Apple cakes are a Fall favorite for me and this year I stepped up my game and made a little apple dipped in caramel sitting on top. I even broke my cardinal rule of not using fondant! Browned buttercream infused with Fall spices is completely addictive by the way. If you don’t do anything else whip up a batch and slather it on everything!
If you’ve tried this cake out then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
A Few Notes
- If you try to make this apple remember to chill the apple before you smooth it. That way you can handle it without things falling apart!
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- If you don’t have coconut oil use an equal amount of vegetable oil.
If you try to make this apple remember to freeze or chill the apple before you smooth it. That way you can handle it without things falling apart!
Caramel Apple Cake
A rich apple cake covered in browned buttercream infused with Fall spices and topped with homemade caramel.
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup yogurt plain
- 1.5 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 - 4 apples cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, I prefer honey crisps
For the Buttercream:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon all spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamon
- 1 pound confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 cup butter browned
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/3 cup cream
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 1/2 cup cream or half and half
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the Apple:
- 1/4 cup fondant
- red food coloring
- green food coloring
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Cake:
- Sift and whisk together the dry ingredients
Mix together the wet ingredients until well combined in a large bowl or stand mixer.
Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
Fold in the apples.
Divide the mixture evenly into four three 6inch pans, which have been buttered and floured. (I always use cake strips too)
- Bake at 350F for approximately 40 minutes or until centers are done.
For the Buttercream:
Heat the butter over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until it is browned to a caramel color. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temp, add confections sugar, cream and vanilla.
Add spices last.
For the Caramel:
- Combine ingredients in small pot.
- Heat over medium-low heat while whisking
- Cook for 7-8 minutes
For the Apple:
Bake the half circle cake pieces in semi-cricle cake pan for about 12 minutes. Remove them, let sit.
Trim tops and pipe buttercream in between to halves to assemble a sphere.
Cover the outside in buttercream and freeze.
While in the freezer, roll out fondant. Add red food coloring to fondant create skin. Add green food coloring to fondant to create a stem.
Cover the apple in red fondant and shape a leaf with the green.
Add the stem from a real apple and a fondant leaf. Dip apple half way in caramel and place on top of cake.
For the Assembly:
Place on cake stand. Pipe butter cream and caramel ganache between each layer.
Finish off with dripped caramel ganache.
Add apple to center.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you try to make this apple remember to chill the apple before you smooth it. That way you can handle it without things falling apart!
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
Great fall cake! Loved the cinnamon spice.
I used pink lady apples for the recipe and they tasted great!
I really like your cake recipes but I live in Europe and we don’t use cups as a measurement method, could you include the measurements in grams on the recipes?
Alba,
Thanks so much! This link will help you convert your ingredients! https://www.webmath.com/k8metric.html
John
I made this cake for dinner guests and then took the leftover pieces
to work. It was easy, delicious and I got raves all around!
I would love to make this for Thanksgiving next week, but I need help.
I’m very allergic to coconut, suggestions on how to eliminate the coconut oil from the recipe??
Patricia,
You can substitute the coconut oil with vegetable or canola oil! Have a lovely Thanksgiving!
John
Lovely cake! I had made an apple cinnamon wholewheat cake 2 days back. Guess I got the perfect recipe to follow for an apple cake 🙂 Thanks John.
Hello, I would love to use this recipe for a friend birthday. However I must use a fondant topper. Is this cake stable enough to be covered in fondant and have a fondant topper on it?
I will be very appreciated.
Thank you very very much
Mai,
Yes the cake will be strong enough for a fondant topper!
John
Thank you so much for your reply. I have one other question. This person doesn’t like Buttercream. Which other choice will I have for the filling and the frosting then?
Hello! So I tried this cake. It tasted great however did come out dry after 40min of baking. Should I have checked a couple of minutes earlier? I did replace the coconut oil with canola. I wonder if that had anything to do with it coming out dry.
Hey Sahar,
Using canola oil instead of coconut oil shouldn’t have been the cause for that. Everyones ovens are different so if you have a really hot oven, 40 minutes may have been a bit too long. For next time, I would just keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as the centers seem set.
I hope this helps!
Best,
John
This cake looks fantastic but I’d like to make this as cupcakes. Would that work or would the cupcakes be too dry? What would the measurements be for cupcakes?
Loved the cake! I ate wayyyy to much and finished it in 2 days with a few more people. My 3 year old niece loved it as well, which is surprising because she’s a picky eater.
Hi Sana,
I’m glad to hear that!! I love this cake. Did you make the caramel apple out of fondant too?
Thank you for the positive feedback!
Best,
John
loved this cake .
Never baked an entire cake from scratch in my life, much less with fluffy buttercream or any kind of filling other than frosting. I followed this to the T, and it came out amazing.
Hello!
That’s great to hear!! Did you enjoy baking a cake from scratch??
Best,
John
This recipe is fantastic! I made it twice over the weekend for different Thanksgiving dinners. It was a big hit! I am still new to baking and did not feel comfortable with the fondant just yet – I cut fresh apple slices and arranged them on top of the cake. Thank you for the awesome recipe! It is a new favorite.
Hey Brianna,
Thank you so much for the positive feedback! Fresh apple slices on top sounds delicious, I’m glad you enjoyed the cake.
Best,
John