Apple Caramel Cake (with Whole Apples)

This is the best whole apple caramel cake, an upside-down cake oozing with caramel and made with whole apples. Truly, this is a dream of a cake!

Whole apples, caramelized sugar, cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins make a luxurious yet easy-to-make upside-down apple caramel cake.

I was 19 years old the first time I ate this apple caramel cake. I liked it so much; it stayed with me for all these long years... I thought about it many times but never knew the recipe.

But then I found it! Those delicious baked whole apples, oozing in caramel and surrounded by that pancake-like, sweet batter. The upside-down apple cake I had been dreaming of for years. One day later, I already had all I needed, so I baked the apple caramel cake. It was even better than I remembered!

What does this cake taste like?

The upside-down apple cake is overly sweet (lots and lots of caramel) but soooo delicious! If you like baked apples, you will love this cake even more. The apples have the perfect consistency; they are filled with raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon, and the batter, which gets absolutely soaked in that caramel, is just amazing.

Although it is a simple sponge cake batter, the caramel makes it almost like a pancake in taste and texture; you will love it! Try this Spicy Toffee Apple Cake, too.

Recipe ingredients

How to make apple caramel cake?

The right pot

• You will not need a baking tin to bake the apple caramel cake. I used a very old pot to make it, as caramelizing sugar in it did affect its whiteness a little bit.
• The pot has a diameter of about 22 cm/ 9 inches.
• Don't use a non-stick pan; the caramel will not stick to it, just take the oldest enamel pot you can find.

Make the caramel

• Place the sugar in the pot, shake the pot to spread the sugar evenly, and place it on the hob.
• Don't stir until the sugar starts to caramelize at the bottom, then start stirring slowly with a wooden spoon until the sugar caramelizes completely and has a deep brown, nice color.
• Don't let it get too dark, or it will taste burnt.
• Hold the pot's handles and turn it around very carefully to spread the caramel all over the place, including the walls, about halfway up the pot's walls.
• Please be very careful; the sugar is very hot!
• Set aside until the caramel hardens and starts getting some cracks. In the meantime, prepare the apples.

Prepare the apples

• Check how many apples will fit in the pot you will use for baking the upside-down apple cake. Depending on their size, you will probably need between 7 and 9 apples. If you need less than 7, your apples will be too large, so you should try getting smaller ones. I needed 9 small apples.
• Peel the apples using a vegetable peeler. Remove the core using an apple corer, keeping the apples whole.
• Turn the apples in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Set aside.
• Mix jam, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. Fill the holes in the apples with this mixture; push the mixture down the hole with your finger.
• Place the filled apples in the pot with the caramel.
• Bake the apples for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on their size. Pierce them with a fork after this time. They should be almost done, but not too soft yet.

Make the batter

• Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Add 3 tablespoons of the sugar little by little and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold the egg whites in the egg yolk mixture.
• Sieve the flour on top. Fold in carefully.
• Pour the batter over the apples and continue baking for about 25 minutes or until the batter is golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Release the caramel cake from the pot

• Turn the cake out of the pan immediately after baking it; it works wonderfully, but if you leave it too long in the pan, the caramel will harden again, and the end result will not be so pretty anymore.
• Release the cake from the walls of the pan with the help of a butter knife.
• Place a large platter over the pot and invert the cake onto the platter. This sounds more difficult than it is; it actually worked perfectly, better than I thought it would.

Make the caramel topping

• Place sugar in a pan. Shake to spread evenly and let stand until it starts to caramelize at the bottom.
• Caramelize completely while stirring gently until the mixture reaches a nice brown color again. Add the cubed butter and stir to incorporate.
• Slowly add the water and continue stirring until the mixture boils.
• Let simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the sugar clumps are dissolved and the sauce has thickened slightly.
• Add the walnuts and coat them in the sugar sauce. Pour the caramel walnut sauce over the caramel apple cake on the platter.
• Let the extra caramel sauce ooze around the cake.

How to serve the cake?

You can serve the apple caramel cake lukewarm with vanilla ice cream. The combination of the slowly melting vanilla ice cream and the lukewarm apple cake cannot even be described—it is more than delicious!

You can also serve it at room temperature with whipped cream. Make sure that the whipped cream is unsweetened; the caramel apple cake is sweet enough.

Apple Caramel Cake (with Whole Apples)

This is the best whole apple caramel cake, an upside-down cake oozing with caramel and made with whole apples. Truly, this is a dream of a cake!

4.89 from 9 votes

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Course: Cakes

Cuisine: Romanian

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

• ▢
  Enamel pot large and deep, about 9-inches/ 22 cm diameter

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Ingredients 

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Caramel and apples:

• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 7-9 apples depending on size, Note 1
• ▢ juice of ½ lemon
• ▢ 3 tablespoons plum jam or whatever you have
• ▢ ¼ cup walnuts chopped
• ▢ ¼ cup raisins
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Batter:

• ▢ 6 eggs large
• ▢ a pinch of salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Caramel sauce:

• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 stick unsalted butter
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ ¾ cup walnuts chopped

Instructions

Caramel and apples:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
• Make the caramel: Place the sugar in the enamel pot. Shake the pot to spread the sugar evenly and place it on the hob.

  Don't stir until the sugar starts to caramelize at the bottom, then begin stirring slowly with a wooden spoon until the sugar caramelizes entirely and has a deep brown, nice color. Don't let it get too dark, or it will taste burnt.

  ½ cup granulated sugar/ 100 g
• Spread caramel in the pot: Hold the pot's handles and turn the pot around very carefully to spread the caramel all over the place, including the pot's walls, about halfway up the walls.

  Please be very careful; the caramel is very hot!
• Set aside until the caramel hardens and starts getting some cracks. In the meantime, prepare the apples.
• Prepare apples: You will need 7 to 9 apples, depending on their size. They should fit in the pot comfortably. Peel the apples and remove the core (with an apple corer), leaving the apple whole. Turn the apples in the lemon juice to prevent them from browning.

  7-9 apples + juice of ½ lemon
• Mix the jam, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon.

  3 tablespoons plum jam + ¼ cup walnuts/ 30 g + ¼ cup raisins/ 30 g + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Fill the holes in the apples with this mixture, push the mixture down the hole with your finger. Place the filled apples in the prepared pot.
• Bake the apples for about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on their size. Pierce them with a fork after this time; they should be almost done, but not too soft yet.

Batter:

• Eggs: Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Add 3 tablespoons of the sugar little by little and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.

  6 eggs, separated + a pinch of salt + 3 tablespoon sugar
• Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture and sieve the flour on top. Fold in carefully.

  3 tablespoon sugar + 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Bake: Pour the batter over the apples and continue baking for about 25 minutes or until the batter is golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Immediately release the cake from the walls of the pan with the help of a knife.
• Invert the cake: Place a large platter over the pan and invert the cake onto the platter.

Caramel walnut sauce:

• Caramel: Place the sugar in a pan. Shake to spread evenly and let stand until it starts to caramelize at the bottom. Caramelize completely while stirring gently until the nice brown color is reached.

  ¾ cup granulated sugar/ 150 g
• Add the cubed butter and stir to combine.

  1 stick unsalted butter/ 115 g
• Simmer: Slowly add the water and continue stirring until the mixture boils. Let simmer on low heat for a few minutes, while stirring all the time until all the sugar clumps are dissolved and the sauce has thickened slightly.

  ¼ cup water/ 50 ml
• Add the walnuts, coat them with the caramel, and top the cake with this mixture. Let the extra caramel sauce ooze around the cake.

  ¾ cup walnuts/ 100 g
• Cool: Let stand until the cake is lukewarm and serve with vanilla ice cream or let cool completely and serve with unsweetened whipped cream.

Notes

It is preferable to use smaller apples of about 3.5 – 4.5 oz/ 100-125 g each.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 127mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 49g

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