Caramel Apple Cake

Birthday cakes. Everyone from 1-100 (and up!) should get a homemade one on their special day, and my BF is no exception. I always try to top the previous year's dessert, and for him it usually involves apples and/or caramel of some kind.

This year is no different, and oy this is a delicious cake. Adapted from my favorite baker boys of Baked Explorations, this is pure fall: moist, dense, lightly spiced, covered in caramel buttercream, and then drizzled with more caramel.

​Oh, did I mention that the BF is a Batman fan? [Ed. note: You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?]

The recipe below is for an 8-inch 3-layer cake, but for my small family I  make the smallest amount possible (in that case a 6-inch 3-layer cake, which is exactly one half of the recipe). I use Williams Sonoma salted caramel that was on hand, and made my own applesauce from my own recipe (I prefer the addition of boiled apple cider for an intense cider flavor), but feel free to save time and use store bought applesauce and/or caramel. No shame in that.
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The list of ingredients may seem daunting, and yes there are many steps, but fear not, it is actually not as daunting as it seems. It's a cake you'll want in your fall rotation, perfect for a loved one whose birthday falls in the October-November time frame.

Adapted from: Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito
Number of servings: makes one 8-inch, 3-layer cake

Ingredients
Apple Cake

• ​4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups applesauce (see below for recipe or use store bought unsweetened applesauce)

Caramel Buttercream

• 1 ½ cups sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups whole milk
• ⅓  cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup plus 2-4 tablespoons caramel sauce, at room temperature (Williams Sonoma Salted Caramel was used here)

Applesauce

• 6 fuji apples, peeled, cored and quartered
• ½ cup apple cider
• ¼ cup Boiled Apple cider www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/boiled-cider-1-pint
• 2 tablespoons Calvados (optional)
• Ground cinnamon, to taste

Directions
Applesauce

1. Place all ingredients in medium saucepan. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes. Uncover and mash as you would potatoes.
2. Chill sauce to room temperature before adding to cake batter.

Apple Cake

1. Preheat oven to 325 °F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust the parchment with flour and knock out excess flour.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves together into a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy, about 4 minutes. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, and beat until combined.
4. Add flour mixture to mixer bowl in three parts, alternating with the applesauce, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
5. Divide batter among prepared pans and smooth tops. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack, remove parchment and let cool completely.

Caramel Buttercream

1. In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, whisk sugar and flour together. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Transfer mixture to bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce speed to low and add butter and vanilla, mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy.
3. Add ⅓ cup of caramel and continue mixing until combined. If frosting is too soft, put bowl in refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until proper consistency is achieved. If frosting is too firm, set bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

Assembly

1. Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface and evenly spread about 1 ¼ cups of frosting on top. Add next layer, trim and frost, then add third layer.
2. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of cake and put in refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up. (This is known as crumb coating and will help to keep loose cake crumbs under control when you frost the ouside of the cake.)
3. Frost sides and top with remaining frosting. Drizzle on a few swirls of caramel (I needed to warm it slightly) and refrigerate the finished cake for 15 minutes to firm it up before serving.
4. This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature for up to 3 days, as long as the weather is cool and humidity free. Otherwise, place cake in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Let chilled cake sit at room temperature for a least 2 hours before serving.