This soft and tender Apple Fritter Cake is infused with cozy fall spices, brimming with buttery caramelized apples, and generously drizzled with a silky vanilla bean maple glaze!
I honestly can’t think of a more heavenly aroma than the scent of baked apples and cinnamon filling your entire home. The warm and cozy fragrances of fall are one of the many things I look forward to when September arrives.
So with that being said, allow me to introduce you to a cake that incorporates all of the blissful elements of a delicious apple fritter…
Why You’ll Love This Apple Fritter Cake
Easier than Apple Fritters: Although I LOVE me a good apple fritter, they can be pretty time-consuming to make. This cake, on the other hand, comes together a lot quicker and eliminates the messy hot oil.
Caramelized Apples: Just like a traditional apple fritter, this cake is loaded with tender, buttery, and deliciously caramelized apples. The apples are cooked in a bath of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon before they’re incorporated into the batter. They’re also layered in between the batter, ensuring that every bite is full of that cinnamon-spiced apple flavor.
Vanilla Bean Maple Glaze: An apple fritter hasn’t reached its full potential until it’s iced with a sweet glaze. This cake is finished with a silky smooth vanilla bean maple glaze, which hardens as it cools, giving the cake a nice delicately crisp sugar crust on top.
Important Ingredients
Brown Butter: This powerhouse of an ingredient gives the cake a nutty, toasty toffee-like flavor. It pairs incredibly well with the warm caramelized apples and adds a depth of flavor like no other. It’s as simple as cooking the butter for a little bit longer, allowing the milk solids to toast and much of the water to cook off. You’re left with a golden amber liquid that has a nutty, caramelized aroma.
Instant Apple Cider Mix: This is my all-time favorite ingredient for infusing desserts with EXTRA apple flavor. It’s super condensed, and for a little (.74 oz) packet, it adds SO much flavor. For this recipe, I used Alpine Spiced Apple Cider instant drink mix. I dissolved it in 1/2 cup hot milk, which was warmed in the microwave. If you can’t find the apple cider mix, you can just use milk.
Fresh Apples: You’ll need 12 ounces of apples, or about 3-4 medium apples. Note that this is 12 ounces AFTER the apples have been peeled, cored, and sliced. As for what kind of apples work best, I’d recommend Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, or Golden Delicious. I ended up using Gala, but you could also use a variety of apples, if you prefer.
Warm Spices: Ground cinnamon is definitely a must-have in any fall dessert, but there are two other spices that really help to bring out the flavor of the apples–ground allspice and ground cloves. These two spices are more potent than cinnamon, so you only need a 1/4 teaspoon of each to complement the sweet flavor notes of the fresh apples.
Sour Cream and Vegetable Oil: For cakes like this, I prefer to use a combination of sour cream and vegetable oil. The sour cream yields a richer flavor, a slight tang, and a tender crumb. Oil has no flavor, however, it produces a lighter, fluffier texture, and keeps the cake moist longer. So to get the best of both worlds, I use an equal ratio of sour cream and vegetable oil.
Pure Maple Syrup: You’ll need 2 tablespoons of PURE maple syrup for the glaze. Please stay away from the fake stuff, aka, “pancake syrup”. It might be more expensive, but there’s simply no comparison to the richness that pure maple syrup provides.
Important Tips
Pre-Cook the Apples: To eliminate the possibility of hard or under-cooked apples, I like to pre-cook the apples before adding them to the batter. Cooking the apples prior to folding them into the batter is absolutely KEY to achieving that perfectly tender texture. I ended up cooking the apples in some butter, brown sugar, and a few spices–cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. You basically want to cook them until they’re softened, yet still a little firm, about 10 minutes. There should be a little give when you press on them with a wooden spoon. Try not to overcook them, or else you’ll end up with mushy apples.
Layer of Cinnamon Brown Sugar: This cinnamon brown sugar mixture not only adds an extra layer of sweetness to the middle of the cake, but it also gives the cake a nice delicately crisp crust on top. All you have to do is use a fork to toss 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Sprinkle half of it over the first half of the batter, and sprinkle the rest on top.
Allow Cake to Cool Slightly: Although the last thing you’ll want to do is wait EVEN LONGER to dig into this cake, especially when its intoxicating aroma has been taunting you for the last 45 minutes in the oven, your restraint will be worth it. Letting the cake cool for at least 15 minutes will give it time to firm up so that it doesn’t crumble when you cut into it. Moreover, you want the cake to cool down so that the glaze doesn’t melt all over the place once it’s spread on top.
Does this cake freeze well?
Absolutely! Once it’s cooled completely, slice it up into squares, wrap each square individually in plastic wrap, then seal in a large freezer-safe ziplock bag in the freezer. It’ll last up to 6 months in the freezer. To thaw, just place a piece on the kitchen counter for 45-60 minutes. I’d recommend heating it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds, so that it’s nice and warm.
What is the best way to serve this?
You can either slice the cake into squares, or you can scoop it out into a bowl. It actually slices beautifully. In fact, here’s how it looks when sliced.
Whether you choose to slice it or scoop it, I highly HIGHLY recommend topping it with a cool and creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream. Just like a warm slice of apple pie is best served à la mode, this cake is absolutely divine when paired with ice cream.
Apple Fritter Cake
Ingredients
Caramelized Apples:
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 14 ounces (about 3-4 medium apples) peeled and diced apples (I used Gala)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Cinnamon Brown Sugar:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
Apple Fritter Cake:
- ½ cup milk
- 1 (.74 oz) packet Apple Cider mix*
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup salted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream, at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Vanilla Bean Maple Glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla
Instructions
Make the Caramelized Apples:
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the butter, diced apples, brown sugar, and spices. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the mixture has caramelized.
- Once the apples have softened and the mixture has become slightly thickened and gooey, remove from the heat. Set aside to cool while you work on the batter.
Make the Cinnamon Brown Sugar:
- Use a fork to toss the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; set aside.
Make the Batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease an 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
- Pour the milk into a glass measuring cup and heat in the microwave until it just begins to simmer, about 30-40 seconds. Once hot, add the apple cider mix, stirring until completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma.
- Once browned and nutty, turn off the heat and immediately stir in both sugars. This will stop the browning process, preventing the butter from burning as it sits in the pan. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the sour cream and oil. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold everything together. Once it's about halfway mixed, pour in the cider-milk mixture, and stir until just combined.
- Fold about 1/3 of the caramelized apples into the batter.
Assemble the Cake:
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Evenly disperse 1/2 of the remaining caramelized apples over the batter. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon brown sugar. Spread the rest of the batter evenly on top, then finish with the remaining caramelized apples and cinnamon brown sugar.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Make the Glaze:
- In medium bowl, whisk the butter and about half of the powdered sugar together until combined. Whisk in maple syrup, followed by the rest of the powdered sugar. Stir in the milk and vanilla bean paste.
- Spread glaze on top of the slightly cooled cake. Scoop into a bowl, or slice into squares. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!