Apple Fritter Cake
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!
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!
Notes
*I used Alpine's Spiced Apple Cider mix. If you can't find it, simply leave it out, and use plain milk instead.