Applesauce Cake with Caramel Sauce

Overhead view of a piece of caramel applesauce cake with a fork.

4.60 from 10 votes

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Sauce

Applesauce Cake with Caramel Sauce is the perfect fall dessert. Seasonal apples, cinnamon applesauce, spiced rum, and a fantastic caramel sauce are the featured ingredients in this delicious fall cake. So amazing and simple to make too!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword 5-Ingredient Caramel Sauce, apple spice cake, applesauce cake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 506kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter - melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 ⅓ cup cinnamon applesauce
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups apples (use baking apples) - peeled and diced

For the caramel sauce:

1/4 cup water - room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream - room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
1 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 dish with parchment paper and/or baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter and sugars. Then add vanilla, cinnamon applesauce, and then eggs. Make sure you add the eggs last to prevent them from getting warm from the melted butter.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 ⅓ cup cinnamon applesauce, 2 large eggs
Then add the baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, and flour. Stir until just combined, and then gradually add diced apples and mix.
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups apples (use baking apples)
Pour the cake batter into the baking dish and smooth out evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until done in the center. Remove to cool slightly.
See recipe for CARAMEL SAUCE for tips and tricks and step-by-step photos!
Meanwhile, make caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, heat the water and sugar over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Turn up the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, and stop stirring. Let the mixture continue to boil until it turns amber in color. This could take several minutes.
Remove pan from the heat and slowly (and carefully!) whisk in the heavy cream. Then mix the butter into mixture and add the sea salt. Pour into a glass jar (or other small dish).
1/4 cup water, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/4 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon sea salt
To serve, slice cake into 9 equal pieces. Serve warm with a spoonful of caramel sauce.

Notes

For this recipe, I used one Granny Smith apple and one Honey-crisp. You could use any good baking apple.

Use room temperature ingredients for the homemade caramel sauce!

TIP: If serving a large group, you can pour a good portion of the caramel sauce over the cake. It's more impressive looking and the caramel will start to absorb into the cake too.

Nutrition