Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Cake

I’m not even exaggerating, this apple cake is beyond delicious. It comes the best of everything – fresh apples tossed in cinnamon and brown sugar, an incredibly easy cake but moist and soft cake, spiced crumble topping that give the cake a nice crunch. 

And then there’s the piece de resistance – the homemade salted caramel sauce that’s drizzled on top! Holy moly, it take the cake up a notch and makes it absolutely unforgettable! Not only is a delicious dessert, but it also makes a great treat for breakfast with a cup of coffee. 

Head to the apple orchard, get those delicious in season apples and make this crazy delicious caramel apple crumb cake! (then make my viral apple fritter cake next!)

(the full recipe along with a list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card)

All Purpose Flour – I partnered with my friends at Bob’s Red Mill to bring you this delicious recipe! Their all purpose flour is my favorite and I use it for almost all of my baking recipes, 

Apples – the kind of apples that you use are super important for the success of this recipe. You want apples that will stay firm while baking. For best results, granny smith apples and honeycrisp apples are my go to! Use leftovers to make my apple streusel bread!

Salted Butter – I prefer salted butter in all of my recipes. It provides a great deal of flavor that you just don’t get with unsalted butter. If you prefer unsalted butter, simply add an addition 1/2 tsp of kosher salt to the cake batter.

Warm Spices – cinnamon and nutmeg make this caramel apple coffee cake nice and cozy! 

Heavy Cream – heavy cream is what gives the caramel sauce it’s rich and indulgent flavor. 

Sugar – you’ll need white sugar for both the cake and the salted caramel sauce. In addition, you’ll need brown sugar for the crumble topping. 

Whole Milk – milk adds moisture, flavor, and richness while giving the cake a soft texture. 

Vegetable Oil – adding oil to the cake batter keeps the cake moist for DAYS. 

Substitutions and Variations

Add a cream cheese frosting instead of salted caramel if you prefer something a little less sweet. This is a flavorful cake without the salted caramel sauce so you can omit it entirely if you prefer. 

Gluten free option – you can use your favorit 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend for both the cake and the crumble on top. 

Vegan/Dairy Free option – use your favorite non-dairy or vegan butter and milk for a quick and easy swap to make this cake recipe vegan/dairy free.

How to make Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Cake 

Prepare the crumble and peel and slice apples

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside. Prepare the streusel by mixing together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Then add melted butter and mix with a fork or with your fingers until the mixture becomes crumbly. Place into the refrigerator to cool. 

Step 2: Peel and core the apples. Slice the apples thinly and place into a bowl. Toss with sugar and cinnamon and set aside. 

Make the apple cake batter

Step 3: Assemble the batter by adding sugar, oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, and eggs to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until all ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes.

Step 4: In a separate bowl, mix together flour, kosher salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add the half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together. Pour in the milk, and whisk together until just combined, then add the remainder of the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, about 10-20 seconds.

Step 5: Grab the bowl of apples and remove the apples from the juice that collected at the bottom of the bowl. Do not add the juice to the cake batter! Add the apples to the cake batter and fold together until all of the apples are coated in batter.

Step 6: Add the batter to the tube prepared baking pan. Then remove the crumble mixture from the refrigerator sprinkle on top of the batter. Bake for 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick stuck into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Make the Salted Caramel Sauce

• Step 7: While the cake is baking, make the salted caramel sauce. Add sugar to a heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt completely.
• Step 8: As soon as the sugar is melted, add the butter and reduce the heat to low. Allow the butter to melt completely, carefully whisking – the caramel may seize up a bit, but it’ll come back together.
• Step 9: Once the butter is melted, add the heavy cream and salt and whisk until smooth – this may take about 3-6 minutes. Once smooth, remove from the heat and pour into a heat safe container to cool. It will thicken as it cools.
• Step 10: When both the cake and salted caramel sauce have cooled completely (about 1 hour) OR just before serving, drizzle the caramel on top. 

Tips for Success

• Be sure to use a kitchen scale to measure out your ingredients for the best results! Use the metric option in the recipe for gram measurements. 
• Liberally grease the bundt pan! This is critical to getting the cake to release cleanly from the pan without getting stuck. So really pile on the nonstick spray or cake release.
• Don’t overmix! As soon as all of the flour is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix for another 20-30 seconds to make sure everything is mixed together.