BAKED SUNDAY MORNINGS: CARAMEL APPLE CAKE
I am so glad to learn that the site for the Baked Sunday Mornings baking group has been updated. I always want to feature recipes that, even if they are not my own, are still accessible to everyone. This scrumptious apple cake can, however, be found in the book, Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.
What initially seemed unusual to me about this cake is the frosting. Because it contains flour!
Overall, this is really a good apple cake. The cake itself is moist and flavorful and one that I am likely to use again, especially in cupcakes. And the caramel buttercream frosting is tasty. But I don’t think it’s worth the cooking process to get rid of the flour taste, even if it was meant to thicken the frosting. The recipe called for us to use the paddle attachment on our mixers for the frosting. But I ended up swapping out for the whisk….just to get more air and volume into the buttercream. I didn’t think the frosting had enough of a caramel flavor, yet I was reluctant to add more than the 1/3 cup it called for because I was afraid it would affect the texture of the buttercream. So I decided to spread a thin layer of caramel on the cake layers before I frosted it.
All in all the cake is good and the frosting is lightly sweet. But if I make this again, I will develop my own recipe for caramel buttercream……and leave the flour for the cake batter!
On a scale of 1-5…..I’m giving this 4 whisks! And since the recipe did not make it to the site’s recipe page, it will follow here. . . . .
Yields: one 8 inch, 3 layer cake
Level of Difficulty: easy
APPLE CAKE:
- 4 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
- 3 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch cubes, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups of sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups of homemade applesauce or store bought unsweetened applesauce
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Butter 3, 8 inch round cake pans. Also line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter and lightly flour the parchment.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves together in a large bowl and set it aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy, for about 4 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Then add the egg and beat until it is all combined.
Beginning and ending with the flour mixture, add it to the mixing bowl in 3 additions, alternating with the applesauce. Scrape down the bowl and mix on low for a few more seconds. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Then turn the cakes out onto the rack, remove the parchment and cool completely before frosting.
CARAMEL BUTTERCREAM:
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 1/3 cup of all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups of whole milk
- 1/3 cup of heavy cream
- 3 sticks of unsalted butter, soft, but cool and cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of your favorite caramel sauce at room temperature
Whisk together the sugar and flour in a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture has come to a boil and has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
Transfer this mixture to the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until is is cool. Reduce the speed to low and then add the vanilla and the butter. Mix this until it is thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. (This is where I switched out the paddle attachment for the whisk attachment.)
Add 1/3 of a cup of the caramel and continue mixing until it is combined. If the frosting seems too soft, put the bowl in the fridge to chill it slightly. Then beat it again to get the proper consistency.
TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
Place one cake layer on your serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface. Evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups of frosting on top. Add the second layer, trim and frost it in the same way. Add the third and final layer, spread a very thin layer of frosting over the top and sides (the crumb coat) and put the cake in the fridge to firm up for about 15 minutes. Then continue to frost the tops and sides with the remaining caramel buttercream. Decorate with extra swirls of caramel if desired. Refrigerate the cake for another 15 minutes to serve it up before serving.
NOTES: I had some difficulty getting the texture of the buttercream to be light and fluffy. So when making the buttercream, I used the whisk attachment instead of the paddle attachment. I also spread a layer of caramel over the top of each cake before I iced it with the buttercream. And I used my own recipe found here for Caramel Sauce.
Enjoy!
I have never heard of flour being used in frosting either, this does not make me very excited!
Actually, you don’t taste the flour, it’s a small amount used to thicken the icing and it’s cooked before it’s whipped. But this recipe won’t excite me either if it’s not posted on Baked Sunday Mornings so that everyone may have access to it!!!
This looks gorgeous, Anne, despite the strange ingredient in the frosting. Perfect for this time of the year. I’d probably leave the flour out of the frosting too.
Thanks Hester! It’s a really great tasting cake. I just prefer my usual methods of making buttercream! : )
Such a beautiful cake, Anne! Since I’m the only apple cake lover in this house, I didn’t decided that I really didn’t need to bake and eat a whole 3 layer cake by myself. Glad to see you enjoyed it~
Thanks Liz! Fortunately I have a great group of coworkers who never complain when I bring in the goods. ;- )
This looks absolutely wonderful!!!
Thanks Erin….the cake is really good! : )
What a beautiful cake!
Thanks so much!
This is a beautiful cake Anne! I’ve used flour before in my buttercream and it does wonders for the texture. My challenge is being patient long enough to let the flour/milk mixture cool completely before adding the butter. Some recipes suggest granulated sugar but sometimes it ends up gritty because the sugar doesn’t dissolve completely. Powdered sugar works much better. I’m putting this lovely cake on my to do list, great job.
Thanks Sandra! I’m going to have to pick your brain about the flour. I’ve never tried this type of buttercream before. And I much prefer powdered sugar too! I’m still on the fence about the buttercream!
Anne, this cake looks so wonderful! What a perfect way to celebrate the coming of fall! I have never heard of flour being used in a frosting either, but it looks like a great idea!!
Stephanie…thanks so much. Yes that flour was a new method for me! Yikes! : )
Wow! This looks amazing…a great way to ring in the season!
Yum
Thanks Emily! I am so ready for fall baking! : )
Anne.. that cake looks absolutely beautiful! It belongs in a cake shop window. Flour in the frosting very interesting. : ) I love the caramel in the cake as well. As always… wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Hope you had nice weekend. ~ Ramona
Hi Ramona! Oh you are always too kind to me! (Don’t stop now! ;- } ) Yes…the flour , though you couldn’t taste it, was a new technique to me! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too!
Wow! What a stunning cake! I like that you gave it an honest evaluation (I LOVE the 4/5 whisks measurement of success). I also like what you did to fix it! It’s just beautiful and I’m sure everyone who had a piece was ga-ga over it!
Ann…thanks so much! We’ll find out the real verdict tomorrow when I subject my wonderful coworkers to this cake! ;- )
I wasn’t sure if you were bringing it to work or not, but I bet they’ll love it. While they’re scarfing it down…and when you see them LICKING THEIR PLATES….think of me and know that I was right! Yay! I LOVE being right!
This cake looks amazing….. I would eat this and probably be pretty darn happy flour in the frosting and all.
Susie….you know….as much as I was all freaked out about the flour….I must admit it was still pretty good! : )
Mouth watering!! Looks absolutely fabulous…
Thanks so much….it’s a great fall cake! (even tho it still feels like summer here!)
Very yummy anne!! I love the flavor!!
Franny!!! Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. And I just want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to stop here and tell me so! You are such a doll! : )
That is an unusual recipe for frosting. I love that you added caramel to the top to replace the loss of flavor in the frosting. I would probably not have thought of that. Although, you did have some fabulous caramel that you had made up. That stuff looks delicious! Great cake, I love apple cake!
Thanks Dee….and I guess I was really weirded out about the flour in the frosting. AND….I just wanted an excuse to use more of that yummy caramel sauce! I love apple cake, too and this was pretty moist!
Now this is a great fall recipe! Love the flavors!
Hi Elyse and thanks so much! (Even though it doesn’t feel like fall yet)….this is the perfect cake for that season! : )
Oh my… would you look at this 3 layered work of wonder. Since I’m relatively new to your blog I will ask: do you actually bake these delights on Sunday morning? I can only imagine the magnificent aromas in your home… love the combination of caramel and apple…beautiful autumn treat.
Hi Kelly. Actually, I usually make the things for Baked Sunday Mornings on Saturday. The cakes I made Saturday and frosted on Sunday morning. And the last challenge I made it on Saturday because it was ice cream. I’m holding off on baking with that group until they get caught up in posting the recipes for everyone to have. Just from the scent of the cake I was asked if it was carrot cake and pumpkin cake….so you can imagine the combined spices which made it seem that way! This is really a great autumn treat! : )
Wow flour in the frosting? Interesting! This cake looks great…so perfect for fall!
Hi Christina….oddly…there is flour in the frosting….but it’s cooked with sugar first so you don’t taste it. But you are right….perfect way to kick off fall! : )
What a great outcome and the color contrast is so gorgeous.
Thank you so much Nava! : )
I mostly post desserts, too, but seem to get even more comments when I share a veggie or healthy recipe
What a fun salad…it sounds so delicious and what a gorgeous presentation~
Liz…I guess it’s the element of surprise! Thanks so much for your compliments!
Yikes…commented after the wrong post! More caffeine, please!
PS…your cake looks fabulous, too~
Liz…let me pour you another cup….with an extra shot! ;- )
The picture just blew me away and I am craving apple cake right now
Tes…and I am craving your beautiful chicken fried rice and it’s only 8 am!