Caramel Apple Cake

Serve this caramel apple cake with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream for an untraditional Thanksgiving dessert that will surely knock the socks off of everyone.

Hard to believe that there are only three months left in the year. I don’t think 2020 has been the year any of us had originally planned on, but life goes on and we’ve had to adapt to this real-life game of Jumanji. I literally tossed my 2020 calendar and replaced it with a 21-month version hoping I would feel a little less depressed about all of the canceled obligations and events I had written in ink and had to cross out. I skimmed through the previous months and had to go all the way back to early March when I didn’t have to cancel plans—and even that wasn’t a normal outing: standing side-stage at a concert feeling like the entire world was about to end while sipping on whiskey and gingers. Opening up that brand new calendar to a wide-open month of August felt like a clean slate, even if it was a bit like cheating. 🤣

Since this year has been so unpredictable, I thought perhaps an untraditional Thanksgiving recipe would be fitting for the occasion. Who knows if we’ll even be able to safely gather with family this year and this cake is something that can be boxed up and delivered to the doorstep of loved ones just to let them know that you’re thinking of them throughout these uncertain times.

If pumpkin pie or apple desserts isn’t your thing, how about trying gingerbread cake with lemon curd whipped cream, pumpkin crème brûlée, or salted caramel pie instead?

Yield: 12

Author: Rae Goldman

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Caramel Apple Cake

This caramel apple cake will become the new Thanksgiving tradition. Loaded with apples, autumn spices, and espresso, serve this cake at room temperature with a generous serving of ice cream.

Prep time: 1 H & 10 MCook time: 50 MTotal time: 1 H & 60 M

Ingredients:

• Nonstick cooking spray for pan
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs, cold
• ¾ cup lukewarm brewed espresso
• 4 cups peeled, cored, and chopped pink lady apples (about 3 large apples, cut into ½-inch pieces)

Glaze

• ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• ¼ cupwhole milk
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the Cake

1. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Spray a 9 × 13-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light and creamy. Add the granulated and brown sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and slowly pour in the oil until well blended. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. On low speed, spoon in half of the flour mixture. Slowly and carefully pour in the espresso. Stir in the remaining flour until the batter is smooth and there are no visible lumps in the mixture.
5. Fold in the apples by hand.
6. With an off-set spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth evenly. Bake until the cake is golden all over, starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, set on a wire rack.

For the Glaze

1. In a medium-sized quart saucepan over high heat, combine the brown sugar, butter, milk, and salt. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring often, and boil until you can see it has thickened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes depending on your pan. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Let the mixture cool just until it is no longer bubbling. Pour the hot glaze over the still-warm cake. 
2. Quickly, use a spatula to spread the glaze so it thinly and evenly covers the entire surface of the cake. Let the cake cool completely, uncovered, on the rack.

Rae Goldman

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