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5 from 1 vote

Salted Caramel Apple Cake

A caramel apple cake with caramel cream cheese frosting! Top with caramel sauce and chopped walnuts
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time2 hours 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: cake
Servings: 8 slices
Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 3 cups chopped peeled apples about 4 apples

For the frosting:

  • 14 ounces butter softened
  • 14 ounces cream cheese cold
  • 2 Tablespoons vanilla
  • 6 cups confectioner sugar
  • 1/2 cup caramel sauce
  • additional caramel for drizzling
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, optional toasted and chopped

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper and set aside.
  • In large bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla and applesauce. Stir in flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Stir in apples. Spoon into pan.
  • Bake 40 to 45 minutes on middle rack of the oven until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes longer.
  • To prepare the frosting: in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add in the vanilla and caramel sauce and mix until combined. Keep the frosting chilled until ready to use. Use an offset spatula to spread a layer of frosting on top of the first layer. Top with the second layer of cake. Spread frosting around the top and sides. Spread more caramel sauce on top and top with toasted chopped walnuts.
  • Keep cake covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Use parchment paper to line the bottom of your cake pan. 
  • Use room temperature ingredients! You can speed up the process of softening your butter by cutting it into small cubes and leaving on your counter for about 1 hour. For your eggs, you can bring them to room temperature quick by placing in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
  • Measure your batter with a measuring cup  to evenly divide the batter between the two pans. I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup. You could eyeball it, but I like to ensure that each cake pan gets equal amounts of batter so they bake evenly. 
  • Use a cake tester or a wooden toothpick to test if the cake is done.  Insert the cake tester into the center of the cake 5 minutes before the timer goes off to test if the cake is done. You should pull out a few crumbs, not moist cake batter.