Apple bundt cake with salted

caramel
Janice Updated on: October 8, 2021

Published on: September 1, 2020 by ;

Drizzle salted caramel over an apple bundt cake with this easy recipe
that is a simple, yet satisfying way to bake with apples.
I am a firm believer that apples are great for more than just pie. Sure,
you will love this maple apple pie, but sometimes pie is a little too much
effort for the time you've got. Cue apple crisps and apple cakes.

It's important to have a roster of apple recipes to fall back on,

especially if you go apple picking with your family: you might end up
with 20 pounds of apples that you're going to want to put to good use,
whether that's by making an easy apple crisp for the family or a late-
night apple crisp for one, ready in under 5 minutes. You can make an
Italian apple yogurt cake with a simply crunchy sugar topping or an
apple crumble cake, like apple crisp but in cake form. You could even
throw sliced apples into a coffee cake, like in this cinnamon apple
crumb cake.
Apples vary in size
Most of us like to go apple picking in the fall. It's a great outdoor
activity when the weather's just starting to cool. If you've ever gone
apple picking and wondered just how many apples is in a 20 pound
bag, I've done the math for you:

1 large apple weighs as much as 300 grams (⅔ lb)—big

Honeycrisp apples fall into this category, as do Cortlands
sometimes
1 medium apple weighs about 225 grams (½ lb)—Cortland apples
are usually this size, but sometimes Granny Smith and Delicious
Apples are as big as Cortlands
1 small apple weighs about 150 grams (⅓ lb)—McIntosh apples are
usually this size, as are Empire apples, Spartan, Jonah Gold, etc.
10 pounds of apples is 4.5 kg and that works out to 15 large apples
OR 20 medium apples OR 30 small apples
20 pounds of apples is 9 kg and works out to roughly 30 large
apples OR 40 medium apples OR 70 small apples

Turns out 20 pounds of apples is A LOT OF APPLES, but I'm not here to
tell you to pick less because I have consistently opted for the biggest
bag when I go apple picking.
Which apple is best for baking a cake?
If you go apple picking and you have many varieties to choose from, try
to decide what you plan on making with your apples. Buy or pick the
right apple varieties for what you intend to do with them:

get McIntosh, Empire, or Lobo apples if you plan to make apple

sauce (these apples are also great for snacking on)
get Cortland apples, Golden Delicious, Spartan, or Granny Smith if
you want to make pies and cakes
get Honey Crisp apples for snacking on

For something like an apple crisp, I like to use a mixture of apples, and
honestly, most apples will work out just fine in that kind of recipe. For
an apple cake like this bundt cake, I bake with apples that aren't too
watery and that hold their shape when cooked, which is why I like to
use Cortlands for this recipe.
Making an apple bundt cake is as easy as 1-2-
3-4
Bundt cake recipes are easy to remember because they follow the
baking ratio 1:2:3:4, by volume: to make enough batter to fill a 10–12
cup bundt pan, use 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, and 4
eggs. You'll also want to add 1 cup of liquid (like milk or buttermilk) to
thin out the batter or you could also use 1.5 cups of sour cream, as in
the recipe below, which provides both moisture, acidity, and a little
extra fat, which means your cake will have a great texture and it will
store well.

For bundt cakes, the creaming mixing method is best because it allows
you to incorporate air, mechanically, when you cream together the
butter and the sugar for several minutes until it's light and fluffy. This
way you aren't only relying on chemical leaveners, like baking powder
and baking soda. And because we are making a large cake here, it's
best to use a stand mixer like a 5 quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer, or
even a 6 quart KitchenAid Professional mixer. Either of these models
are big enough to make a bundt.
Baking in bundt pans
Since bundt pans often have intricate designs that lead to many nooks
and crannies in the cake pan, it's very important to take the extra time
to prepare the cake pan according to the manufacturers instructions. I
bake my bundt cakes in the Nordic Ware Anniversary bundt pan, which
is a 10 to 12 cup pan with a traditional design. Nordic Ware suggests to
either use a baking spray that combines flour and oil to prepare your
bundt pan or to use a solid fat, like butter or shortening, to evenly coat
the inside with a pastry brush, then tapping in flour to evenly coat the
entire surface of the pan.

Regardless of the brand of pan you are using, while a baker's spray
that contains flour is acceptable, a cooking spray is not. These oil
sprays will bake onto the pan and leave a gummy buildup that is hard, if
not impossible, to remove, and that buildup can cause your cakes to
stick to the pan. Opt for a spray like Baker's Joy non-stick spray.

Never use metal utensils, scouring pads, or abrasive cleaners on your

bundt pans because if they have a special non-stick coating, you will
ruin it with any of these. If your bundt cake sticks to the pan, it may
have cooled down too much. Don't use a knife to try and release the
bundt from the pan because you may ruin the finish on the pan. Try one
of the following options:

heat the bundt in the oven at 325 ºF for 10 minutes to warm it up

again, enough so that the fat and flour layer you used to prep the
pan will warm up and your cake should slide right out.
set the bundt pan in a shallow dish of hot water to warm the
outside, but there's a risk you splash water on the cake. Not ideal.
heat the pan with a hair dryer to get the metal hot enough that the
edges of the cake slide out.
Checking if a bundt is done baking
Bundts are tricky because they are so big and it can be hard to know
when they're done. When it's time to check if the cake is done baking, I
use a combination of visual cues, touch, and a skewer to make sure the
bundt is completely baked in the middle:

1. are the edges of the cake pulling away from the sides of the
pan? If so, the bundt might be done
2. are the edges a deep golden brown? Because bundt cakes take
a long time to bake through, expect the edges to be darker than on
simple cake layers.
3. when you press your fingertips on the surface of the bundt,
does it rise back up or leave an indent? an indent could mean the
cake hasn't baked enough and is still a little raw
4. when you press your fingertips on the surface of the cake, does it
feel firm and set? bundt cakes are usually pretty hefty cakes and
they should feel firm to the touch, even when hot. If the cake
surface feels too delicate, it might not be done.
5. when you insert a skewer into the cake, does it come out clean?
The skewer test is always a great method to check if a bundt is
done: it should come out clean. For a bundt like the apple cake
below, make sure to poke the skewer through cake, not an apple. If
it feels like you poked an apple, remove the skewer and poke
somewhere else.
Bundt cakes are quite large, so they take a long time to cool down.
Make sure the cake has cooled completely before you attempt any
glaze or frosting. It's very difficult to coat the inside of the cake with
frosting. Personally, I prefer to finish bundts by pouring on a glaze of
sorts, rather than attempting to frost the cake with an offset spatula.
For example, I've poured on a thick dark chocolate ganache on this
chocolate chip bundt cake and I used a sugar syrup to create a
shimmery finish on this eggnog bundt. For this apple cake, I opted to
drizzle on some salted caramel sauce, which is quite thick when cold,
but as the caramel warms to room temperature, it will become more
fluid and the surface of the cake will eventually absorb it.

If you want to freeze the apple sour cream bundt cake for later, you
can, but I suggest freezing the cake unglazed. Then defrost it
overnight in the refrigerator and drizzle it with salted caramel sauce
before serving.
Apple bundt cake with salted caramel glaze
This sour cream apple bundt cake topped with salted caramel glaze is
anything but boring with this easy recipe

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple bundt cake with salted caramel glaze

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Calories 657kcal

Instructions

Apple bundt cake

Preheat the oven to 325 ºF. Prepare your bundt pan by evenly
greasing the inside with a solid fat like shortening or butter, then
dust with flour, OR you can spray the inside with a baking spray
like Baker's Joy (NOT cooking spray). Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking

powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,

cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar for
at least 5 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape down
the bowl with a spatula.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each one in very well before
adding the next.
 Add the vanilla extract and the sour cream, and mix them in for
another minute.

Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing on low to

incorporate it without overmixing.

When the flour has almost disappeared into the batter, take the
mixer bowl off the stand and remove the paddle. Switch to a
spatula.

Drop in the chopped apples and fold them in with the spatula,
making sure that the ingredients are evenly mixed, lifting the
batter up from the bottom to ensure there's no flour hidden down
there.

Dollop the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface
with an offset spatula. Bang the pan a few times, or run a knife
through the batter to make sure that there are no air pockets.

Bake the cake on the middle rack for 90 minutes, checking after
75 minutes to see how it's doing. Use a skewer to test if the cake is
done or not, making sure to poke through cake, not apple. The
skewer should come out clean when the cake is baked. The edges
of the cake will be a deep golden brown colour, and the surface
will feel firm and slowly bounce back when gently pressed with
your fingertips.

Let the bundt cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it
onto a wire rack to cool completely, then transfer it to a serving
plate.

Salted caramel glaze

Measure all your ingredients before beginning and have them

ready. This is very important.

In a deep 3 quart saucepan, pour the apple juice (or the water),
 and then the sugar. Don’t stir it.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. If there’s sugar stuck
on the sides of the pan, carefully brush it with a heat-resistant
silicone brush dipped in a little water. Feel free to swirl the pan to
give the mixture a stir, but when you set it back on the burner,
brush the edges of the pan with water to dissolve the sugar
crystals from the walls of the pot.

Once the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture starts to

bubble, you can increase the heat on the stove to medium–high, or
you can leave it on medium. The only difference is that on medium,
it will take longer for the mixture to caramelize.

Continue to boil the caramel until it turns amber in colour. As soon

as the caramel has reached the desired colour, slide the pan off
the heat, and turn the burner off.

Slowly and carefully drop in the cubed butter (it will bubble and
erupt so be careful!). Pour in the cream, slowly and carefully.

When the bubbling has calmed down, begin to gently whisk the
caramel until it is smooth and homogeneous.

Poor the salted caramel in a large jar and cover loosely. When the
caramel has cooled to room temperature, you can tighten the lid
and store it in the refrigerator. It will thicken even more in the
fridge.

When the bundt has cooled completely, you can pour half the
salted caramel glaze over the top of the cake and let it slowly
trickle down the sides. Serve slices of the cake with the rest of the
salted caramel.

Nutrition

Calories: 657kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 33g |

Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium:
232mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 63g | Vitamin A: 1136IU | Vitamin C: 2mg |
Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2mg