Caramel Apple Layer Cake

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This Caramel Apple Layer Cake is made with layers of spiced cake that’s loaded with apples, a thick caramel filling and creamy caramel buttercream. It’s insanely delicious and perfect for fall!

Why You’ll Love this Caramel Apple Layer Cake

• Tender apple cake. The layers of this caramel apple layer cake are so moist and tender! The batter is made with oil (and butter), brown sugar, sour cream and applesauce which all contribute to that tender, moist texture. SO good!
• Packed with apples. I really wanted the apple flavor to shine, so I used lots of apple chunks. You’ll get a taste of apple in every bite of cake. Pure heaven! Plus, those big pieces of apple add even more moisture to the cake!
• Tons of caramel flavor. Caramel is the perfect complement to apples and this cake has the perfect layer of caramel. It’s thick, full of flavor and stays in place when you cut the cake. I also added it to the buttercream to give it a boost of caramel flavor as well.
• Perfect for fall. I love this cake in the fall (although I think I could eat it anytime of the year!). It’s not overly sweet and has a nice blend of warm fall spices. It would be perfect for Thanksgiving, other fall gatherings and birthdays.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need a number of ingredients for this cake. Check out my tips to help you select what you need. Scroll down to the recipe card below for exact measurements.

Caramel Sauce

• Unsalted butter – You could use salted butter, if you’d like a little salty flavor.
• Dark brown sugar – Using dark brown sugar will give the caramel a deeper flavor.
• Sweetened condensed milk and Heavy whipping cream – The combination of the two forms the base of the caramel sauce. I played with them a bit and found an equal amount of each to be best. Using all heavy cream resulted in a thinner filling and using all sweetened condensed milk made it too firm and gave it a different flavor.
• Corn syrup – The corn syrup helps keep the caramel filling from becoming grainy, particularly as it comes back to room temperature after cooling.

Apple Cake

• Flour – Be sure to measure it correctly to avoid dry or dense cake. You’ll want regular all-purpose flour.
• Leavening – For the best rise and texture, you’ll need both baking powder and baking soda.
• Spices – Use ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg for extra fall flavor.
• Salt – Without a little salt, your cake will be bland.
• Unsalted butter – When baking, I generally prefer to use unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt in the batter more precisely. If you don’t have unsalted butter, you can use salted butter, but you’ll want to leave out the additional salt in the recipe. Bring the butter to room temperature before using it in the batter.
• Vegetable oil- Using some oil, in addition to butter, adds to the moisture of the cake.
• Light brown sugar – For sweetness, flavor and added moisture.
• Vanilla extract
• Eggs – This recipe uses 5 large eggs. It’s important to make sure you are using large eggs and not medium or extra large.
• Sour cream – Helps keep the cakes moist and thicken the cake batter, so that your apples don’t sink to the bottom.
• Unsweetened applesauce – Boosts the apple flavor and adds moisture to the batter. I recommend using unsweetened applesauce to cut out unnecessary added sugars.
• Rough chopped apples – I wanted the apple chunks to be prominent in the cakes, so I chopped them into larger bite-size pieces. You’ll want to use a firm, tart baking apple. I used Granny Smith apples but other baking varieties will also work.

Caramel Buttercream

• Unsalted butter – Should be at room temperature so that it mixes easily. Do not use salted butter for the frosting or it will become too salty.
• Powdered sugar – Powdered sugar gives the buttercream volume and affects the consistency. I tend to use a good bit because I like a thicker buttercream that I know will stay in place and pipes well. Feel free to reduce it, if you aren’t concerned about that. You can also just reduce the overall amount of buttercream, if you tend to just add a thin layer of frosting to your cakes.
• Caramel sauce – You’ll use a portion of your homemade caramel sauce to flavor the buttercream.

How to Make Caramel Apple Layer Cake

Don’t miss these step-by-step photos and directions. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the detailed printable instructions.

Make the Caramel Sauce

• Add ingredients to the pan. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and corn syrup. Heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
• Heat to proper temperature. Cook the caramel over medium-high heat it comes to a full boil and reaches 215°F, about 4 minutes.
• Cool. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled.

Make the Apple Cake Batter

• Prepare to bake. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
• Combine dry ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
• Cream and add eggs. Add the butter, oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each.

• Alternate dry and wet ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined. Add the sour cream and applesauce and mix until well combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Fold in apples. Gently fold the chopped apples into the batter until well dispersed.

• Fill cake pans, bake. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Make the Buttercream

• Beat butter. Beat softened butter until smooth.
• Add the other ingredients. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth. Add ¾ cup of prepared caramel sauce and mix until well combined and smooth. Slowly add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
• Whip buttercream. Beat the buttercream on high speed for 3-4 minutes with the paddle attachment to whip some air into it and add volume.

Build the Cake

• Level cakes. Use a serrated knife to remove the domes from the top of each cake so that they’re completely flat. You can check out my tips on how to level a cake.
• Layer the cakes. Place the first cake on a serving plate. Spread 1/2 a cup of buttercream on top of the cake. Pipe a dam of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake, on top of the layer of buttercream you just added. Fill the dam with about 1/2 a cup of caramel sauce and spread evenly. Repeat with the second layer of cake, another layer of frosting, a dam and caramel sauce. Top the cake with the remaining cake layer and frost the outside of the cake.
• Decorate with caramel. Drip the remaining caramel sauce around the sides of the cake, then fill in the center.

• Pipe border. Use the remaining buttercream to pipe a border around the top edge of the cake. I used Ateco tip 847. I also sprinkled my border with nutmeg.
• Serve. The cake can be enjoyed immediately after decorating it, but should be kept in the fridge if you’ve made it in advance. Give it time to sit at room temperature before serving.

Tips for Success

• Use a candy thermometer. The caramel sauce needs to be thick enough to stay in place in the cake, but soft enough to drizzle. So be careful not to under or over cook it. The best way to ensure it turns out perfectly is to use a candy thermometer.
• Measure flour correctly. Adding the wrong amount of flour can really effect the texture of the cake. If you add too much flour, your cake will be dry. I highly recommend using a food scale and weighing your flour to avoid this. If you don’t have a food scale, use the spoon and level method.
• Don’t skimp on creaming time. When beating together the butter, oil, brown sugar and vanilla extract, do so until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. This should take 2-3 minutes.
• Don’t over mix. Over mixing the cake batter after you add the flour will cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop. This will give you a tough, dense cake.
• Cool before frosting. It is essential that you allow the cakes to cool completely before stacking, filling, and frosting. If they are too warm, the frosting will melt right off the cake.
• Use a cake lifter. It can be tricky to move thin layers of cake when you are assembling the layered cake. Sometimes they can can crack in the process of placing them on the cake. For help moving the thin cake layers around, I find a cake lifter to be helpful.

Storage Information

• In the fridge: Store the cake in the fridge in an air-tight container or cake carrier. If you don’t have a cake carrier, wrap the cake in a double layer of plastic and use toothpicks to prop it up so that the wrap doesn’t ruin the buttercream and caramel. This cake is best enjoyed cool but not cold. Let the full cake sit on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before diving in. It’s best if eaten within 3-4 days.
• How to freeze: You can also freeze this layer cake. I typically recommend freezing just the cake layers prior to frosting and decorating. Wrap them well in clear plastic wrap and aluminum foil prior to freezing. Thaw the cake layers in the fridge before frosting and decorating. You can also freeze the full cake. In that case, pop the fully frosted cake in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up before wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can also slice the cake and wrap the individual slices in clear wrap or place slices in an air-tight container. Store the cake in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the refrigerator overnight, before serving.

More Caramel Apple Dessert Recipes

• Caramel Apple Cupcakes
• Mini Caramel Apple Cheesecakes
• Caramel Apple Trifles
• Caramel Apple Blondie Cheesecake
• Easy Caramel Apple Cheesecake
• Caramel Apple Cookie Cups

This recipe was updated 9/3/2024. For the old version of the recipe, download the recipe PDF.

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