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5 from 3 votes

Caramelized Apple Bundt Cake

This caramelized apple bundt cake is a beautiful fall cake. It is a simple Bundt cake that is filled with homemade pastry cream and delicious caramelized apples. The cake is then drizzled with some more of the homemade (and incredible!) caramel sauce, and topped with more apples.
Prep Time27 minutes
Cook Time52 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Bundt Cake, fall baking
Servings: 10
Author: Lora

Ingredients

  • For the Cake
  • cups granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil or any mild flavored oil
  • 6 Tablespoons butter softened, or margarine (for dairy-free)
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice I used Limoncello
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk or add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar to a a cup of milk. Stir and let it stand for 5 minutes. Use dairy-free milk for dairy-free
  • 2 Tablespoons sour cream unsweetened coconut milk yogurt (for dairy-free)
  • For Assembling
  • 3 apples 2 cups peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ caramel sauce and more to drizzle on top
  • Pastry Cream
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 ½ cups whole milk or unsweetened almond milk for dairy-free
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 Tablespoons 1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into small pieces or margarine (for dairy-free)
  • Caramel Sauce
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • ½ cup heavy whipping cream or coconut cream (for dairy-free)

Instructions

  • FOR THE CAKE:
  • Preheat oven to 350F. Prep your Bundt pan with baking spray (regular 10 cup bundt pan). *I personally prefer to use baking spray for bundt pans, but if you have luck greasing and flouring your pan, go ahead and prep it like that.
  • Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating until incorporated. Stir in vanilla, lemon rind, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or limoncello).
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  • Spoon batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.
  • While the cake bakes, make the pastry cream, apples and caramel sauce.
  • FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
  • Combine the cornstarch with the sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Pour 1/2 cup of the milk into the cornstarch mixture and whisk together. Whisk the egg yolks into the cornstarch mixture until smooth.
  • In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring the remaining 1 ½ cups milk to a simmer (be sure not to boil) Once it comes to a simmer, remove the pan from the heat.
  • Drizzle the hot milk mixture a little at a time into the egg mixture. Keep on whisking while you drizzle in the milk.
  • Pour the mixture back into saucepan and cook over medium-low heat. Whisk vigorously until it comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream (about 5-6 minutes).
  • As soon as the cream has the right consistency, take the pan off the heat. Stir in the vanilla and he butter.
  • Place plastic wrap over the pastry cream surface and let it cool completely in the refrigerator.
  • FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE:
  • In a 2 (or 3) quart pan, melt the sugar over medium heat. Whisk the sugar as it melts to make sure you don’t burn it. As soon as sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You should have a liquid sugar that is a dark amber color.
  • Add the butter and stir it in. Remove the pan from the heat.
  • Slowly add the cream to the sauce (take caution as it is very hot and it may foam up and splatter). Whisk the sauce until it is nice and smooth.
  • Place the sauce in a bowl and let cool down while the cake bakes.
  • Pour into a jar and and store it in the fridge for up two weeks. Heat up before serving.
  • SAUTEED CARAMEL APPLES:
  • In a small saute’ pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the apples and sugar. Cook until the apples turn soft. Lower the heat and add the caramel sauce. Add in 1-2 tablespoons of the caramel sauce to the apples and toss apples in the caramel to coat.
  • ASSEMBLE CAKE:
  • Slice the cooled cake in the middle. Spread some of the pastry cream evenly over the bottom layer of the cake. Add some of the caramelized apples on top of the cream (I just divided it in about ½).
  • Drizzle on about 1-2 tablespoons of the caramel sauce on top of the apples. Make sure to leave enough apples for the top of the cake.
  • Place the other cake layer on top.
  • Add the rest of the caramelized apples to the top of the cake. Drizzle on some more of the caramel sauce (whatever amount you would like to use, it to your taste).

Notes

  • Make Ahead: this recipe actually tastes best the second day so you can make it ahead and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days.
  • Pastry Cream: The pastry cream filling is completely optional. You could make the cake with just the apples and caramel sauce. Pastry cream will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
  • Caramel Sauce: The caramel sauce can be made and refrigerated for up to a week ahead of time.