Apple crisp was an essential dessert to my childhood. My mom had a newspaper clipping of an apple crisp recipe that she would pull out on special occasions and I would help peel apples and crumble the crisp, sneaking tastes of the sugary oatmeal butter clumps the whole time. This cake is a tribute to that nostalgia: layers of apple spice cake, apple pie filling, cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, and baked crumble for extra texture. It’s the perfect cake for cozy Fall baking and will make your kitchen smell like an Autumnal dreamscape!

There’s so much amazing texture going on in this cake and it all starts with my favorite extra-moist apple spice cake. Applesauce gives these layers the perfect apple flavor + lots of moisture. The cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg create a warm spiced element perfect for a cozy Fall day. Paired with the spiced apple pie filling and baked crumble topping between every layer it’s basically like you get apple crisp in every bite. My kind of cake. 

I chose to pair this cake with cinnamon-vanilla buttercream to really enhance the spice element in this cake and it is so delicious! It really helps amplify the flavor in the cake and filling. If you’re looking for another great option for topping this cake, this brown butter frosting would be out of this world too. If you do top it with the brown butter frosting, be sure to make 1.5x the recipe so you’ll have enough for the buttercream dams, frosting and decorating. 

I had a vision for decorating this cake and it turned out exactly like I imagined! I love it so much when that happens. I put some crumble topping around the base of the cake while the frosting finish was still tacky, then piped a crescent border with cinnamon-vanilla buttercream using Wilton Tip 1M (for the rosettes) and Tip 4B (for the stars). Then I sliced an apple into very thin slices and fanned them out to place on top. I learned that to keep those apple slices from browning, you can coat them with lemon juice! Pro tip right there. 

However you decorate this apple crisp cake, it is sure to satisfy. It’s basically the best of both worlds if you had to decide between an apple crisp and an apple cake to serve at your Fall get together. A must make for this cozy season in my opinion!

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Apple Crisp Cake

Layers of extra moist spiced apple cake, apple pie filling, baked crumble topping, and cinnamon-vanilla buttercream. If you love apple crisp, this cozy Fall cake is right up your alley.

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Apple Spice Cake

• 2 1/2 Cups (332g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (150g) packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 Cups (250g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 1/2 Cups (600ml) unsweetened applesauce

Apple Pie Filling

• 2 large granny smith apples, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes (about 340g)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 Cup (50g) packed brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup (50g) granulated white sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Cup (240ml) water

Baked Crumble Topping

• 1/2 Cup (40g) old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 Cup (60g) all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 Cup (50g) packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 Cup (57g) unsalted butter, softened

Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream

• 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 5 1/4 Cups (630g) powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Instructions

Make the Apple Spice Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax or parchment paper circle. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set them aside.
• Cream the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the brown and white sugars and continue to beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Add the vanilla and the egg, then turn the mixer to medium for one full minute.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. When it just begins to come together after the last flour addition, turn off the mixer and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure everything is incorporated. The batter will be thick.
• Divide the batter between your prepared cake pans (fill to no more than 2/3 full) and smooth the tops, then bake for 36-42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make the Apple Pie Filling

• Toss the chopped apples and lemon juice together in a medium bowl, set aside.
• In a large saucepan, combine sugars, cornstarch, and spices. Pour in water and whisk. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add apples, bring back to a boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender (15-20mins). Cool completely.

Make the Baked Crisp Topping

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºC and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Add all of the ingredients except for the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix together on low to combine, then add in the softened butter. Continue mixing on low until the mixture begins forming pea-sized clusters.
• Spread the mixture evenly onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, then bake for 5 minutes. Stir the topping around a bit, then bake for another 5 minutes until it begins to turn golden brown. Let the crumble topping cool completely to room temperature, then store in an airtight container until you’re ready to assemble the cake.

Make the Cinnamon-Vanilla Buttercream

• In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
• Cream butter on med-high until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes), scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between.
• Add powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle between intervals. Mix on medium until fully incorporated.
• Turn the mixer to low and add vanilla and milk. Mix on medium for two minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle and add salt. Mix for another minute on medium until incorporated.

Assembly

• Once the cake layers have cooled completely, level them to your desired height. Fill a piping bag with 1 Cup of the cinnamon-vanilla buttercream and snip off 1/2 inch opening on the end. Place the first cake layer on the turntable and pipe a circle of cinnamon-vanilla buttercream about 1/4 inch inward from the edge to act as a buttercream dam for the apple pie filling. Fill the center of the buttercream dam with the apple pie filling and smooth it down until it's the same height as the buttercream dam (this post shows more details on this filling method). Crumble a few Tablespoons of baked crumble topping on top of the filling before placing the next cake layer on top. Repeat the filling and stacking process with any additional layers. Crumb coat the cake with more cinnamon-vanilla buttercream, then refrigerate the crumb coated cake for 20-30 minutes to let the frosting firm up.
• To create the design pictured, use the cinnamon-vanilla frosting to create a smooth finish on the cake. While the frosting is still tacky, press the baked crumble topping around the bottom edges of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for an additional 10-15 minutes to let the frosting firm up while you divide the remaining cinnamon-vanilla frosting between two piping bags, one fitted with Wilton Tip 1M and one fitted with Wilton Tip 4B. Pipe rosettes with Tip 1M and stars with Tip 4B in a crescent formation around the top of the cake. Garnish with sliced apple (coat in lemon juice first to prevent browning) and more baked crumble topping.

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The apple pie filling can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. 
3. The baked crisp topping can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 
4. The cinnamon-vanilla buttercream frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency.

I hope you love this apple crisp cake as much as I do! Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.

The post Apple Crisp Cake Recipe appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

Whoever thought of putting caramel and apples together was a flavor genius. I just love the sweet and salty complexity a good homemade caramel adds to apples (and apple-flavored things!), so as soon as I perfected this apple spice cake recipe, I knew I had to pair it with salted caramel buttercream and turn it into an caramel apple masterpiece! It’s become such a Fall classic in our household that I make it every year as soon as the leaves start changing colors.

First, let’s talk about this apple spice cake, because it’s the foundation of all this flavor. It’s made with unsweetened applesauce to give it a rich apple flavor and make it ultra-moist. Combining the apple flavor with the cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg not only gives this cake the perfect spice, it also makes your kitchen smell amazing as it’s baking! There’s nothing more cozy than the aroma of this cake in the oven, especially on a picturesque Fall day.

Next, let’s talk about all this salted caramel tastiness. It all starts with this homemade salted caramel recipe. It’s such a versatile consistency of caramel that you’ll be using it to dip the apple cake topper, drip the sides of the cake, and whip it up into salted caramel buttercream for filling! It’s one of my favorite Fall staples. I like to use the time that the cakes are baking in the oven to make the caramel, because it needs to cool completely to room temperature before using it in buttercream, dipping apples, etc. The cool thing is, it’s a super easy recipe that only involves four ingredients and about 20 minutes of your time.

Once your homemade caramel is cooled to room temperature, you’ll be ready to make the salted caramel buttercream. I like to fill and crumb coat the cake with salted caramel buttercream and then mask the cake (aka frost the final buttercream layer) with vanilla buttercream, just so I can use even more salted caramel for garnish. You can totally skip the vanilla buttercream mask by making a double batch of the salted caramel buttercream for filling and frosting the cake, it all just depends on how much you love caramel. It pairs so well with this cake that you can totally get creative with the final presentation and mix things up a bit!

For my final cake presentation, I garnished the bottom edges with chopped almonds, then dripped the cake with salted caramel before placing a caramel apple on top. The goal here was to make it look like the caramel apple was dripping down the sides of the cake. Here’s a quick video to show you the process:  

The dripping caramel apple design is an easy and intentional way to represent the cake flavors, but you can feel free to decorate however you want! The flavors of this cake are so autumnal and beautiful that you could do something even more simple and let the flavors speak for themselves. However you decorate, I hope this recipe becomes as much of a Fall tradition for you as it has for me! 

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Salted Caramel Apple Cake

An ultra-moist apple spice cake paired with salted caramel buttercream filling, then topped with vanilla buttercream, dripping salted caramel, and chopped almonds. A Fall classic!

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Apple Spice Cake

• 3 1/2 Cups (460g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (162g) packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (840ml) unsweetened applesauce

Homemade Salted Caramel

• 1 1/2 cup (300g) granulated white sugar
• 9 Tbsp (128g) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
• 3/4 cup (180ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt

Salted Caramel Buttercream Filling

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120ml) homemade salted caramel recipe above
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Vanilla Buttercream Topping

• 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups (420g) powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp whole milk or heavy whipping cream, room temperature
• pinch of salt, or to taste

Additional Ingredients

• 1 medium apple
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Instructions

Make The Apple Spice Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 8-inch or four 6-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and fitting the bottoms with a wax or parchment paper circle. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients and set them aside. 
• Cream the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown and white sugars and continue to beat on high for 3 more minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle once in between. Add the eggs one at a time, then turn the mixer to medium for one full minute.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. When it just begins to come together after the last flour addition, turn off the mixer and give it a few stirs by hand to make sure everything is incorporated. The batter will be thick. 
• Divide the batter between your prepared cake pans (fill to no more than 2/3 full) and smooth the tops, then bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before filling and frosting.

Make The Homemade Salted Caramel

• Have everything pre-measured and ready to go (you’ll be constantly stirring). Place the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until it melts into an amber-colored liquid and no sugar clumps remain, 6-8 minutes. 
• Reduce the heat to medium. Carefully add the butter (it will bubble up when you do) and use a whisk to combine it with the sugar mixture until the butter is fully melted and incorporated, 1-2 minutes. 
• Add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream while whisking. As soon as the cream is incorporated, let the caramel boil for a full minute before removing it from the heat and stirring in the salt. 
• Let the caramel cool completely to room temperature before using it in a buttercream recipe, dipping a caramel apple, or dripping the cake. It will thicken as it cools. 

Make The Salted Caramel Buttercream

• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high until it’s fluffy and light (almost white in color), 5-6 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each interval. Add the vanilla. 
• With the mixer still on low, add the salted caramel. Add a pinch of salt, increase the speed to medium, and mix for 2 full minutes.

Make The Vanilla Buttercream

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high until it’s creamy and light (almost white) in color. About 7 minutes. 
• Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each cup is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Add vanilla, milk, and salt and mix on medium-low for another two minutes until fully incorporated.

Assembly

• Fill and crumb coat the Apple Spice Cake layers with Salted Caramel Buttercream, then place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before frosting a final layer with Vanilla Buttercream. Garnish the bottom edge of the cake with chopped almonds, then place the cake back into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill before moving on to the next steps. 
• While the cake is chilling, pour the remaining Homemade Salted Caramel into a small bowl. Insert a popsicle or cookie stick into the apple and dip it into the caramel, coating it thoroughly. Let the excess caramel drip off of the apple and then set it onto a sheet of wax paper, then place it into the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes to set. 
• To create the caramel drip effect, first do a test drip on the chilled cake with room temperature salted caramel. If it’s too thick, microwave it in 15 second bursts to bring it to perfect drip consistency without heating it too much. Drip the sides of the cake with salted caramel and partially fill in the top before topping with the caramel apple. Garnish with more chopped almonds on top of the cake and apple. 

Notes

Make Ahead Notes: The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.

The Homemade Salted Caramel can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, reheat it in the microwave in 15 second intervals until it reaches room temperature. 

Both of the buttercream recipes can be made ahead and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use them, bring them back to room temperature and re-whip each in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

What are some of your favorite Fall flavors? Besides caramel apple, I love a good Chai Latte and am hoping to incorporate those tasty flavors into a cake and/or cupcakes SOON! In the meantime, if you make this caramel apple cake, I’d love to know how you like it. Tag me on Instagram or let me know in the comments below!

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