To me, few things scream, “Fall!” as much as baking with apples. We have been sitting on the fence here between fall and winter. Some days are scarf-worthy, while others are not even jacket-worthy. On a fall-like day, I decided to slice up some apples and make this cake that I’ve had bookmarked for a while.
Of course, what are apples without cinnamon? And just to make it even more fantastic, let’s throw in a little caramel, too. Seriously, this is fall in a cake.
I’ve done my share of caramel-related whining. I just haven’t had a lot of success in that department. If I need to make any caramel, I am always sure to have extra ingredients around because I am highly likely to make a mess of it at least once. Surprisingly, I fared far better than normal with this caramel sauce.
This cake is simple to make and a joy to eat. It’s really a beautiful, tasty thing. I highly recommend you track down some apples, whip up some caramel sauce, and treat yourself to a lovely dessert.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 & 1/3 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3-4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 1 cup chopped assorted nuts (pecans, almonds, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, combine oil, sugar, and eggs on high speed until blended. Mixture will be lemon yellow. Decrease mixer speed to medium, and gradually add flour mixture. Mix just until blended. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples and nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 75-90 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and cool slightly on wire rack. Then, invert cake onto rack to cool completely.
To make the caramel sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened to desired consistency.
Pour over cake immediately.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
December 10th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
Beautiful looking and sounding cake!!!
December 10th, 2011 at 6:42 pm
i love caramel sauce with anything.
December 10th, 2011 at 9:31 pm
I had two favorite cakes as a child. My mom made Devil’s Food Cake with Seven Minute Icing for my birthday and your Grannie made “Applesauce” Cake at Christmas. She would make one for me and another for everyone else. I was her “baby Tim” you know. If she had put Caramel on it…forget about it!!!
December 10th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
the caramel looks extremely good, it’s like a caramel apple on a cake
December 11th, 2011 at 10:28 am
I love spice cake! Especially with caramel. I’m saving this for next fall. I went apple crazy in October and now I’ve had it with apples. It still looks fantastic.
December 12th, 2011 at 6:50 am
This looks delicious! Apples, spices, AND caramel – definitely making this, thanks, I love your blog!
December 12th, 2011 at 8:57 am
This just screams delicious to me! There seriously is no better combination than apples, cinnamon, and caramel. Yum!
December 12th, 2011 at 10:38 am
This cake looks wonderful! I love apples, cinnamon and caramel together – a perfect fall palate!
October 19th, 2012 at 10:44 am
i am so excited to try to bake this tonight for a chicken stew tomorrow. it looks fantastic!