Apple treats of all sorts are on my mind these days, and may be the thing finally giving me those fall vibes I’ve been searching for. We celebrated a family birthday recently and cake with fall flavors was requested. I considering making the beloved apple pie layer cake but decided instead to play around with the idea of a caramel apple cake.
My goal was not to emulate the flavors of an actual caramel apple but rather highlight the classic flavor combo in a more subtle way. This end result is nicely balanced confection and makes for a perfect seasonal treat. The layers are made of vanilla brown butter cake, and the filling includes a light spread of caramel frosting along with sautéed apple filling. Caramel frosting coats the whole thing and a layer of vanilla bean caramel sauce drips down the sides in that messy pretty way only caramel can.
We loved how this particular combination of cake + filling + frosting turned out. The texture and flavor were on point, and nothing was too sweet or too rich. Let me know if you try this cake and how you like it. What apple things are you baking this fall?