Caramel Apple Layer Cake

September 4, 2024

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This Caramel Apple Layer Cake is made with layers of spiced cake that’s loaded with apples, a thick caramel filling and creamy caramel buttercream. It’s insanely scrumptious and ideal for fall!

Why You’ll Love this Caramel Apple Layer Cake

  • Tender apple cake. The layers of this caramel apple layer cake are so moist and tender! The batter is made with oil (and butter), brown sugar, bitter cream and applesauce which all contribute to that tender, moist texture. SO good!
  • Full of apples. I actually needed the apple taste to shine, so I used a lot of apple chunks. You’ll get a style of apple in each chunk of cake. Pure heaven! Plus, these large items of apple add much more moisture to the cake!
  • Tons of caramel taste. Caramel is the right complement to apples and this cake has the right layer of caramel. It’s thick, stuffed with taste and stays in place whenever you minimize the cake. I additionally added it to the buttercream to offer it a lift of caramel taste as nicely.
  • Excellent for fall. I like this cake within the fall (though I believe I may eat it anytime of the 12 months!). It’s not overly candy and has a pleasant mix of heat fall spices. It could be excellent for Thanksgiving, different fall gatherings and birthdays.

Caramel apple cake ingredients with text titles.

What You’ll Want

You’ll want numerous substances for this cake. Try my ideas that will help you choose what you want. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card under for actual measurements.

Caramel Sauce

  • Unsalted butter – You can use salted butter, in case you’d like somewhat salty taste.
  • Darkish brown sugar – Utilizing darkish brown sugar will give the caramel a deeper taste.
  • Sweetened condensed milk and Heavy whipping cream – The mix of the 2 varieties the bottom of the caramel sauce. I performed with them a bit and located an equal quantity of every to be finest. Utilizing all heavy cream resulted in a thinner filling and utilizing all sweetened condensed milk made it too agency and gave it a special taste.
  • Corn syrup – The corn syrup helps preserve the caramel filling from turning into grainy, notably because it comes again to room temperature after cooling.

Apple Cake

  • Flour – You’ll want to measure it appropriately to keep away from dry or dense cake. You’ll need common all-purpose flour.
  • Leavening – For one of the best rise and texture, you’ll want each baking powder and baking soda.
  • Spices – Use floor cinnamon and floor nutmeg for additional fall taste.
  • Salt – With out a little salt, your cake will likely be bland.
  • Unsalted butter – When baking, I typically desire to make use of unsalted butter in order that I can management the quantity of salt within the batter extra exactly. Should you don’t have unsalted butter, you need to use salted butter, however you’ll need to omit the extra salt within the recipe. Deliver the butter to room temperature earlier than utilizing it within the batter.
  • Vegetable oil- Utilizing some oil, along with butter, provides to the moisture of the cake.
  • Gentle brown sugar – For sweetness, taste and added moisture.
  • Vanilla extract
  • Eggs – This recipe makes use of 5 giant eggs. It’s essential to ensure you are utilizing giant eggs and never medium or additional giant.
  • Bitter cream – Helps preserve the truffles moist and thicken the cake batter, in order that your apples don’t sink to the underside.
  • Unsweetened applesauce – Boosts the apple taste and provides moisture to the batter. I like to recommend utilizing unsweetened applesauce to chop out pointless added sugars.
  • Tough chopped apples – I needed the apple chunks to be distinguished within the truffles, so I chopped them into bigger bite-size items. You’ll need to use a agency, tart baking apple. I used Granny Smith apples however different baking varieties will even work.

Caramel Buttercream

  • Unsalted butter – Needs to be at room temperature in order that it mixes simply. Don’t use salted butter for the frosting or it should turn out to be too salty.
  • Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar provides the buttercream quantity and impacts the consistency. I have a tendency to make use of a very good bit as a result of I like a thicker buttercream that I do know will keep in place and pipes nicely. Be at liberty to cut back it, in case you aren’t involved about that. You can too simply scale back the general quantity of buttercream, in case you have a tendency to simply add a skinny layer of frosting to your truffles.
  • Caramel sauce – You’ll use a portion of your do-it-yourself caramel sauce to taste the buttercream.
A slice of Caramel Apple Layer Cake on a small white plate.

Methods to Make Caramel Apple Layer Cake

Don’t miss these step-by-step photographs and instructions. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card under for the detailed printable directions.

Make the Caramel Sauce

  • Add substances to the pan. Soften the butter in a big saucepan, then add the brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and corn syrup. Warmth over medium warmth till sugar is dissolved.
  • Warmth to correct temperature. Prepare dinner the caramel over medium-high warmth it involves a full boil and reaches 215°F, about 4 minutes.
  • Cool. Pour right into a bowl and refrigerate till utterly cooled.
A pot with thin caramel and whisk.
The cooked caramel whereas nonetheless heat.
A bowl with thick caramel.
The cooled caramel sauce.

Make the Apple Cake Batter

  • Put together to bake. Put together three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles within the backside and grease the perimeters. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
  • Mix dry substances. Mix the dry substances and put aside.
  • Cream and add eggs. Add the butter, oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract to a big mixer bowl and beat collectively till gentle in shade and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs separately, mixing till principally mixed after every.
A mixing bowl with creamed cake batter ingredients.
Cream the butter, oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract.
A mixing bowl with cake batter that has had dry ingredients mixed into it.
Add the eggs separately.
  • Alternate dry and moist substances. Add half of the dry substances to the batter and blend till principally mixed. Add the bitter cream and applesauce and blend till nicely mixed. Add the remaining dry substances and blend till nicely mixed and easy.
  • Fold in apples. Gently fold the chopped apples into the batter till nicely dispersed.
A mixing bowl of cake batter with spices added to it.
Add the dry substances, bitter cream and applesauce.
A mixing bowl filled with apple cake batter with a spatula sticking out.
Fold within the apples.
  • Fill cake pans, bake. Divide the batter evenly between the truffles pans and bake for 25-Half-hour, or till a toothpick comes out clear.
  • Cool. Take away the truffles from the oven and permit to chill for about 2-3 minutes, then take away to cooling racks to chill utterly.
Three cake pans filled with apple cake batter.
Add the batter to the ready cake pans.
Three baked and cooled apple cakes.
Bake and funky the cake layers.

Make the Buttercream

  • Beat butter. Beat softened butter till easy.
  • Add the opposite substances. Add half of the powdered sugar and blend till nicely mixed and easy. Add ¾ cup of ready caramel sauce and blend till nicely mixed and easy. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and blend till nicely mixed and easy.
  • Whip buttercream. Beat the buttercream on excessive pace for 3-4 minutes with the paddle attachment to whip some air into it and add quantity.

Construct the Cake

  • Stage truffles. Use a serrated knife to take away the domes from the highest of every cake in order that they’re utterly flat. You possibly can take a look at my recommendations on easy methods to degree a cake.
  • Layer the truffles. Place the primary cake on a serving plate. Unfold 1/2 a cup of buttercream on high of the cake. Pipe a dam of buttercream across the outer fringe of the cake, on high of the layer of buttercream you simply added. Fill the dam with about 1/2 a cup of caramel sauce and unfold evenly. Repeat with the second layer of cake, one other layer of frosting, a dam and caramel sauce. High the cake with the remaining cake layer and frost the skin of the cake.
  • Embellish with caramel. Drip the remaining caramel sauce across the sides of the cake, then fill within the middle.
Layer cake with a buttercream dam holding caramel filling in the center.
Spoon drizzling caramel around the outside of a cake.
  • Pipe border. Use the remaining buttercream to pipe a border across the high fringe of the cake. I used Ateco tip 847. I additionally sprinkled my border with nutmeg.
  • Serve. The cake will be loved instantly after adorning it, however must be stored within the fridge in case you’ve made it upfront. Give it time to take a seat at room temperature earlier than serving.
The top and side of a Caramel Apple Layer Cake.

Ideas for Success

  • Use a candy thermometer. The caramel sauce must be thick sufficient to remain in place within the cake, however tender sufficient to drizzle. So watch out to not beneath or over prepare dinner it. One of the best ways to make sure it seems completely is to make use of a sweet thermometer.
  • Measure flour appropriately. Including the flawed quantity of flour can actually impact the feel of the cake. Should you add an excessive amount of flour, your cake will likely be dry. I extremely advocate utilizing a food scale and weighing your flour to keep away from this. Should you don’t have a meals scale, use the spoon and degree technique.
  • Don’t skimp on creaming time. When beating collectively the butter, oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract, achieve this till the combination is gentle in shade and fluffy. This could take 2-3 minutes.
  • Don’t over combine. Over mixing the cake batter after you add the flour will trigger the glutens within the flour to overdevelop. This offers you a troublesome, dense cake.
  • Cool earlier than frosting. It’s important that you just permit the truffles to chill utterly earlier than stacking, filling, and frosting. If they’re too heat, the frosting will soften proper off the cake.
  • Use a cake lifter. It may be difficult to maneuver skinny layers of cake if you end up assembling the layered cake. Typically they’ll can crack within the strategy of putting them on the cake. For assist shifting the skinny cake layers round, I discover a cake lifter to be useful.
A slice of Caramel Apple Layer Cake on a small plate with a bite taken out of it.

Storage Data

  • Within the fridge: Retailer the cake within the fridge in an air-tight container or cake carrier. Should you don’t have a cake provider, wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic and use toothpicks to prop it up in order that the wrap doesn’t break the buttercream and caramel. This cake is finest loved cool however not chilly. Let the total cake sit on the counter for Half-hour to an hour earlier than diving in. It’s finest if eaten inside 3-4 days.
  • Methods to freeze: You can too freeze this layer cake. I sometimes advocate freezing simply the cake layers previous to frosting and adorning. Wrap them nicely in clear plastic wrap and aluminum foil previous to freezing. Thaw the cake layers within the fridge earlier than frosting and adorning. You can too freeze the total cake. In that case, pop the totally frosted cake within the freezer for a few hours to agency up earlier than wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can too slice the cake and wrap the person slices in clear wrap or place slices in an air-tight container. Retailer the cake within the freezer for as much as 3 months. Thaw the cake within the fridge in a single day, earlier than serving.

Extra Caramel Apple Dessert Recipes

This recipe was up to date 9/3/2024. For the outdated model of the recipe, obtain the recipe PDF.

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Side view of a Caramel Apple Layer Cake with slices removed to show interior layers.