Apple Dapple Cake

5 from 26 votes

This old fashioned Apple Dapple Cake is a must-try fall dessert! It’s an easy bundt cake studded with apples and pecans, baked until golden, then drizzled with a delicious brown sugar sauce to make it extra moist. Every bite is bursting with apples, pecans, and amazing caramel flavors!

*Adapted from Bake From Scratch Magazine

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: (15-cup) bundt cake

Calories: 648kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the cake

1⅓ cups (267 grams)granulated sugar
¾ cup (160 grams) (160 ml) vegetable oil
3 large eggs room temperature
⅔ cup (150 grams) unsalted butter melted
⅓ cups (71 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice

For the apple mixture

3½ cups (438 grams) (438 grams) apples peeled and chopped in ⅓-½ inch pieces
1½ cups (170 grams) toasted pecans chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour

For the caramel sauce

¾ cup (170 grams) unsalted butter softened
¼ cup (60 grams) (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 cup (213 g) packed light brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Garnish: chopped toasted pecans

Instructions

Make the cake

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, oil, eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla; beat at medium-low speed until well combined, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating until combined and stopping to scrape sides of bowl. (Batter will be quite thick.)

Make the apple mixture

In a medium bowl, stir together apples, pecans, and flour. Fold apple mixture into batter.
Spray a 15-cup bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Spoon batter into prepared pan; tap pan on counter several times to evenly spread batter and release any air bubbles.
Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour, rotating pan halfway through baking and loosely covering with foil to prevent excess browning, if necessary.

Make the caramel sauce

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently; cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
Remove cake from oven, and poke all over with a wooden pick; pour ¾ cup (about 195 grams) butter mixture over top, spreading evenly with a small offset spatula. Let cake cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Transfer remaining butter mixture to a small microwave-safe bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
When ready to serve, using a small offset spatula, gently loosen cake from center and edges of pan. Remove cake from pan, and place, flat side up, on a serving plate.
Heat remaining butter mixture in microwave on high in 10-second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Using a large spoon, pour butter mixture over top of cooled cake, smoothing and spreading as needed. Garnish with pecans, if desired.

Notes

Measure your flour accurately. It’s super important to measure your flour accurately for the best texture in your cake. Use a kitchen scale and weigh it in grams, or spoon the flour into the measuring cups and level off with a knife. For more tips, here is a full post on How to Measure Flour.
Don’t overmix the batter. To keep the cake from getting too dense or tough, mix the dry ingredients into the wet on low speed and only until just combined.
Poke the holes about ¾ down the cake. You want the sauce to soak deep into the cake, which won’t happen if you poke it too shallowly.
Storage: Store it in an air-tight container or cake stand for 3-5 days at room temperature.
Freezing: Let it cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Best apples to use: You want to use apples that don’t disintegrate when baked. I used Cortland apples, but Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp are also great. For other good apple options, read my post on all The Best Apples for Baking.

Nutrition