Salted Caramel Apple Crumble Cake combines the comforting flavours of spiced cake, tender caramelised apples, buttery crumble topping and decadent salted caramel for a delicious dessert that’s perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients:
For the spice cake:
- Cooking spray
- 3 cups (360g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) packaged light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup neutral oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
For the apple filling:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup (105g) packaged light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the crumble topping:
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) packaged light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
For the assembly:
- 2 batches of cream cheese frosting (homemade or store-bought)
- 3/4 cup homemade or store-bought salted caramel sauce, divided
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal later.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar and neutral oil until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients, alternating the cider and buttermilk additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, taking care not to overmix.
Melt the unsalted butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the diced apples and cook for 5-7 minutes, until slightly softened.
Stir in the light brown sugar, ground cinnamon and kosher salt. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the apples are tender.
Stir in the cornstarch and cook for another minute or so, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar and kosher salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the cold unsalted butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
Spoon half of the spice cake mixture evenly into the prepared baking tin.
Spread the cooled apple filling evenly over the cake base.
Sprinkle half of the crumble topping over the apple filling.
Pour the remaining spice cake mixture over the crumble topping and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the remaining crumble topping over the top of the cake.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Place the cake in the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.
When cooled, remove the cake from the pan using the excess parchment paper.
Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled cake.
Drizzle 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce over the frosting.
Slice the salted caramel apple crumb cake into squares and serve. Drizzle additional salted caramel sauce over each serving if desired.
