Fresh Apple Cake with Homemade Caramel Sauce
This cake recipe tastes like a caramel apple, with a not-too-sweet cake and a deliciously sweet caramel sauce. We recommend adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream or enjoying the cake without the sauce for breakfast.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: caramel apple cake, cheesecake, dessert, homemade
Servings: 16
Author: Martina McBride
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (about 2 apples) grated unpeeled Granny Smith apple
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
- Whipped cream or ice cream (optional)
Homemade Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Pinch of kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Beat the butter with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy; gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add the apple, beating just until blended.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; add to the butter mixture, and mix just until blended. Stir in the walnuts, if desired.
Pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or just until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes clean. Let cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Serve with Homemade Caramel Sauce and, if desired, whipped cream or ice cream.
Caramel Sauce: Cook the sugar, half-and-half, butter, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-low for 5 to 7 minutes, whisking slowly until thickened. Remove from the heat, and let cool slightly before serving.
Tip: You can use most any kind of apple. Gala or Red Delicious work great too.
Excerpted from Martina’s Kitchen Mix by Martina McBride. Copyright © 2018 Oxmoor House. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Meredith Corporation. New York, NY. All rights reserved.