Labor Day weekend is past us, and now it is time to dive head first into fall desserts! Unless you’re like me, and then you started them the moment the calendar said September! I started off my fall desserts last week with my new Oreo Pumpkin cake which is on my blog that you can find here
I love fall desserts, so this cake is long overdue. Caramel and apple are just meant to be together and the only thing I love as much as caramel with an apple is cinnamon sugar with an apple. Since I couldn’t decide which to do, I did both! Here’s the break down of my caramel apple cake for you:
This cake has apple cake layers with a cinnamon sugar swirl, apple butter filling, and it’s topped off with caramel and cinnamon ganache, and finally a caramel buttercream.
So here are some tips to have successful cake layers.
- Remember to use room temperature ingredients.
- Cream your butter, oil and sugar. This is so important. This is what helps your cake rise and have texture.
- Weigh your cake batter to ensure even cake layers.
- Heat your caramel in the microwave so you don’t crystallize the sugar or burn yourself.
How to make perfect caramel
One of my most frequently asked questions on Instagram is about making caramel. It may seem intimidating, but it’s actually one of the easiest things to make. Here are a few things that you should know when it comes to making caramel sauce:
- Combine the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a sauce pan. This is only time you can stir it. If you stir it while it’s heating, it will start to crystallize and harden up.
- Heat the cream. When you heat the cream, it decreases the steam as you mix it with the sugar water mixture and will prevent you from getting burned. This tip definitely comes with some personal experience. Adding heated cream to the mixture also makes it easier to stir and leaves it less chunky.
One of my favorite parts of this cake is the apple butter filling. It is amazing! The best part is how easy it is to do. All you have to do is take some of the buttercream you are making for the caramel buttercream and mix it with some apple butter and it’s a tasty apple filling.
In my recipe you will notice that it calls for apple butter and cinnamon chips. Both of which you can find at the store. Here is the one for apple butter, and here is the one for the cinnamon chips.
I also have included some tools that I used with this cake. These tools are some of my favorites, and trust me, I have tried most cake tools. These are definitely some of the best!
- Turntable (I love mine from amazon)
- Cake boards
- Offset icing spatula
- Straight icing spatula
- Straight scraper
- Acrylic disks
- Piping bag
- Squeeze bottle
- Kitchen scale
Recipe
Cinnamon Caramel Apple Cake
Ingredients
for the apple cinnamon cake
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
For the apple filling
- 1 ½ cups buttercream recipe below
- ¼ cup apple butter homemade or from the jar
For the caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
For the caramel buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 7 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Half of the homemade caramel
For the cinnamon drip
- 1 cup Hershey’s cinnamon baking chips
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat your oven to 325. With cooking spray, spray 3 8 inch or 4 6 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, spray again. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside
- In a medium size bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil and sugar on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat each egg one at a time and scrape down the sides after each addition.
- Turn the mixer off and add half the flour mixture and half of the applesauce and mix just until incorporated. Add the rest of flour and the apple sauce. Mix on low until incorporated. Don’t over mix.
- Pour about 10 oz. of the batter in each 8-inch pan or 8 ounces in each 6-inch pans. Divide the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture between the cake batter, I did 3 spoonfuls in each one. sprinkling evenly over the batter. Top with the remaining batter (about 10 oz. more per 8-inch pan or 8 oz in each 6-inch pan). I used a small offset spatula to help me evenly distribute the batter on the top.
- Bake for 30-33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few to no crumbs. After they are done baking, let them cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire wrack and let them come to room temperature. Once at room temperature, wrap them in saran wrap and freeze, or place in the fridge until ready to use. They will store in the fridge for up to 4 days, and in the freezer for up to 6 months.
For the caramel
- Heat the cream in the microwave for 1 minute in a microwave safe bowl.
- Mix sugar, water and corn syrup in a small saucepan on medium heat. This is the part when you do not want to stir. Let it cook until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown. This takes a few minutes (anywhere from 4-7), but once it starts turning color, it happens fast, so keep an eye on it.
- Turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and add the cream, being careful that it doesn’t burn you. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
- Pour mixture into a heat proof bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts, then stir.
- Let it cool down to room temp.
For the caramel buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about two minutes.
- With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the powdered sugar, cream and salt. Once combined, beat on high for 2 minutes. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and beat for 2 more minutes.
- Set aside 1 ½ cups for the filling.
- Add the caramel and beat on high for one more minute. With a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, beat out the air pockets.
- For the cinnamon chip ganache
- In a microwave safe bowl or over the stove, heat the cream until simmering. Pour the cream over the cinnamon chips and stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is smooth and silky.
- Let the mixture cool slightly before using. It will thicken up during this time.
Assembly
- Level the cakes if needed, place a small dollop of frosting on a cake board, and place one cake layer top side up in the middle of the cake board.
- With a piping bag, pipe a small ring around the edges of the cake. Level the cakes if needed. Place a small dollop of frosting on a cake board, and place one cake layer top side up in the middle of the cake board.
- With a piping bag, pipe a small ring around the edges of the cake.
- Place about ⅓ cup of apple butter filling on the cake, followed by a drizzle of caramel, and cinnamon ganache.
- Place another one of the cake layers top side down and repeat step two by adding a rim of buttercream and then the apple butter filling.
- Add the last layer of cake, top side down.
- Apply a thin layer (crumb coat) of the caramel buttercream around the cake, and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Finish frosting the rest of the cake with the left over buttercream, I topped mine with caramel and the ganache. Serve at room temperature.