Toffee Apple Pound Cake with the most INCREDIBLE Spiced Caramel Sauce loaded with toffee bits and apples.
My FAVORITE apple cake! Toffee Apple Pound Cake bursting with sweet toffee bits and cinnamon apples all smothered in the most lick-the-plate-delicious Spiced Caramel Sauce. Everyone will go crazy over this cake!
Toffee Apple Pound Cake Recipe
I hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving Recipes Round Up, and now I have one more to add to the ever expanding list — Toffee Apple Pound Cake with Spiced Caramel! Because as much as I like pie, oh, how I looooove a good pound cake. Soft, moist, dense and absolutely the perfect vehicle to douse in cascading sauce or glaze because for me, the whole cake devouring experience is just as much about the sauce/glaze as it is about the cake.
Like my Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Pound Cake with Cinnamon Pumpkin Cream Cheese Glaze, or Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Glaze, or Strawberry Pound Cake with Chocolate GanacheorBlueberry Muffin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze. Oh the Glazes!
Today’s Toffee Apple Pound Cake with its ridiculously delicious Spiced Caramel Sauce is based off of my Toffee Pecan Caramel Pound Cake. It was one of the first recipes I ever posted and continues to be a readers’ favorite because its just so good. I’ve kept the butter, brown sugar, toffee base, swapped out the pecans for apples and infused the cake with the taste of Fall with plenty of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
So basically you have buttery toffee pound cake meets apple pie. So basically, you have a match made in heaven. But wait, we are about to add Spiced Caramel to your heaven!
When you whisk together your cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, you reserve 1 teaspoon to add to your luscious silky Caramel Sauce to create Spiced Caramel Sauce. This Caramel Sauce is fool proof and takes all but 7 minutes.
You will be licking the spoon.
I like to spoon some Spiced Caramel over my cake, let it harden somewhat and crystalize (I love that texture) and then when ready to serve, spoon some more warm caramel over the top with fresh apples and toffee bits. But any way you serve this cake will be incredible. As the half eaten cake in one day between my husband and I will attest.
Apple Pound Cake Ingredients
This caramel apple cake is topped with the most incredible homemade caramel sauce you can imagine. Don’t worry, caramel sauce is easy to make! Here’s what you’ll need for the apple bundt cake itself:
- Apples: I used Granny Smith apples, but any tart baking apple will work.
- Toffee bits: I use Heath Bits O’ Brickle Toffee Bits.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg add tons of fall flavor to this cake.
- All-purpose flour: Provides structure. I don’t like using cake flour for this brown sugar pecan pound cake.
- Baking powder: Gives the cake some lift.
- Unsalted butter: Unsalted is the way to go when baking so you can control the amount of salt in the dessert.
- Sugar: I used a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar to both sweeten the cake and add a subtle caramel flavor.
- Eggs: Should be room temperature before making this recipe.
- Buttermilk: Use real buttermilk, not a homemade substitute.
- Vanilla extract: Just 1 teaspoon adds so much flavor to this apple bundt cake.
How to Make Apple Pound Cake
I pinky promise that this apple cake recipe with fresh apples is a cinch to make! Here’s a look at the basic steps:
- In a bowl, toss apples with 1 tablespoon flour until evenly coated.Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a third bowl, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs, followed by the vanilla.
- Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk in between each third.
- Fold in toffee bits and apples.
- Bake at 325F until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely.
- While the cake cools, make the spiced caramel sauce. Once the cake is cool, liberally drizzle over top.
Tips for Making Caramel Apple Pound Cake
- Useroom temperature ingredients: You need room temperature milk and room temperature eggs for this apple pound cake recipe. Room temperature ingredients mix much easier (so it’s harder to overmix) and result in a softer bundt cake with maximum volume.
- How to bring ingredients to room temperature: If you don’t plan enough ahead, that’s okay!Add warm (not hot) tap water to a bowl then add eggs (still in their shells) for at least 20 minutes. You can microwave your milk until room room temperature (NOT hot).
- Don’t over beat:Once you’re done creaming the butter and sugar, you want to beat the batter as little as possible.Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg. You never want to overbeat eggs as this will cause the batter to be runny and may cause the batter to overflow when baking.Overbeaten eggs can also create a fragile crust that crumbles and separates from the cake as it cools.
- Don’t peak!Don’t open the oven doors until it is time to check your apple bundt cake for doneness.Opening the doors can cause your cake to cook unevenly and to fall.
- Don’t overbake!One of the main reasons people complain of dry cakes is because they over bake their cake. You want to remove your cake when there are just a few crumbs clinging to a toothpick.
Recipe Variations to Try
- Add nuts: Instead of (or in addition to) the toffee bits, stir in finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Skip the caramel sauce: This apple bundt cake would also be delicious enjoyed as a coffee cake — dusted with powdered sugar rather than drizzled with caramel sauce.
- Make salted caramel sauce: Instead of making the spiced caramel sauce, make a salted caramel sauce instead. You’ll still get that caramel apple flavor, it’ll just be a little different.
CAN I MAKE Apple POUND CAKE AHEAD OF TIME?
Absolutely!I actually think this caramel apple cake tastes even better the second day.
I would bake the cake but wait to add the caramel to the top of the cake until ready to serve. Once your cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature. You can prepare the caramel in advance as well, refrigerate, then microwave (because it will thicken in the fridge) when ready to serve.
HOW TO STORE CARAMEL Apple POUND CAKE
Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 5 days, noting that it will dry out slightly over time.
CAN I FREEZE Apple POUND CAKE?
Yes!You will want to wait until your apple bundt cake is completely cooled, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap WITHOUT the Caramel. Freeze cake for up to 3 months.Allow you cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Looking for more Holiday Cake Recipes?
- Peppermint Chocolate Cake
- White Cake with Cranberry Filling
- Coconut Cake (Triple Coconut!)
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Chocolate Raspberry Cake
- Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate Cake
- Cranberry Cake
- Apple Spice Cake
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Toffee Apple Pound Cake with Spiced Caramel
Servings: 12 servings
Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
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Ingredients
Apples
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, chopped into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon flour
Cake
- 1 8 oz. bag toffee bits, divided (Heath Bits O’Brickle Toffee Bits)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups (20 TBS) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 2/3 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Easy Creamy Caramel Sauce
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 – 3/4 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Toffee Apple Pound Cake
Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously and thoroughly grease and flour a12-14 cup Bundt pan. Set aside.
Prepare apples: In a medium bowl, toss the chopped apples with 1 tablespoon flour until evenly coated. Set aside. Remove ¼ cup toffee bits from package. Set aside for garnish.
Mix Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Remove 1 teaspoon to be used later in the caramel sauce. To the rest of the spices in the large bowl, whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to evenly combine.
Make batter:Add butter and sugars to astand mixerfitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for least 3-4 minutes (no less!), until light and fluffy, scraping down sides occasionally. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each egg.
Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk in between each third. Beat just until combined with a few flour streaks remaining, don't overmix. Stir in toffee bits in package and apples just until combined, then spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake: Bake at 325 degrees F for 55 – 65 minutes or until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean, You may need to cover the top of the cake with foil near the end of cooking time to prevent excess browning. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Caramel Sauce: Prepare Caramel Sauce according to directions (below). You can make in advance and reheat in the microwave/stove or prepare when ready to serve the cake.
Serve: Spoon caramel over cake and garnish with remaining toffee bits.
Easy Spiced Caramel Sauce
Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until butter melts.
Bring to boil, then reduce heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes (it will bubble a lot!), stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in ½ cup evaporated milk, vanilla and reserved teaspoon spices. Add additional evaporated milk if desired to thin to desired consistency.
Caramel Sauce will thicken upon standing so if it becomes too thick, reheat and stir in additional evaporated milk. Serve warm.
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