Perfect for Fall: warm drinks, soft sweaters and my caramel apple spice cake! This cake is so simple to make and decorate but incredibly delicious.
If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.
Pro Tips for an AMAZING Apple Spice Cake
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- You can save some time and skip browning the butter. You’ll still love the cake BUT definitely try that brown butter sometime!
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set 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!
PRO TIPS FOR MAKING CARAMEL
- Don’t stir! After the sugar has dissolved you don’t need to stir as it can cause crystals to form and ruin that silky consistency.
- DO brush the side of the pot down with a wet pastry brush. This will help prevent those pesky crystals from forming.
- Watch the color carefully taking the sugar to a deep amber color gives a wonderful flavor but going too dark will make a bitter caramel and that sugar will go from perfect to burnt in an instant!
- Use room temperature butter and cream.
- Caramel keeps for a while in the fridge so you can make this part ahead of time or make a big batch and save some for ice cream, coffee drinks and snacking!
- When adding salt dip your a spoon in, let the caramel cool a bit then taste and add more salt if needed. Be careful that sugar is HOT. You can also sprinkle more salt on at the end for a finishing touch!
How to Make Apple Spice Cake
1. Add 3/4 cup of butter to a pot and cook over medium low heat stirring occasionally until the milk solids in the butter caramelize and darken. Be careful of splatters! Once the butter has darkened transfer to a bowl and chill until almost solid. The brown butter will be slow to cool and thicken back up so make sure to do this step in advance. Follow the tips above for perfect caramel that won’t crystalize.
2. To make the caramel add brown sugar, cream, butter and salt to a small pot over medium-low heat and whisk until the mixture almost dissolves, leave it alone until it bubbles and thickens, although you can wash the side down with a wet pastry brush. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, transfer so a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
3. Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices into a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
4. Add the yogurt, eggs, melted coconut oil, vegetable oil, and vanilla into a medium bowl and whisk together.
5. Peel, core and chop enough apples to have about 2 cups. Set aside and if desired squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto the apple pieces. It won’t matter if the apples brown while exposed to the air but I like the acid from the lemon juice for some contrast.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix to combine using a spatula to fold the very thick mixture together.
7. Add the apples into the batter and fold to incorporate. Your batter will seem quite thick but don’t worry!
8. Distribute the batter between 3 six inch pans and Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. I’ve also made this same recipe with 4 six inch pans and it works nicely as well.
9. While the cake bakes it’s time to make the buttercream. Add the room temp (partially solidified) brown butter you made in step 1 to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add salt and half the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low for about a minute.
10. Add the remaining powdered sugar, and vanilla then mix on low. Drizzle in cream until desired consistency is reached. Transfer buttercream and caramel from step 2 to piping bags and snip the tips off.
11. Pipe buttercream onto the first layer. Drizzle caramel, then add the second layer on top.
12. Pipe buttercream and caramel onto the second layer, add the third and cover in a thin layer of buttercream.
13. Smooth the buttercream out using a bench scraper, and or an offset spatula. I scraped away most of the buttercream for a semi-naked look but you can leave more on if you’re a frosting person.
14. Pipe caramel onto the top and give a quick smooth with a knife or offset spatula. Don’t pipe to much as the caramel drips will slowly descend down the cake for a while.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this cake 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!
Apple Spice Cake
Video
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour 360g
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon 4.6g
- 1/2 tsp ginger 0.9g
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1g
- 1/2 tsp allspice 1g
- 1 Pinch ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla 4.9mL
- 1 tsp baking soda 4.6g
- 1 tsp salt 6.3g
- 1/2 cup coconut oil 118.2mL melted
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil 59mL
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt 59mL
- 1.5 cups sugar 192g
- 3 large eggs
- 3 to 4 apples about 2 cups cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups) I prefer honey crisp but many varieties are great.
For the Buttercream:
- 1 pound confectioner's sugar 453.5g
- 3/4 cup room temperature Butter 170g
- 1/3 cup cream 79mL
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 14.7g
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup brown sugar 200g
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 71g
- 1/2 cup cream or half and half 118.2mL
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 14.7mL
- 1 Pinch of salt
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 just combined
- Fold in the apples
- Divide the mixture evenly into four 6" 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:
- Add 3/4 cup of butter to a pot and cook over medium low heat stirring occasionally until the milk solids in the butter caramelize and darken. Be careful of splatters! Once the butter has darkened transfer to a bowl and chill until almost solid. The brown butter will be slow to cool and thicken back up so make sure to do this step in advance.
- Cream the butter in a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Add in the salt and powdered sugar gradually and beat together.
- Add vanilla and cream until desired consistency is achieved.
For the Caramel:
- Combine ingredients in small pot and stir together so they're mostly dissolved.
- Place over medium-low heat and cook for 7-8 minutes leaving it alone until it bubbles and thickens, although you can wash the side down with a wet pastry brush.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla then transfer to a bowl to cool.
Notes
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set 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!
Nutrition
Carla says
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! Great Recipe. I had baked the cake layers ahead of time and froze them. Then filled and iced the cake the day before Thanksgiving. Delish!
Carla says
Can the cake layers be frozen if i want to make this ahead of time? Then finished when I need it
Cat says
Can I substitute grated apples for cubes and can I use Swiss Buttercream instead of American?
jkanell says
Yes you can use grated apples. And Swiss buttercream is always a good idea.
Barbara says
Does the Carmel sauce need to be refrigerated. I made it but won’t be using it for 2 days.
jkanell says
it should yes.
Vanessa says
It is fall again, time to make this wonderfull cake again! I have been looking forward to it all summer, and finally I have an occasion to make it! With delicious almost sour but bity Boskop-apples from our garden. I am thinking about making some more cakes and frost them (just the cake layers), and I think because they are so moist they should frost just fine.
Again using a browned butter/mascarpone frosting!
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
jkanell says
So happy you like it!!!
Michelle says
Oh borwn butter mascarpone frosting?! That sounds amazing! Can you share the recipe? Please 😊
Nancy says
I’ve got this baking right now! I’m perplexed though… in the video you brown a pound of butter and caption it as 3/4c, and the recipe says 3/4c. Which is the correct measurement??
jkanell says
Gosh I want to say that 1 pound yielded 3/4 cup because you lose the water in the butter when it cooks.
Isuru Wikum says
So just want to be sure, I should be using 1 lb of room temperature butter for the recipe?
jkanell says
yup
Sandy says
Amazing flavors! Perfect for fall!
jkanell says
Thank you!
Kathy H. says
A wee bit confused by caramel instructions…
Pro tips say
Don’t stir! After the sugar has dissolved you don’t need to stir as it can cause crystals to form and ruin that silky consistency.
How To, Step 2 says…
To make the caramel add brown sugar, cream, butter and salt to a small pot over medium-low heat and whisk until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Mix in the vanilla, transfer so a bowl and set aside to cool completely.
INSTRUCTIONS say…
For the Caramel:
Combine ingredients in small pot.
Heat over medium-low heat while whisking
Cook for 7-8 minutes until thickened and transfer to a bowl to cool.
My brain is not assimilating these as the same method. ???
jkanell says
Hi Kathy! My changesgot lost in a draft somewhere. Thanks so much for pointing this out. I’ve updated the recipe. No stirring means less crystallization and a smoother caramel.
Kathy H. says
My caramel did have a slightly grainy texture, but the whole cake was still a great hit at work. I will try again with your caramel cake recipe. FYI… I ground some dried apple slices, and distributed a bit of the “apple powder” across the filling layers and top, put a handful of the dried apple slices over the top caramel. Several oops moments while making this cake. Need to be a bit more zen. I thought the frosting (before I added too much sugar) tasted just like kettlekorn. Yummy.
The only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5: As in my original post, several different sets of directions and a video did not necessarily coincide, kind of like having 5 chefs talking at once!
Emily Schultz says
Hi, I wanted to make this and really didn’t want to buy coconut oil for this. Are there any substitutes for it?
Thanks!
jkanell says
Veggie oil will be fine!
Celeste says
This cake is amazing! I made it for my friends and they all loved it! I love this cake because it’s also very easy to make it diary-free. This is a very good recipe and I have already been asked to make it again!!
Thank you!!!