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A soft, tender apple spice cake filled with fresh apple chunks and warm spices, topped with luscious caramel icing. Versatile for layer cakes, sheet cakes, cupcakes, or bundt cakes, perfect for cozy desserts.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups cake flour, sifted and then measured
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup dark brown sugar
  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 3 diced apples
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • ½ cup butter (for icing)
  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (for icing)
  • ¼ cup milk (any variety, for icing)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (for icing)
  • 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (for icing)
  • 1¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted (additional for caramel frosting)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round pans, or one 9×13-inch pan, or butter/flour a bundt pan, or line cupcake pans with liners.
  2. Sift cake flour and measure 3 cups into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to the flour; whisk to combine.
  4. In a mixer bowl, combine dark brown sugar, room-temperature butter, applesauce, and buttermilk; beat for 2 minutes.
  5. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 2 more minutes until smooth.
  6. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; mix until batter is smooth.
  7. Fold diced apples gently into batter with a spatula until evenly distributed.
  8. Pour batter into prepared pans or fill cupcake liners about two-thirds full.
  9. Bake according to pan type: 25–30 minutes for round pans, 30–40 minutes for 9×13 pan, 18–22 minutes for cupcakes, or 45–50 minutes for bundt pan, until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
  10. Cool cakes: Let round or bundt pans cool 15 minutes, run knife around edges, invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. Cool cupcakes in pan or on rack.
  11. To make caramel icing: melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat; stir in brown sugar and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly; boil for 2 minutes.
  12. Add milk; bring back to boiling, then remove from heat immediately.
  13. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth; let cool slightly before using.
  14. To make caramel frosting: cool the icing completely, transfer to mixer bowl, add 1¼ cups powdered sugar; beat until light and spreadable; add milk if too thick.
  15. For a layered cake, level domed top off first layer; spread frosting; top with second layer and cover entire cake with frosting. For other formats, spread caramel icing over cooled cake.

Notes

Caramel icing adapted from 1978 Kitchen Klatter Cookbook., Cake pans: Use two 8″ rounds for taller layers or 9″ rounds; 9×13 pan for sheet cake; cupcake liners for cupcakes; 10-12 cup bundt pan for bundt., Use room-temperature eggs and butter for best blending., Sift cake flour before measuring for lighter batter., Sift powdered sugar for easier blending into icing., Make caramel icing as soon as cake is out of oven; it will be ready to spread when cake cools (~15-20 min)., Caramel frosting can be made ahead and refrigerated., Unfrosted cake freezes well up to 3 months; thaw before frosting.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://margorecipes.com/apple-spice-cake-with-caramel-icing-recipe/