? I’m thinking this cake as a cupcake would be a smash on a Thanksgiving dessert buffet table.
Hi Renee, I haven’t yet, womp womp. I would start checking them around the 15 minute mark just to be safe.
I reduced the recipe to 2/3 of the original and it yielded about 21 cupcakes which took 20-24 minutes in my oven at 325 degrees as originally instructed. :)