When you combine the warm and cozy flavours of apples, cardamom, caramel and roasted pecans together, something called magic happens. It is also called the perfect fall cake. Yes this is happening right now people! Apple cardamom cake with caramel pecan butter frosting.
This recipe is full of little tricks that will make the cake even more moist and flavourful. By replacing butter with oil, it will help keep the cake soft and moist even if you eat it straight from the fridge. As much as I would like to warm this up, it's likely not gonna happen. It's going straight from the fridge and into my belly!
Caramel Pecan Butter Frosting
Apple cardamon cake just wouldn't be the same without the caramel pecan butter frosting. They are a perfect match made in heaven. Its gorgeous colour comes from cinnamon which is also what brings all the flavours together. The caramel and frosting is critical for layering and for decorating:
- Layering: Spread some butter frosting and caramel in between the cake layers to get that gorgeous, layered slice.
- Decorating: Use the right tools to pipe on those fancy restaurant-looking peaks. I used Wilton 6B tip to get those perfect peaks.
The icing on the cake, metaphorically speaking, is that the cinnamon and cardamom that will emanate from your oven will make your home smell absolutely incredible! Umm…yeah, I think it’s time to stop talking and get going on making this fall masterpiece!
Recipe
Apple Cardamom Cake with Caramel Pecan Butter Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake with 3 layers
Description
Apple cardamom cake with caramel pecan butter frosting is the perfect fall cake and is made by combining all your favourite fall flavours together.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups of purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3 eggs
- 1 and ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup corn oil or vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup of sour cream
- 2 cups grated apples, drained (approximately 3-4 medium sized apples)
- 1 cup of chopped and roasted pecans
Caramel:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter
- pinch of salt
Butter Frosting:
- 2 and ½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 (14 oz.) can condensed milk (or dulce de leche)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2-3 tablespoons caramel (see above for recipe)
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together with a hand mixer until the mixture turns a light yellow colour. Continue beating while slowly adding brown sugar, oil and sour cream until fully combined.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients and continue beating. Add in apples and beat until combined.
- Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. Divide the batter among the cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes until brown. Check if it is ready with a toothpick (must come out clean).
- Allow layers to cool completely.
Caramel:
- Preheat the cream. It must be hot when you add it to the caramel otherwise it may create a little explosion and cause burns!
- Gradually melt down the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Important: add a little bit in a time. Watch the sugar to make sure that it does not get burnt.
- Slowly add butter while stirring the mixture. Add the pre-heated cream and a pinch of salt.
Butter Frosting:
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter for a few minutes and slowly add sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Continue to beat while gradually adding condensed milk.
- Add cinnamon and caramel and beat the mixture for another minute.
Assembly:
- If the cakes are rounded on top, even with a knife or a cake sting.
- Put the first layer on a cake stand. Spread frosting on the first layer. Top the frosting with some pecans.
- Put the second layer upside down and spread some caramel. Flip it on top of the first layer and repeat the procedure with frosting, pecans and caramel.
- Spread the frosting all over the cake. Put the cake in the fridge before decoration.
- Pipe the rest of the frosting on top of the cake using Wilton 6B open star tip, sprinkle with pecans and top with some caramel.
Notes
- Plan additional time for assembling the cake and decorating.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: Dessert
BetsyD says
Good recipe. I made it exactly as recipe called for with the exception of the frosting and filling. My husband has a nut allergy, so I choose toffee bits as a part of the middle layer on top of the frosting and then covered with caramel. I also only used 1/2 cup of butter for the frosting and 1/2 can of the sweetened condensed milk (along with a little reg. milk) along with all of the other ingredients. It was plenty of butter and I had plenty of frosting. Can't really imagine using so much more butter....afraid it would taste too buttery. Everyone enjoyed the favors of the cake.
Lauren says
Hi, can this be made ahead of time or should be made the day it is being served? Thanks!
J says
Everything about this recipe worked out well, except for one thing. The recipe calls for 2 cups of grated apples, then states this equates to 5-6 medium sized apples. It doesn't. I grated one Rainier apple and came out with a little over two cups of grated apple, and there is no way any more would've worked. Unless a medium-sized apple is the size of a small child's fist, I think there was some kind of typo in this part of the recipe.
Other than that, it came out great! I made it for Thanksgiving, it's a nice alternative if you're looking for something a little more unique than "Pie. Pie everywhere."
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you J! I did retest it on apples I have at home, and it took about 3.5 medium-sized apples for me. There is definitely some variation but you are right, it should not be 5-6 apples. I have corrected that. Thank you!
Michelle says
What kind of apples do you recommend using?
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Hi Michelle, you can use any kind of apples. For a tarter cake, use honeycrisp and granny smith apples, for a sweeter cake, use gala or fuji apples.