I made this particular cake very late at night. After dealing with Sweet J, our hostile sleeper, or non-sleeper in this case, I gave up and let him sit in the chair while I worked in the kitchen. He was so tired and, for the most part, sat there quietly. He did get a little rowdy when he began to launch his sister’s baby doll into the air. When I put the cakes in the oven, I had him sit on my lap while I did some computer work though not much work got done. He started kissing me and squeezing my cheeks and doing silly faces I couldn’t help but giggle at. As we sat together, the aroma of the cake started filling the house. Because I was unsure of the bake time, Sweet J and I moved back to the kitchen, turned off the lights and huddled in front of the oven with the interior light on. He told me how hot it was on the inside and I smiled as I watched his little face in the dim light.
The aroma of an apple cake baking is the essence of autumn to me. Cool weather, colorful leaves, warmer clothes, all my favorite things in one sweet inhale. When my kitchen is filled with the scent of warm apples and spices, I think of the kitchen in my childhood home and my mom working in it. It’s a good feeling. I can only hope that someday my children hold similar good feelings about our kitchen.
Our Fresh Apple Cake already debuted on the blog a few years back however, this reincarnation has been churning around in my head for sometime. In this version, the apple cake is layered with a cinnamon-cream-cheese-whipped-cream frosting that is light, creamy and delicious. A heavy, overly sweet frosting could not work with this dense, lightly sweetened cake. I think it would completely cover the natural sweetness of the apples. But sweet-aholics, never fear. Caramel is drizzled on top for just the right amount of deliciousness.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tsp soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2+ tsp cinnamon
- nutmeg to taste
- ground cloves to taste
- 3 cups fresh chopped apples
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 6oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 Tbsp heavy whipped cream
- 12oz heavy whipping cream
- <1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp vanilla (optional)
Instructions
- Prep two 8" cake pans with non-stick spray and cover the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
- Then add in the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Finally, add in the chopped apples.
- Pour into the prepped pan and bake at 300F for 55-60 minutes.
- When they are finished baking, allow them to cool for a 10 minutes. Then remove them from the pans and let them cool completely on cooling racks.
- In a small pan over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
- Add both sugars and stir until dissolved.
- Add in the evaporated milk.
- Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Let it cool.
- Stir together the softened cream cheese, cinnamon, powdered sugar and 4 Tbsp whipped cream. Combine well.
- In an electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until medium peaks form.
- Scoop a 1/3 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix and gently fold together until well combined.
- Add the the rest of the whipped cream to the cinnamon whipped cream mix. Again, gently fold together.
- Layer the apple cake with the cinnamon whipped frosting. Pour the cooled caramel topping over the top.
Notes
*It's best to cook the caramel topping slowly to ensure a smooth sauce.
Oh my, this looks so yummy and perfect for Autumn.
I’ve added it to my list of things to bake, thanks for sharing =)
Hannah
x
Dainty&Ivory
Hope you enjoy it!
Amy, this looks yummy scrumptious. Just saw it on pinterest and had to come directly and print off the recipe. Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to try it!!
The frosting recipe calls for whipped cream. Do you mean commercial whipped cream, as in RediWhip? Or do you mean that we should whip some of the whipping cream beforehand? If so, is the measurement for pre-whipping or post-whipping?
Just put the cakes in the oven. I hope they come out okay. The cake batter was so thick; there was no pouring it in the pans. I keep looking and I didn’t miss anything the recipe calls for. We will see….
The batter is thick, Brooke. Hope it works out!!
Confused also by the 4T of whipped cream,is it redi whip… Whipping cream is in dairy aisle in liquid form so what is the 4T
I just changed the recipe. It’s HEAVY whipping cream, the stuff in the carton in the dairy section. :)
Am interested in making this cake but I am also not sure about the whipped cream. I have seen where it has been asked a couple of times to explain with no replies. Would appreciate info on this. Thanks.
Thanks for reminding me to fix this! I did edit the recipe. It is heavy whipping cream, the stuff in the carton in the dairy section. Enjoy!
I made this today and loved it.
YUM! This looks amazing! I love the combination of flavors & textures.
This turned out amazing! However, the batter was incredible dry so I ended up adding about 2/3 cup of apple sauce which gave it a much better consistency.
Hi Amy, looking forward to trying this recipe! About the frosting, would it work to fros the cake with regular spiced whipped cream, or do we have to add the cream cheese? Would it be stiff enough?
I have made this cake at the request of my teenage son for his birthday for the last 3 years. It looks and tastes amazing. Thanks you!