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This moist made-from-scratch Salted Caramel Apple Cake is packed with fresh apples and real ingredients. You'll be surprised how easy it is to make.
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Salted Caramel Apple Cake

Easy salted caramel apple cake loaded with fresh chopped apples and nuts. Baked until golden brown and drizzled with homemade salted caramel sauce.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Apple Cake

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup coconut cooking oil or vegetable oil
  • 3 1/2 cups diced apples peeled first
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 beaten eggs
  • optional: 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans I used pecans

Salted Caramel Sauce

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

Apple Cake

  • Grease and flour a tube pan.
  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, self-rising flour and cinnamon until combined.
  • Stir in beaten eggs, cooking oil and vanilla.
  • Stir in diced apples (and optional nuts) until just combined.
  • (Batter will be very thick, maybe even crumbly.)
  • Spoon batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake for 50 - 60 minutes. (Check with cake tester at the 50 minute mark.)
  • Remove from oven and let cool on a rack 20-30 minutes until warm.
  • Loosen all edges including around the center tube with a sharp knife before turning out onto a cake platter.

Salted Caramel Sauce

  • In a medium-sized sauce pan stir together 1/4 cup cold water and granulated sugar until combined.
  • Set over medium-high heat on the stove top and cook 9 -11 minutes without stirring until mixture is a deep amber color.
  • Start checking closely at the 8 minute mark.
  • Meanwhile, warm heavy cream and butter together with sea salt in a small sauce pan over medium heat. (Absolutely do not boil.)
  • When sugar and water mixture is a deep amber color, slowly whisk in the warm cream and butter mixture.
  • Whisk over the heat until it's smooth a minute or two, then remove from the heat.
  • Salted caramel sauce will thicken up as it cools.
  • When sauce is still warm, spoon over apple cake and cascade down the sides.
  • (Re-heating the caramel sauce will thin it.)

Notes

  • I used coconut cooking oil in this recipe. Coconut cooking oil is a type of coconut oil that remains liquid at room temperature. I found it at my local health food store. It worked perfectly in this recipe. You can also use vegetable oil with good results.
  • It's normal to get a thick and crumbly batter.