One of my favorite fall activities to do is to go apple picking at the orchards in North Carolina. But honestly, what do you do after you go apple picking? Well, you bake lots of yummy recipes.…Apple Dumplings, Cinnamon Apple Pancakes, Classic Apple Pie, Glazed Apple Cider Doughnuts, Apple Butter, Caramel Apple Pie w/ Cinnamon Roll Crust, Slow Cooker Apple Cider…the list could go on and on. Seriously I could keep going.
I love a fresh, homemade apple cake this time of year. But, in all reality, I love cake any time of year. Most of the apple cake recipes I’ve seen use fresh diced apples. I’m not going to lie, I find apples are tricky to bake with. They’re sweet, but don’t have a ton of flavor. What they do have is a ton of moisture and can be too heavy for cake. I was determined to come up with a recipe that had the texture of cake and tasted like apples. This one is it! I use applesauce and some of my yummy slow cooker apple cider to achieve this. So good!
This cake is so moist and flavorful. The apple cider caramel sauce really makes this cake special. How can you go wrong when caramel & apples are involved right?
Apple Cider Bundt Cake with Cider Caramel Sauce
This moist and fluffy apple bundt cake with apple cider caramel sauce is the perfect fall treat! It's packed full of apple cider, spices and drizzled with the most amazing sauce ever!
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup cinnamon applesauce
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp butter extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Cider Caramel Sauce
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Cake Batter
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Place the apple cider in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 12-15 minutes until the apple cider has reduced to about a 1/4 cup. Set aside.
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Preheat your oven to 350 F.
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In a mixing bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.
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In a large measuring cup or bowl, measure out your apple cider, applesauce, 1/2 cup milk, and extracts.
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In a larger mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping after each addition.
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Add the wet and dry ingredients. Start by adding 1/3 of the flour mixture, then half the liquid, another 1/3 of the flour, the rest of the liquid, and finishing with the last bit of the flour. Scrape the bowl as needed.
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Grease a 10-12 cup bundt pan.*
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Pour the batter into your prepared bundt cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until the cake springs back when touched.
Cider Caramel Sauce
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In the same saucepan, bring the apple cider to a low boil. Reduce down to 1/4 cup.
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Stir in butter until melted. Incorporate the brown sugar, cream, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow mixture to cool slightly then drizzle as much onto the cake.**
Recipe Notes
*Use a pastry brush if needed to get into the crevices the center column.
**This cider caramel sauce will keep well in the refrigerator and will be a thick dipping consistency when cold. At room temperature, it is more of a glazing or drizzling consistency
