Apple Cake with Honey Caramel
I originally came up with this recipe for apple cake with honey caramel for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Apples and honey are a common theme for this particular holiday. That’s because they’re used to symbolize a sweet new year.
Caramel can be difficult to make, but this particular caramel is practically fool proof. That’s because of the addition of butter and condensed milk. These two ingredients make the caramel silky smooth. The flavor of the honey really shines through in this sweet treat. The caramel for this apple cake is also highly addictive! Any extra can be stored in the fridge for weeks – if it lasts that long! It’s great on toast or just on a spoon straight out of the jar.
The apple cake itself, although baked in a bundt pan, is not too dense. The sponge is fairly light and chock full of apple goodness. I’ve also used less sugar in the cake itself since the caramel is so sweet. You can tone down the sweetness of the cake by using tart apples as well.
Apple Cake with Honey Caramel
Equipment
- Bundt pan
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 large apples peeled and cut into pieces
For the Honey Caramel
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 ounces
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a bundt pan and set alside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together the oil, sugar, and brown sugar. Add in one egg at a time, mixing until incorporated, then add in the vanilla extract. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the batter and mix thoroughly. Fold in apples and mix until evenly combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool in the bundt pan for 20 minutes.
Make the Caramel
- Mix together honey, butter and sugar in saucepan. Turn on medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a rolling bubbling boil while continuing to stir constantly.
- After the mixture has boiled for one minute, add condensed milk and mix well, keeping the stirring and heat constant until completely mixed through. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
To Finish
- Spoon the caramel over the top of the cooled apple cake, then cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Bring it out and set it on the counter for at least 20 minutes to allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Storage
- Store the extra caramel in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To warm up, use a microwave on a low setting in increments of 15 seconds.
