When I saw this delicious recipe for Caramel Apple Cake on The Great Cake Company‘s blog, I knew I had to share it with you. It reminded me of Peter’s Caramel… and really the only way you could make caramel apples better would be to add cake!
Caramel Apple Cake: Brought to you by The Great Cake Company
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups homemade applesauce or store-bought unsweetened applesauce
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 325-degrees. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust the parchment with flour and knock out the excess flour.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
- Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment, and let cool completely.
Caramel Sauce:
- Jaime used this caramel sauce recipe. But you can always melt 1/2 pound of Peter’s Caramel and add enough heavy cream to the melted caramel until you get a runny consistency.
Caramel Buttercream:
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1⁄3 cup plus 2 tablespoons melted caramel, at room temperature
Instructions:
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Remember which whisk to use?)
- Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter and vanilla; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
- Add 1⁄3 cup of the caramel and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.
Assembly:
- Place one of the cake layers on the cake base and level off the top. Put a thin layer of caramel sauce on the layers and then spread caramel buttercream on top. Next, add another layer of cake and level and frost as you did with the first layer. Trim the top of the last layer and then place it on top of the cake bottom side up. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the entire cake (crumb coat) and place the cake on the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the fridge and use the remaining frosting to ice the top and sides. Use the remaining caramel to drizzle over the top. Add chopped peanuts, if desired.
Thanks for sharing your delicious cake with us Jaime!
