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Caramel Apple Toffee Crumble Cake
Tons of fall flavors packed into one gorgeously-decorated cake - here's a Caramel Apple Toffee Crumble Cake recipe you'll want every year!
Equipment
- 1 long wood skewer (for dipping apple in caramel)
Ingredients
Caramel Apple Toffee Crumble Cake layers:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks, room temperature)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 cups grated apples (I used 4 golden delicious apples)
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Crumble topping: (make and divide, for top of cake layers and cake filling)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Cake filling
- 2 cups Golden delicious apples, chopped chopped & cooked until soft
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting:
- 6 ounces cream cheese (¾package, softened)
- ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks, softened)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk
- ¾ Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
Decorations
- 2 apples of your choice (for dipping; I used Pink Lady)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 11 ounces caramel candies (or caramel sauce + apple dipping or wrap kit - caramel sauce worked okay for the drip, but was a little too thin for dipping apples)
- 1 Tablespoon whipping cream
Instructions
Cake layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8-inch cake pans with baker's floured cooking spray, or grease and line with parchment rounds.
- Cream butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes until light. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking soda, salt, and 1 cup of flour and stir, then add remaining flour and mix until just combined. Fold in apples and pecans.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, so your layers will bake to be the same height).
- Combine crumble topping ingredients (butter, flour, brown sugar, and pecans) in a bowl and mix well. Divide crumble in half. Set one half aside; sprinkle the other half over the tops of your cake layers before baking.
- Bake cake layers for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans – it helps to run an offset spatula or knife around the perimeter of the pan first.
- After your cake layers are done, spread the remaining crumble topping onto a piece of foil on a baking tray, about 1 centimeter thick. (Too thin and it might burn, but the thinner you spread it the more caramelized and toffee-like it will get.) Bake at 350 degrees for 12-17 minutes, until the edges are caramelized and crunchy.
- Cool cake layers and crumble topping completely before assembling cake. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (This is a great time to make your filling and frosting.)
Cake filling
- Cook apples and caramel together over low heat until the apples are soft; remove from heat and cool.
Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt and beat until well combined.
Assembly
- Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle. Spread the layer with frosting. With a small piping bag, pipe a rim of frosting around the outer edge – this will keep your filling from showing through to the outside of the cake.
- Spread cooked apples and a bit of toffee crumble over the cake layer, and center the next cake layer on top. (I used about ¼ of my crumble for filling, ½ for dipping apples, and the remaining ¼ on top of the cake). Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
- Now you're ready to crumb-coat. (If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like - spread a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer.)
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add a slightly thicker layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part, and I let the cake layers show through a bit because I liked the look :)
- Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.
Okaaaay – caramel time!
- Combine caramels with whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl with 1 T whipping cream. (Not to be too obvious here, but remove wrappers if individually wrapped. :/ ) Microwave in 30 second bursts on 50% power, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
- Once caramel is melted, dip your apples - place a skewer into the tops and dip almost to the stem, tilting / rotating as needed until coated. Roll in the toffee crumble, and place in the fridge to set.
Now you're ready to decorate!
- Transfer remaining caramel sauce to a squeeze bottle or piping bag (a spoon will also work; you'll just have a little less control). Slowly drizzle the caramel around the upper edge of the cake, pausing every inch or so to let it fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Return cake to the fridge to set the drips.
- Place one dipped apple on top of the cake. Cut the other into slices– I rubbed some lemon juice onto my slices to keep them from turning brown. Arrange the slices on top of the cake, and sprinkle with more bits of toffee crumble. Add another of caramel drizzle to the top of the cake – and step back and admire your work!
Video
Notes
Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/16th cake)Calories: 808kcalCarbohydrates: 107gProtein: 8.2gFat: 41g
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Hi! The ingredient list says baking soda, and the directions say baking powder. Which one is it supposed to be? Thanks!
It’s supposed to be baking soda!! Baking powder didn’t give me the rise I was after in the cake layers – they’re pretty dense because of the apples. THANK YOU for catching that! I’ve updated the recipe instructions!