This ain’t your average Caramel Apple Cake boos. I start the recipe with a sour cream pound cake batter that I mix spiced apple pieces into. It bakes up like a dream before I top it off with more sweet apples and a buttery crumble. Add a drizzle of caramel icing and get your whole life.
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How to Make Caramel Apple Cake
Make the Apple Filling
Step 1: Add chopped apples, brown sugar, apple pie spice to a medium pot over medium heat.
Step 2: Stir together cornstarch and butter until a paste forms. Add to the apple filling mixture and stir until combined. Once it thickens, remove from heat and set aside.
Make the Streusel
Step 3: Mix together the flour, brown sugar and apple pie spice in a small bowl until combined. Using a pastry cutter, add in the butter and cut into the mixture until crumbs develop then set aside. Add the crumbs to a parchment lined sheet pan.
Step 4: Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until golden. Remove and let cool in the fridge.
Make the Cake Batter, Assemble and Bake
Step 5: Add butter and sugar and begin creaming on high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, which takes about 5-7 minutes. Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
Step 6: Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments. Then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
Step 7: Lastly, add in sour cream, milk and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer. Fold in 2/3s of the apple mixture that was set aside until mixed through.
Step 8: Pour half of the cake batter into a greased bundt pan. Add streusel on top, making sure to reserve some to garnish the top of the cake.
Step 9: Next carefully dollop the remaining cake batter on top of the streusel.
Step 10: Bake for 1 hour and 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Make the Caramel and Garnish
Step 11: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat then toss in brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, consistently stirring.
Step 12: Whisk in milk, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. It will continue to thicken.
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Step 13: Arrange remaining apple filling on top of the cake. Then drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with remaining streusel.
Caramel Apple Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling
- 3 cups sliced apples such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. peeled and chopped into smaller pieces
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
For the Streusel
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes
For the Pound Cake
- 1 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
For the Caramel Glaze
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Apple Filling
- Add chopped apples, brown sugar, apple pie spice to a medium, 2 quart pot over medium heat.
- Stir together cornstarch and butter until a paste forms then add to the apple filling mixture and stir until combined. It will quickly start to thicken once added to the apple filling. Remove from heat and set aside.
For the Streusel
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Mix together the flour, brown sugar and apple pie spice in a small bowl until combined. Using a pastry cutter, add in the butter and cut into the mixture until crumbs develop then set aside.
- Add the crumbs to a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for about 9-10 minutes or until golden. Remove and let cool in the fridge.
For the Cake
- Drop the temperature to 325 F then liberally spray a 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray that has flour.
- In your stand mixer bowl, add butter and sugar and begin creaming on high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, which takes about 5-7 minutes.
- Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt and baking soda. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Lastly add in sour cream, milk and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer.
- Fold in 2/3s of the apple mixture that was set aside until mixed through.
To Bake
- Take out the streusel, break it apart and reserve ⅔ cup for the garnish. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan then add the remaining streusel on top. Next carefully dollop the remaining cake batter on top of the streusel.
- Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check that a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. If it doesn’t let it cook another 5-10 minutes then check it again with a toothpick for doneness.
- Cool in the bundt pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake on a serving plate for about an hour or until the cake is cooler to touch. The bundt pan should easily slide off.
For the Caramel Glaze
- Melt butter in a medium, 2 quart, saucepan over medium-low heat.
- Toss in your brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute (the butter and sugar should be completely combined).
- Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, consistently stirring, for about 2 minutes.
- Whisk in milk, vanilla and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring, for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool. It will continue to thicken.
- o assemble, arrange remaining apple filling on top of the cake then drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with remaining streusel. Slice and serve it up.
Notes
How to Store Caramel Apple Pound Cake
After assembling the cake, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, caramel apple cake will need to be stored in the fridge because of the cooked apples.How long does caramel apple cake last in the refrigerator?
It should last for up to 5 days.Can I freeze this caramel apple bundt cake?
Yep for sure boos! You can freeze the pound cake without the apples and caramel icing. Once those are added the cake doesn’t freeze as well.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Room Temp: Make sure the eggs and butter are room temp before making the batter so it turns out super smooth.
- Don’t Overmix: Once the flour is added, make sure you just blend everything together until it’s just combined. At this point the gluten starts activating and will make a tough cake if it’s mixed for too long.
- Be sure to grease and flour your baking pan. Bundt pans have lots of cracks and crannies and you don’t want the cake to stick. If you use a baking spray, use one specifically designed for baking that contains flour. You can also use my cake release.
- Cool the cake in the pan first before inverting it to finish cooling. The cake will continue to cook a bit, settle and slightly firm up as it sits making it less likely to crack or break.
- Go Cold for the Streusel: Make sure the butter is super cold so you get delish crisp crumbs in your crumble.
- Push Streusel into the Caramel: When assembling the cake at the end, push the streusel into the caramel topping to help it stick to the cake even more.
Ingredient Notes
- Cake Flour: None around? Just learn how to make cake flour with just some all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
- Apples: If you aren’t a fan of Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, grab Fuji, gala or pink ladies for a little more sweetness.
- Apple Spice: You can use cinnamon and nutmeg instead. Even pumpkin pie spice is a nice swap.
- Sour Cream: You can use greek yogurt instead in this caramel apple bundt cake. Make sure it’s plain.
Recipe Help
You can prepare the cake ahead of time and store at room temp up to a day before serving.
You can easily thin it out with a little more liquid. If it’s too thin, then keep on cooking it so it thickens up some.
More Fruit Pound Cake Recipes
If you want even more pound cake then you’re going to adore Big Mama’s Sour Cream Cake, Hot Milk Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Sock It To Me Cake, or my Kentucky Butter Cake.
This post was originally published October 2012. It has been updated for content and images.
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I like to bake from time to time. This recipe was so easy to follow and sooo delicious! I’ll be trying more of your recipes for sure!!
Thanks so much, Khaia! Can’t wait to hear what you think of my other recipes!
This was delicious! Used Granny Smith apples and did the make your own cake flour suggestion. Super easy. I used arrowroot flower instead of cornstarch. The cake was so moist and felt the perfect “weight ” if that makes sense. The caramel and strudel really level this up to amazing. Everyone loved it. Can’t wait to try more recipes.
So happy to hear that it turned out well and so cool to know that arrowroot worked!
DELICIOUS POUND CAKE!!! I’ve made this three times already and we do freeze it so it can last longer. Although, like the author mentioned, the caramel sauce doesn’t taste the same, it’s still delicious in our opinion!!!!
So glad you like it!
Decadent. Worth the effort for sure.