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Caramel Apple Cake is a delicious fall dessert! Each slice has tender apple bits, hints of cinnamon and a drizzle of caramel when served. This no fuss cake recipe comes together with only 10 minutes of prep before baking in the oven.
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Pin ItHaley from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen developed this recipe and originally shared this post in 2017. It was updated with new photos, tips and more in 2024. She is a native New Englander with an amazing assortment of delicious fall recipes. I highly recommend visiting her site for more incredible recipes. – Ashley
If you love cake and want something that is easy to prep during apple season, this cake is perfect for you. It is sometimes called German apple cake. Add gooey caramel and it’s the perfect fall dessert.
From overhead photos, it looks like this recipe could almost be blondies, but it has a much lighter texture than blondies. The golden brown color comes from the sugar and cinnamon flavoring in the cake.
During the baking process, the natural juices in the apples seep out into the cake and create an unbelievable flavor. Sweet, but not too sweet, blending perfectly with cinnamon.
Table of Contents
Recipe Highlights
- It’s easy to prep: This cake requires a bowl, mixer and just 10 minutes of your time to prep. It comes together easily with no fancy tools needed.
- Soft and buttery texture: You don’t have to worry about a mushy texture with this apple cake. The top is crackly with a light and fluffy inside.
- No cake layers or frosting needed: This is a one layer cake. Rather than layer the cake with frosting, we serve it with a delicious caramel drizzle.
- Warm fall flavor: This apple cake reminds me of my favorite desserts from the apple orchard, with warm spices and fresh apples.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for this recipe. If you use cake flour it will make the cake more light and fluffy. To make it gluten free, you can substitute with 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour.
- Apples: Any type of apple works for this recipe, however we love using honeycrisp, granny smith or any other type of firm tart apple for baking.
- Vegetable Oil or Butter: You can use either vegetable oil, canola oil or butter. This is sometimes a personal preference for cakes, but either works great. Butter will yield a little more buttery flavor, and the oil will yield a slightly more light and fluffy texture.
- Caramel Sauce: You can use any brand of store-bought caramel sauce, however we highly recommend making homemade caramel sauce (only 3 ingredients!)
See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and measurements.
Pro Tip
If you have never made caramel from scratch, I suggest giving it a try! You can store leftovers in a jar in the fridge. Use it later for ice cream sundaes. The recipe for our favorite homemade caramel sauce is included in the recipe card below.
How to Make Caramel Apple Cake
Nothing fancy, just simple and delicious! This recipe comes together easily with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. A standard baking pan, cake pan or oven safe baking dish are fine.
- Make the cake batter: Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Then beat together the eggs and vegetable oil on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer). Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.
- Add the apples: Use a rubber spatula to stir in the chopped apples. The batter will be very thick and there will be a lot of apples.
- Bake the cake: Pour the batter into the prepared dish and spread the batter evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with little crumbs. (While the cake bakes, you can prepare the homemade caramel sauce, if using.) Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
- Serve: Cut the cake into 2-inch by 2-inch squares and serve with caramel sauce drizzled over the top of the cake.
Elevate this delicious caramel apple cake recipe even more by serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Or add a pinch of flaky sea salt for a salted caramel flavor.
Storage and Freezing
Caramel apple cake is best eaten the day off, but you can cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Store the cake separately from the caramel sauce and drizzle with sauce just prior to serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of apples, but honey crisp, granny smith or another type of tart apple are great choices.
Yes, you can add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of any type of nuts – pecans, almonds, walnuts, etc. However, we think the texture of this cake is perfect as is.
No, apple cake cake does not need to be refrigerated. You can cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. I recommend storing the cake separately from the caramel sauce and then drizzle the caramel sauce over the cake just prior to serving. If you store it with the sauce, it may become dense and mushy.
I do not recommend freezing this cake since it contains apples. It could result in a wet texture upon thawing due to the moisture retained in the apples.
Other Apple Dessert Recipes
If you love apple desserts, try our other fall favorites.
- Baked Apple Pie Egg Rolls
- Instant Pot Apple Butter
- Apple Pie Cupcakes
- Apple Dutch Baby
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
Did you try this Apple Cake recipe with caramel sauce? Leave a recipe rating and review below!
Caramel Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, (250 g)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil, (178 ml)
- 2 cups sugar, (400 g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled chopped apples, (300 g)
- 1 recipe homemade caramel sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat together eggs and vegetable oil on medium speed until smooth, about a minute. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture until just incorporated. It's okay if there are a few bits of flour showing.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer. Using a rubber spatula, stir in chopped apples. The batter will be very thick and there will be a lot of apples (that’s a good thing!).
- Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and use the spatula to spread batter evenly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with little crumbs on it. Allow cake to cool completely in pan.
- While cake cools, make the caramel sauce (or have it already prepared).
- Cut cake into 2-inch by 2-inch squares and serve with a drizzle of caramel.
Notes
- You can use butter instead of vegetable oil.
- Gluten free: You can substitute the flour for 1:1 gluten free all-purpose baking flour.
- Apples: honeycrisp, granny smith or any other type of tart apple works well for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photo above from Haley, 2017.
I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but is it self rising or all purpose flour? What type of apples? Thanks!
Use all purpose flour for this recipe. You can use any type of apples, but honey crisp, granny smith or another tart apple are great choices. Enjoy!
Can this cake be frozen?? I want yo make it but want to be able to freeze some.
We haven’t tried freezing this recipe. I don’t think I would recommend it due to the apples. It could result in a “wet texture” upon thawing due to the moisture retained in the apples. However, if you try it, let us know how it turns out.
That crackly top is what put this cake over the top–my family could not stop eating it!
I’m totally ready for all the caramel apple and pumpkin and cinnamon things, and this cake has my fall heart fluttering!
I like this recipe as it can be made with ingredients found at home and I don’t need to do any special shopping specifically to obtain them. The cake looks scrumptious and I love the caramel topping that adds a depth of flavor that goes so well with the apples and cinnamon.