Apple Bundt Cake

Deliciously moist apple bundt cake is topped with a luscious toffee glaze. The perfect autumn cake recipe! Step-by-step photos teach you how to make this bundt cake recipe.

This apple bundt cake recipe was built from my apple cake recipe. The apple cake is a layer cake with lighter, fluffier cake layers. For a bundt, I wanted a sturdier, tighter crumb, denser cake, but I didn't want to sacrifice moisture and softness. After a couple of attempts, I settled on the right ratio of ingredients.

This recipe boasts applesauce and vegetable oil which help ensure you achieve a deliciously moist cake. A slice of this cake is perfect with your mid-morning coffee or dessert after dinner or lunch! Does anyone else need dessert after lunch too?!

For another fall-flavored bundt cake check out my pumpkin bundt cake recipe!

Ingredients

For this apple cake you just need ingredients that should be found in a bakers staples.

• All-Purpose Flour/ Plain Flour. Make sure you measure your flour properly, this can drastically affect the texture of your cake. This is why I love using a scale, what you scoop into a cup can vary drastically. If you have to use cup measurements then make sure to use a spoon to add your flour to the cup measurement then use a knife to scrape the top off to prevent an overfilled cup.
• Baking Soda. This is the chemical leavening agent which will help the rise properly while baking. Baking powder is already activated but baking soda needs an acid to activate it, the brown sugar in this recipe helps activate the baking soda.
• Salt. Salt not only balances out all of the sweetness it also helps ignite the flavor profiles of all of the other ingredients! Don't skip it!
• Ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, and Cardamom. Classic fall spices, if you love one more than the others feel free to add a bit more!
• Unsalted Butter. I love to use butter in non-chocolate cake recipes because the butter flavor helps create a great base flavor. For this cake recipe, we only need melted butter, score no waiting for it to soften!
• Vegetable Oil. Butter is not as moist as oil so I like to use a combination of the two. For my chocolate cake recipe, I just use oil because the chocolate would mask the flavor of the butter anyway!
• Sugar. I use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar. I love the molasses in brown sugar in fall-inspired recipes.
• Unsweetened Applesauce. Applesauce helps create a delicious flavor profile for the bundt cake as well as keep it nice and moist!
• Eggs. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they can evenly combine with the rest of the ingredients. Eggs help bind the cake ingredients together and provide structure to the cake.
• Apples. Granny Smith or Honeycrisp are my favorites to use and I like to do 1 cup shredded and 1 cup apple chunks, I love contrasting textures!  

Adding chopped walnuts would be a great addition, if you want to add I would add ¾ cup chopped walnuts when you add the apples.

You could totally just dust the cake with confectioner sugar but I added a toffee glaze that I love. This toffee glaze is the same one I use in my sticky toffee pudding recipe. You'll only need three things:

• Unsalted Butter
• Light Brown Sugar
• Heavy Whipping Cream

Baking is a science and to really achieve the best results I highly recommend investing in a kitchen scale. This OXO Kitchen Scale is the one I use and is also the number one recommended kitchen scale by Cook's Illustrated. Think about it -what one person scoops into a "cup" is completely different from what someone else scoops!

Instructions

As with any baking recipe, one of the most crucial steps is ensuring you have preheated the oven properly, for this cake preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease a 10-cup bundt pan. Keep in mind that depending on which bundt pan you use it can effect the bake time quite a bit.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and cloves.

In another large bowl whisk together the melted butter, vegetable oil, sugars, applesauce, and eggs.

Making sure to whisk until fully combined, there should be no trace of egg left behind.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mix until just combined.

Add the apples and mix until just combined, over mixing cake batter can create a tough cake. 

If you wanted to add walnuts now would be the time!

Pour apple cake batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Depending on the shape of your bundt pan your cake may be wider or taller, a wider cake pan will bake quicker than a taller bundt pan. Let cool in cake pan for 10 minutes then invert into a wire rack to cool completely.

In a large pot add the butter and brown sugar. Whisk constantly over low-medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Add one tablespoon of cream at a time.

Whisk each tablespoon of cream until it's fully combined then add the next.

Let the mixture come to a roaring boil for 2-3 minutes. Let the sauce sit in the pot and thicken for 10-15 minutes, mixing every so often. 

Using a spoon or spatula gently drizzle the sauce all over the apple bundt cake.

Store the cake in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

How to freeze

You can totally freeze the apple bundt cake but I would not suggest freezing the toffee sauce/ frosting. To freeze the cake let it cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap, tightly, then wrap it again. This helps avoid any freezer burn.

You can also freeze individual slices of cake the same way. Wrap in plastic wrap tightly, twice, then store in a freezer safe container like a plastic bag.

Don't miss all of my best bundt cake recipes.

More apple recipes

If you are in the mood for apple pie you gotta check out my Dutch Apple Pie Recipe.

My friend Jamie makes the most delicious Apple Pie Empanadas!

This upside down caramel apple cake recipe never disappoints!

My apple muffins with a maple glaze are super tasty and the perfect fall breakfast!

★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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