This Caramel Apple Layer Cake with a delicious Apple Caramel Sauce and creamy Caramel Frosting is the Fall centerpiece you’ve been searching for! Each cake layer is infused with boiled cider to ensure the ultimate Fall flavor, while also having freshly grated apple to give the cake a little extra something. From there, a super simple caramel is made using boiled cider and a dash of cinnamon to perfectly compliment the cake. The absolute best part though? The caramel frosting! Made with only four ingredients, it’s literally the icing on the cake! Trust me, this cake is worth the effort. Every bite is layered with genuine caramel apple flavors. It’s the best cake to serve on Halloween night or even Thanksgiving dinner. Sweet, moist, and just SO DELICIOUS!

overhead shot of caramel apple cake with two slices on white plates

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Caramel Apple Cake

About The Recipe

Happy Monday, everybody!

I couldn’t be more excited to share a post with all of you. This cake might just be the ultimate celebration of Fall! Carmel. Apple. Cake. Seriously, can it get any better?

cake on wood board with caramel apples on top, flowers, a white napkin, cake knife, and vase behind

cake on wood board with slice being pulled away

When developing this cake, we were pretty determined to not use a spice cake, as that seems to be all that comes up when you search for a caramel apple cake. We wanted to make a cake that genuinely tasted like apples and caramel! Not a spice cake with caramel added to it.

So, it took a bit of experimentation…but we finally figured out the perfect ratio’s and amounts to give you an apple-y cake and a delicious caramel! But…we didn’t just stop there. Why only make the cake apple flavored? Oh, yes. We went the extra mile and made an Apple Caramel Sauce!

And, of course, what’s a cake without frosting? We were originally going to do a cake layer, then a layer of frosting, and finally a layer of caramel. But after thinking about it, we were afraid the caramel would be too chewy in the middle of the cake, especially if you need store it!

front shot of caramel apple cake on wood board with slice behind

So, we actually wound up putting the caramel sauce IN the frosting! Which is exactly what this cake needed! Super apple-y and caramel-y. There is no better way to celebrate Fall than with this cake, trust me! Especially during the holiday’s.

And, if you’re worried about making the caramel, don’t be! We have made a (pretty much) foolproof caramel that also includes step-by-step photos to help you through the process. It’s so much easier to make than you might think! But, if it’s just too worrisome, you can always use a store-bought caramel to finish this cake!

Equipment Needed

Mixing Bowls
Whisk
Mixer
8-Inch Round Cake Pans
Baking Spray
Cake Tester
Serrated Knife
Cooling Rack
Large Pot
Candy Thermometer
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

For The Cake:

All-Purpose Flour
Brown Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Ground Cinnamon
Unsweetened Applesauce
Vegetable Oil
Buttermilk
Eggs
Vanilla Exract
Grated Apple

apple pie spice, baking powder, grated apples, brown sugar, flour, apple sauce, milk, salt, baking soda, boiled cider, oil, and eggs on marble counter

For The Caramel Sauce:

Granulated Sugar
Heavy Cream
Corn Syrup
Salted Butter
Boiled Apple Cider
Ground Cinnamon

corn syrup, sugar, milk, boiled cider, cinnamon, butter, and salt on marble counter

For The Buttercream Frosting:

Salted Butter
Powdered Sugar
Caramel Sauce
Heavy Cream

butter, caramel, and powdered sugar in marble counter

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

brown sugar, flour, spices, and salt in a glass bowl

dry ingredients whisked together in a glass bowl

Whisk together the applesauce, vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl.

grated apple, apple sauce, vanilla, eggs, and oil in glass bowl

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.

Divide the batter evenly into greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cakes test done. Let the cakes cool for 10-15 minutes in the pans before turning out.

To make the caramel sauce, combine the sugar, cream, corn syrup, butter, and boiled cider in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts. Continue cooking until mixture reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat.

butter, milk, boiled cider, sugar, and corn syrup in pot

Stir in the cinnamon and salt.

Pour caramel sauce into a glass bowl and set aside.

To make the frosting, beat butter in mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in powdered sugar.

Stir in the caramel sauce and heavy cream.

Putting It All Together

If needed, level the cooled cakes with a serrated knife.

Place cake on cake plate. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cake layer. Add the second cake layer and repeat. Repeat with the third layer.

Spread crumb coat around the cake. refrigerate for about 10 minutes. Spread the remaining frosting on the cake in desired style. Spoon caramel around the edges and gently push off the edges to create the drips. Fill in the middle.

Decorate as desired.

How To Store

Once this cake has been assembled, it definitely needs to be refrigerated! It’s a very moist cake, so it won’t keep very long unless it’s refrigerated or frozen. If you want to freeze it, place the whole cake in the freezer until solid, a couple of hours (or more). Once it’s solid enough to handle, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and place on a freezer safe tray and store it. You could also freeze individual slices, wrap those in plastic wrap, and keep store them in a freezer-safe bag.

You can also bake the cake layers in advance and store them in the freezer until you need them!

Other Recipes You May Like

pulled back front shot of caramel apple cake with two slices on white plates

Expert Tips

Be sure to read the recipe all the way through before starting.
The cake is very dense and moist after baking.
Trimming the cake is a little difficult due to the grated apple in the cake. Be careful!
Do not over cook the caramel! Once the thermometer reaches 235 degrees, remove it from the heat.
Make sure the thermometer doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot.
We used about 5 Honeycrisp Apples for this recipe.
The frosting may need more than 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream.
If you don’t want to make caramel, you can use a store-bought sauce.

When you make this Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Caramel Frosting, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Caramel Frosting