Caramel Apple Cake – delicious! Great when cooking with kids too

I love caramel – and in winter there are lots of different apples available so this is a great recipe for cold days when the kitchen is a warm and inviting place to be with family.

Caramel Apple Cake

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 3/4 cups diced, pared apples
1/4 cups walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

1. Grease the bottom of a nine-inch springform pan. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in another bowl.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Mix together.
5. Add the apples and nuts to the batter.  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 20 minutes or until top springs back when touched.  Cool 5 minutes before removing the ring from the pan.
6. Top with the caramel sauce.  The recipe follows.

For the caramel sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup cream or evaporated milk
1/2 vanilla

1.  Blend brown sugar, butter and cream together in a saucepan.  Cook over      medium heat until it boils and thickens, stirring frequently.  With a cup of water and pastry brush water onto the sides of the pan a couple times to wash any undissolved sugar crystals into the sauce.
2. Add the vanilla.

Slowly pour the warm sauce over the warm cake letting the sauce soak into the cake.

Serve with caramel whipped cream.  To make caramel whipped cream, prepare as for other whipped cream but substitute brown sugar for the granulated sugar and caramel flavoring for the vanilla.

And while we are on the topic of caramel and apples – here is another recipe for you if you want to use a store bought cake mix.

Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake 

This is a good cake. Use a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/3 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 2 large apples)
1 Vanilla Bean Baby Cake Mix from our affiliate Prepared Pantry or any Vanilla Cake mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1. Cook the butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over  low heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted. Pour the sugar mixture into a 13 x9-inch pan. Arrange the pecans and sliced apples over the sugar mixture.
2. Mix the cake mix according to package directions adding the cinnamon.  Spoon the batter over the apple mixture.
3. Bake for 28 minutes or until done.  Cool in the  pan 5 minutes. Loosen sides of cake from pan. Place cutting board or  platter upside-down on pan.  Grasping the two together, turn the cutting board or serving platter and the pan over together.       Carefully turn the platter and pan over.  Let the pan sit upside down for about one minute so the caramel can drizzle over the cake and then remove the pan.

Serve with caramel whipped cream.  Store leftovers (if there are any!) in the refrigerator.