An incredibly rich and moist apple cake that is topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and salted caramel sauce.
The other day I went about trying to come up with an apple bar recipe. I decided to try something different by baking the apples into the cookie base. I proceeded with making the cookie dough, folding in some apples, and then seeing what happened.
I neglected to factor in the amount of moisture that the apples would release as they baked; so instead of the more cookie-like bar that I was aiming for, the result was an incredibly rich and moist cake. This “failed experiment” turned into one of the best recipes I’ve developed in quite some time.
On the next go round I paired the apple cake with a tangy cream cheese frosting for balance and drizzled it with a delicious salted caramel sauce. As much as I wanted to eat the entire thing, I forced myself to share it with my coworkers to save me from myself. Though, the next time I make this recipe I don’t know if I’ll be as charitable.
Have you ever had any happy accidents in the kitchen?
Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel Sauce
One of my "failed experiments" that turned into an incredibly rich and moist cake. It's topped with tangy cream cheese frosting and salted caramel sauce.
Ingredients
Apple Cake:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (dark) brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large baking apples,* peeled and diced
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- one 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
For Serving:
- Salted Caramel Sauce, for drizzling
Instructions
For the Apple Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line an 8-inch cake round with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and both sugars in a stand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and evenly combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the egg and mix until evenly incorporated.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a bowl and give a little mix. On low speed, add the flour to the butter-sugar-egg mixture and mix until a thick batter forms. Add in the diced apples last.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth with a spatula. (The batter will be very thick.) Bake until browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean when inserted in the middle of the cake, 60 to 70 minutes. (It might not be completely clean if you happen to hit a piece of apple.) Let cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese and butter on high speed until evenly combined. Add in the powdered sugar and salt and continue mixing until homogenous.
To Serve:
- Spread the frosting over the apple cake and drizzle with some Salted Caramel Sauce. The sauce should be warm so that it drizzles, but if it’s too hot it will melt the frosting. Serve with the remaining caramel sauce.
Notes
*I used Braeburn and Cortland apples; Granny Smith would also work well.
Excellent recipe! I’ve made it three times and it has been delicious. I actually prefer the cake alone, but the cream cheese frosting and caramel are good.
The cake has great flavour but it’s too sweet. I thought it called for a lot of sugar and to me, too much. It overpowers the flavour. Then the icing! Way too sweet.