This caramel apple cake is moist, tender and full of caramel and apple flavor. The cake needs just 4 ingredients and is an easy one-bowl recipe. The cake also doesn’t contain any eggs but you won’t be able to tell. This cake can be made for a quick simple dessert or it can be decorated to serve at brunch or parties.
This cake really captures so many Fall flavors for me. I love the slight tartness the apple adds to the cake and the rich caramel notes. The cake also has a very soft and moist crumb.
Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Dulce de leche
- Applesauce
- Butter
Self-rising flour: Self-rising flour is all purpose flour that is already premixed with baking powder and salt. If you don’t have self-rising flour on hand you can also easily make your own by combining all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
Dulce de leche: To give this cake its caramel flavor, we are using dulce de leche. Dulce de leche is not traditional caramel which is normally made from just water and sugar. It is a milk based caramel made from slowly cooking milk and sugar until the milk caramelizes. It has the same flavor as traditional caramel but is much thicker. The dulce de leche adds sweetness, gives this cake its caramel flavor and also acts as a binding agent in place of eggs.
Applesauce: Applesauce is used in the cake to give it its apple flavor. It also helps keep the cake very moist. You can use cinnamon applesauce or plain applesauce. Cinnamon applesauce adds a little more flavor to the cake.
Butter: A little butter is added to give the cake a more tender crumb.
Optional Additions
- If you want to decorate this cake, you can also add fresh apple slices on top of the cake before baking. I arranged mine in a spiral/flower pattern.
- Once the cake is done, you can also drizzle caramel sauce on top of the cake before serving. I drizzled salted caramel topping on the cake in these photos.
How to Make Caramel Apple Cake
- The applesauce, dulce de leche and melted butter are all added to a large mixing bowl and mixed together.
- The flour is then folded into the mixture. Fold the batter with a spatula until it is evenly combined.
- The batter is then transferred into your prepared baking pan and baked in the oven.
More Apple Cake Recipes
4 Ingredient Caramel Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (185 g) unsweetened applesauce can use cinnamon or plain
- 1 (13.4 oz/380 g) can dulce de leche
- 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 ¼ cups (160 g) self-rising flour see note before starting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease the interior of a 7-inch cake pan with cooking oil spray. Line the bottom with a parchment paper round. You can use either a springform or a one-piece round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, dulce de leche and melted butter until evenly combined. Add the flour and fold it in with a spatula until flour is completely incorporated and there are no pockets of unmixed flour and no large flour/starch clumps. Make sure to only use a spatula to mix and not a whisk or beater, otherwise you will overmix the batter. The batter will be thick.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared cake pan and spread it evenly across with your spatula. (If you are decorating with fresh apple slices, gently add them on top now.) Bake cake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The surface of the cake should also bounce back if you press on it lightly.
- Allow the cake to cool for about 20 minutes and then release it from the springform pan if you used a springform pan. If using a one-piece cake pan, invert the cake onto a plate and then flip it back upright onto another plate. Let the cake finish cooling before serving or decorating. I drizzled some salted caramel topping on my cake for decoration right before serving.
Notes
- Self-rising flour amount. There are 2 main kinds of self-rising flour sold in the US. One that is a lower protein (2 grams per 1/4 cup (30g)) flour and one that has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup (30 g)). Brands like King Arthur Flour and White Lily make the low protein flour. Brands like Gold Medal and most store/generic brands contain a regular protein amount. The amount of protein affects how much liquid is absorbed. For this recipe, I tested it with Gold Medal self-rising flour (regular amount of protein). Please use a self-rising flour with 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup (30 g). This cake will not turn out correctly otherwise. You can also make your own self-rising flour with the recipe below.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Whisk together 1.5 cups all purpose flour, 2 and 1/4 tsp baking powder and 3/8 tsp salt. Measure out 1 1/4 cups for the recipe. Do not use the full amount. Make sure your all purpose flour has a regular amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup). Most brands in the US contain this amount but there are some brands with higher protein (4 grams per 1/4 cup) such as King Arthur Flour and Bob's Red Mill. You do not want a high protein flour for this cake. It will make the batter too dry.
- Dulce de leche is not traditional caramel sauce but it gives this cake its caramel flavor. See the post for a full explanation of dulce de leche and why it is used in this recipe. 13.4 oz refers to the weight and not volume.
- Make sure to use unsweetened applesauce. You can use either plain or cinnamon. Cinnamon will add more flavor to the cake but if you don't like cinnamon flavor you can use plain applesauce.
- Optional Decorations: I added thinly sliced apples on top of the batter in a simple flower/spiral pattern right before baking. I also drizzled the cake with salted caramel topping (this is the thick kind of caramel sauce that comes in a jar) before serving.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
